Print Page - Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?

Title: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: Turgid on April 19, 2012, 01:19:07 PM

Hi all,

I'm planning to make my first Stilton this weekend! Have all the supplies I need for a 2 gallon batch.

Is there any reason to not split it into two appx 1lb cheeses? Or do I really need to make one larger one?

Thanks!

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: H-K-J on April 19, 2012, 02:06:10 PM

Turgid, in the two gallon batches I have made I put it all in one cheese, I am getting around 3-lbs. from the two gallons,
I have been happy withe outcome from this and am enjoying one right now :)
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9152.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9152.0.html)

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: Turgid on April 19, 2012, 02:49:03 PM

Thanks for the info H-K-J! I was estimating about 1lb per gallon. I only have 4" moulds now so I wasnt sure if I should do one tall one or two shorter ones. And if it would affect the cheese.

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: hoeklijn on April 19, 2012, 03:42:18 PM

I would say: Go for the biggest you can make. Like fish tanks and maturing wine or beer: The bigger, the better the chemical and biological balance will be. And flipping bigger Stilton will cause better matting of the curds by the cheese's own weight. To be honest, I still have to make my first Stilton ;), but I wish you success!

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: tinysar on April 21, 2012, 01:41:35 PM

Turgid - depends if you like the rind or not, do you have space to age a single tall cheese, etc?
I'm in the same situation - only having 4" molds - and have done batches both ways recently. The single 1kg cheese is about 8" tall - it has been dubbed "Tower o' Stilton" - the form is verging on the ridiculous and it's a little tricky to handle & find a good aging container for. The two half-kilo versions are much easier to handle, but they've got alot more surface area for the same weight of cheese - with such small forms, it could turn out to be more difficult to age them well.
BTW, HKJ is right about the yield - because you're adding cream, the yield should be more than 1 lb/gallon, unless you have a particularly low-yielding milk.

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: Tomer1 on April 21, 2012, 04:42:39 PM

I've done 0.5 kg stiltons and they turned out fine, ripened for about 90 days.

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: Turgid on April 23, 2012, 11:54:54 AM

I ended up using one tall 4" mold. I'll post pics when I un-mold it, but so far it seems like its going okay. Maybe a touch dryer than I would have liked...

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: H-K-J on April 24, 2012, 03:46:24 PM

QuoteMaybe a touch dryer than I would have liked

I have also thought this of my Stiltons, It turned out wonderful ::)

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: zenith1 on April 24, 2012, 06:57:24 PM

I have successfully divided a "blue" after the make into different sizes- usually a smaller and a somewhat larger wheel of around 1.25lbs and 4.75lbs from a 4.5 gallon make. They both age very well.

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: Turgid on April 25, 2012, 06:10:49 PM

zenith - you're getting 6lbs of cheese from a 4.5 gallon make?? ???

Title: Re: Two pound Stilton or two one-pounders?
Post by: zenith1 on April 25, 2012, 07:00:47 PM

well in reality probably closer to 5.5lbs

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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => ADJUNCT - Blue Mold (Penicillium roqueforti) Ripened => Topic started by: Turgid on April 19, 2012, 01:19:07 PM