And so it goes....
While a lonely, unpublished Tilsit #2 sits in the cave and challenges me with blues, as I try to bring forth the orange (linens), I press on into the void with a challenger to its throne.
Attempting to follow the recipe published by Danisco for Tilsit, I purchased a new culture to try to capture the essence of an authentic Tilsit cheese. Looking at the Alp D pdf, it's quite a mix. Then combining all that with the PLA...this should be an interesting cheese.
4 gallons of cream line milk
1/4 tsp Choozit Alp D
1/8 tsp Choozit PLA
1/2 tsp CACL diluted with cool distilled water
1/16 tsp Renco dry calf rennet, dissolved in cool distilled water
Checked milk at start: pH 7.05 @ 55F
5:20AM Heated milk to 88F.
6:15AM Added cultures, waited 5 minutes to rehydrate, stirred in.
6:50AM pH 6.87 @ 87.4F
7:50AM pH 6.85 @ 88.7F (virtually no change)
9:50AM pH 6.77 @ 88.4F
10:30AM pH 6.61 @ 88F (looking for pH 6.50 to add rennet)
Don't blink!
10:48AM pH 6.48 @ 88F (hey, wait a minute!) Added CACL and rennet
10:59AM Floc'd in 11 minutes; using 3.5x factor, that gives me a time to cut in 38 minutes
11:35AM pH 6.12 @ 85.1F Cut the curds, rested 5 minutes, stirred
Whisked curds gently to pea size.
Began cooking curds.
Removed 1 gallon of whey to use for brine.
Added, in increments, 1 gallon of 130F water, stirring, to bring curds up to 100F.
12:10PM pH 6.00 @ 99F (I had expected that the addition of the water would bring the pH up, but that was not the case.)
After washing and cooking curds for 30 minutes, and testing for curd friability & cohesiveness, I drained the curds and hand-pressed them into the Plyban-lined brick mold. I placed the cutting-board follower on top of the lined curd mass. I emptied out the cooking pot and placed the curds and mold into the pot. I haven't quite figured out the missing piece that would elevate the whole shebang so that the whey can drain more effectively. I tried a piece of plastic grid material with my Esrom #2 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6315.0.html) and was rewarded with an alligator skin effect after pressing.
12:45PM pH 5.46 in whey at first pressing in pot using 10 lb weight
1:15PM Flipped, rewrapped, pressing in pot using 10 lb weight
2:00PM Flipped, unwrapped Plyban, going naked, pressing in pot using 10 lb weight
5:00PM Removed from mold, into the whey-brine for 7 hours (really flexible before brining and quite rigid after)
12:00AM Flipped, back into the whey-brine for another 7 hours (14 hours total; recipe calls for a lot longer)
1/27/12
7:00AM Out of whey-brine and into minicave to air-dry at room temperature
Trying to maintain control over the pH drops was a little disconcerting in this make. Nothing happening for hours...and then - BAM! - over the cliff! Seems like if I use Alp D again, I will try to anticipate its sudden decision to jump into oblivion and do everything earlier. Rennet would be added earlier, curds cut earlier...everything done more aggressively.
Then again, I promised myself that 2012 would be my indoctrination into mother culture use. That will change everything too. I didn't get a lot of culture in that Alp D bag. :(
It would appear that Tilsit can be a wheel or a brick. My Tilsit #2 is the former, while #3 is the latter. Two totally different interpretations of the style.
-Boofer-
Crossing my fingers and toes for you! ;)
Sounds like this one kept you hopping during the make! Hopefully it will be more predictable during aging. You'll nail this cheese yet.
- Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, it was indeed a challenge. Hopefully, the few items seemingly under my control will produce an edible, memorable cheese in the end.
-Boofer-
The care and feeding of this latest is pure love. So nice. Gotta love the brick. :D
I believe the rind is being protected by the Geo. So far, no foreign incursions. There is a slight whitish bloom appearing. At this point, I have been merely misting with 3% brine & SR3.
-Boofer-
That is looking very nice Boofer. Well done.
- Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. Just trying to figure it all out.
Leiden is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. We'll see what adding things to the cheese does. I boiled some cumin seeds this afternoon. Hopefully they'll rehydrate and soften up by tomorrow. That will probably put me in a holding pattern for a while with four cheeses to tend to. But the wife's away for a few days so I make cheese. ;)
-Boofer-
Wishing for a memorable cheese may not be the best idea! :o
Quote from: anutcanfly on February 04, 2012, 06:00:26 PM
Wishing for a memorable cheese may not be the best idea! :o
Naysayer! :)
Hey, it's bound to memorable whether it's positive or negative. For me, I'm breaking new ground (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9107.0.html).
-Boofer-
Agreed! If you're not producing memorable cheeses, you're not learning anything! For me, learning is 1/2 the fun... eating is the other half! :)
I picked up the brick this morning, rubbed it a little, and decided it was time to seal it up. The rind was dry and had a powdery white growth still covering it. Pressing the rind a bit showed that it was still very pliable and firm but not soft.
A month from now I'll see how it looks. Probably looking for 2-3 months as a target.
-Boofer-
Interesting development observed over the past week....
Apparently, the brick has developed a little gas. I hope it doesn't go much further than what I'm seeing now. There is no moisture in the bag. The cheese is pliable. There is still the slight white powdery appearance to the rind (no doubt the Geo from the PLA). Except for the slight swelling, the cheese seems to be on track.
-Boofer-
Hi Boofer,
That's interesting. Looks like you bagged after just over 2 weeks, then a few weeks later you had some swelling. Despite the difference in the cheese, that's similiar to what happened with my cheddar (although I waxed it after only 5 days it seemed quite dry and ready to go). I removed it from the wax and put it back in the ripening box for around 11 days. The swelling dissipated fairly quickly and the cheese smelled just fine. So then I re-waxed it and it's been good as gold ever since.
- Jeff
Is it normal for cheeses to give off some sort of gas (co2) initially?
Boofer looks great! On those stainless molds I set them on two spaghetti spoons (wood spoons so they don't roll but dowels work) to drain and it works well. I love the character the little dipples add to the cheeses but I know some of you don't like it. Was it you or Likespace that was shaving the bumps off the Tome mold? The plyban does keep them to a minimum but still very pretty I think.
As for the recipes ... Dansco's is much better than the 200 Recipes book. I haven't been impressed with the recipes "as is" from the 200 Cheese Recipes Book I have tried but it gives a starting point I guess. Thankfully we have Linixboy, Francous, Sailor and a few other to fill in the gaps.
Quote from: DeejayDebi on March 01, 2012, 12:35:32 AM
Boofer looks great! On those stainless molds I set them on two spaghetti spoons (wood spoons so they don't roll but dowels work) to drain and it works well. I love the character the little dipples add to the cheeses but I know some of you don't like it. Was it you or Likespace that was shaving the bumps off the Tome mold? The plyban does keep them to a minimum but still very pretty I think.
As for the recipes ... Dansco's is much better than the 200 Recipes book. I haven't been impressed with the recipes "as is" from the 200 Cheese Recipes Book I have tried but it gives a starting point I guess. Thankfully we have Linixboy, Francous, Sailor and a few other to fill in the gaps.
I have been known to shave off nubbins from some wheels. Since then I have learned that washing and rubbing takes care of most of them anyway...and they disappear. The bumps appeared on the brick because I removed the Plyban and lightly pressed naked. At first I wasn't so sure about the effect. I have grown fond of the effect and may actually try to implement it as a finishing element in my bricked cheeses (not
Brick cheese). It adds character.
Quote from: JeffHamm on February 29, 2012, 04:20:44 PM
I removed it from the wax and put it back in the ripening box for around 11 days. The swelling dissipated fairly quickly and the cheese smelled just fine. So then I re-waxed it and it's been good as gold ever since.
I might have to follow a similar procedure. I've had this happen to Goutaler cheeses in the past. You would anticipate some swelling in them though. This...I'm not so sure.
Quote from: anutcanfly on February 29, 2012, 05:00:01 PM
Is it normal for cheeses to give off some sort of gas (co2) initially?
A lot depends on the cultures involved. The Goutaler style (Jarlsberg, Leerdamer), Emmental, Baby Swiss, etc. all involve PS (Propionibacterium shermanii) which you want to produce gas. I didn't add PS to this cheese. I'm no gas expert. The production of gas in this brick actually comes as a surprise to me. I checked the Alp D and PLA makeup. I didn't see anything like LM (Leuconostoc mesenteroides) which would cause a lot of gas. It all seemed benign.
One of the big mysteries will be uncloaked when this cheese is cut open. I don't expect that to be too much further down the road.
-Boofer-
Looks interesting, the gas swelling. Keep updating as it increases/decreases.
I also kind of like the little bumpy nubbins.
Like JeffHamm, I've also had similar happen to waxed cheddars, in fact I have 2 cheddars and 1 monterey jack right now that I've un-waxed and have done a salt wash on the outside of, letting them get a nice rind. I plan on vac sealing them tonight and letting them age longer.
Surprisingly, the bubble has disappeared. Frequent turning of the cheese has encouraged it and the gas to become more integrated with the paste. It's back to being a relatively flat brick again. Very nice.
-Boofer-
That is good. Now we just wait ...
My targeted time to cut was May Day, but I figured this was close enough.
There was a little moistness/smeariness in the bag. The cheese slices well. The texture is not ideally what I was looking for and shows a little chalkiness. Salt level is good. Eaten fresh or melted, the flavor is very tasty and complex. Would make a good sandwich cheese too. I'd like to repeat this cheese style and tweak in the texture for a more elastic character.
-Boofer-
That looks very nice Boofer! Sounds like you're almost where you want it to be too. A bit on the texture front and you'll have it bang on. Well done.
- Jeff
Yummy! That would go nicely with my coffee this morning! :P
Dang Boofer now I gottuh go get breakfast looks excelent :P
Boofer that looks great! This actually looks creamier than the commercial cheese I bought and tried. A cheese for you my friend!
Thanks, guys.
Now I'm wondering how long I can age this out and what that will do to the texture & flavor. Time will tell.
Movin' on.... :)
-Boofer-