Decided to try a new style this week. It looks like this one ages quick. Does anyone know when it peaks?
Temp got away from me several times and it took a extra hour of cheddaring to get the pH to drop. I think the mistakes are in my favor, as it's plenty moist and the pH after salting was on target. I would think the extra cheddaring time will just mean more flavor and the extra moisture will help it melt easily.
First Blue Wensleydale #44
Floc x3.5
4 gallons raw Brown Swiss cow, approx 4% and pH 6.6
½ tsp Kazu
1/8 tsp Flora Dancia
1/8 tsp P. roguefortii
1/8 tsp Chymosin
¼ tsp annatto
3 tlb salt
Warmed milk to 86 degrees, added cultures and let sit for 5 minutes.
Stirred cultures in and let ripen 1 ½ hours. pH 6.5 and temp was 89 degrees—oops temp got away from me!
Added rennet and waited for floc. Floc in 6.5 minutes x 3.5 = 23 minute set time.
Cut the curd into ½ inch cube in 13 minutes and let rest for 5 minutes. Temp 88 degrees.
Raised temp to 96 degrees in 30 minutes (should have been 95 over 35) and stirred for another 5 minutes. Let settle 10 minutes and drain. Temp 94 degrees, pH 6.4
Cheddared curds for 45 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, pH 6.4
Cheddared an additional 60 minutes until pH was 5.9
Milled and salted. pH after hooping 5.4
Pressed for 30 minutes at 30 lbs, then 1 hour at 100 lbs, redressed then pressed overnight.
Yield at unhooping 4 ¾ lbs
Have yet to decide how to develop the blue. I want it to be a very light touch.
Looks great! I have done similar wheels that have turned out to be quite tasty. I have made both a Derby based and Wensleydale based variations. I went for a little drier curd than in the original recipes, pierced a little earlier and not as much as "traditional" blues and knocked down the blue growth on the exterior with brine to keep a clean rind. I was attempting the same thing you are in the "slightly blue" taste. I'm interested to see how yours turns out-I'll be keeping an eye out for your updates.
I was thinking about delaying developing the blue until the last month of aging so the blue can't steal the show. If it doesn't work... still have a nice cheddar to munch. I wish I could peak inside to see how open the texture is.
That was one of my initial issues with the recipe. I finally started pressing the first pressing at 0.4 PSI and the final at 0.8 PSI.
Ah. Then likely mine won't be very open and blue development would totally depend on poking holes. I tried to press lightly, but the curd weren't knitting well enough, and I didn't want an open rind like on my Stilton. Maybe it will work out better this way. The blue can't overdevelop unbeknownst to me. I wonder how much of an air pocket blue needs to develop in the paste?
Based on the outcome of my experimental cheese, I will wait 5 months before developing the blue. Then I will pierce holes and allow the blue to develop one month. That will allow the cheddar to dominate the flavor of the cheese, and I will be one happy cheese maker! ^-^
Sounds like a plan. The couple that I have done in this manner were not overly blue in flavor. I pierced at 2-3 weeks but did fewer holes than I would in a traditional blue. With the light pressing the cure closed up and didn't allow for an over growth of the blue mold on the interior either. I am interested in your results.
I'll remember to post. This is fun to know. To have control over just how strong the blue gets and to be able to kiss any cheese with blue after it's developed a full flavor of it's own... awesome! This should go even easier than my experimental cheese since the blue spores are already in the cheese, waiting for air to develope.
Here's a question. Will blue develop in the small holes already present in cheese with a slightly opened texture... Is there enough air without piercing??? I may cut into my Wensleydale prior to poking holes in it, to see if there was any development.
not really sure about that, maybe someone else can jump in here. The wheel is not totally anaerobic on the interior so you may get a tiny bit of blue development but probably not enough to make it worth adding the PR in the first place would be my hunch.
I would suspect your hunch is right. Easiest way to answer the question is to cut open the cheese in 5 months and look.
I haven't had time to read or post lately, but I sliced into this cheese and had a very pleasant surprise. The cheddar flavor developing was great and the blue flavor was also well developed. I didn't need to aerate the cheese! Nicely sharp, spicy and balanced between the two flavors. This cheese is going to make some killer grilled cheese sandwiches! :P The exterior was a little soft, but other than that it looks the same as it did to begin with. Sorry, no pictures, my camera died. I will be making this cheese again for sure!
Hi anut,
Sounds like it's all going to plan (well, bar the camera that is). I've got a regular Wensleydale that I could cut into any time now. Mine's not supposed to be blue, but who knows? :)
- Jeff
It's a sad state of affairs when you can't say for sure which cheeses will be blue Jeff! ;) Blue is preferable to pink... nothing good comes out of pink!
I was surprised to taste a strong blue flavor in the absence of any blue veining.
Quote from: anutcanfly on July 02, 2012, 11:28:22 PM
nothing good comes out of pink!
Hey, wait a minute...maybe something (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9293.msg70726.html#msg70726)! ;D
-Boofer-
Quote from: Boofer on July 03, 2012, 01:13:06 AM
Quote from: anutcanfly on July 02, 2012, 11:28:22 PM
nothing good comes out of pink!
Hey, wait a minute...maybe something (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9293.msg70726.html#msg70726)! ;D
-Boofer-
Well that is the exception Boof :o
Yes, thank you...quite exceptional. ;)
-Boofer-
;D