CheeseForum.org » Forum

Well I managed to waddle, with crutches, down to the cheese cave so I could tend my cheeses.  Got these flipped and washed.  I'm thinking that, at some point, the PC will soften these from the sides if nowhere else.  We'll see!!  Maybe little cheese gremlins will pop out at 12 weeks. LOL  I would like to start over but with the cambozolas I did for the wife this weekend I don't have any more room for soft cheeses.

Nice cave shot! :-)

Thanks Danbo.  The most important accessory to this cave is the three cases of Bud Light on the side. LOL  Bought this back when I started cheese making from Best Buy.  Added the external temp control and a thermometer/hygrometer to convert it over.  I find it hold way more cheese than I can consume.  Until my friends find out I'm making cheese again.  Then it gets empty pretty quick.  Here's a shot from when I first started.

It's fun to see your cheese temple now and before. :-)

What's the one that's third from the bottom?

That was a brie with shitake mushrooms that Tiarella came up with.  Looked good so I made one.  You can see her make here.  Kathrin is one of the more creative and talented folks on here.  Always a pleasure to see what she's up to with her leaves and bark. 

What's the fridge model?

It's an Igloo upright freezer.  You can see it here.  I used a Johnson Controls analog temperature controller.  Drilled a hole through the bottom rear of the cabinet and ran the temperature probe through that.  Sealed the hole with silicone and attached the probe to the center shelf with tie-wraps.

I never considered a freezer. Was worried about frost.

I use these controls on a wine fridge. No need for drilling. Works great but probe has a 1-2 year life span.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37&products_id=377

Not going to get any frost at 54° F.  The unit maintains it's own RH at 85% due to the weather conditions prevalent in this area.

Thought I'd share a couple of before and after pics of these during the brushing and flipping this morning.  The PC just keeps coming back.  And that's growth between the cheese and the glass shelf it's on.  I've noticed that some of the coloring from the bark is leaching its way into the cheese.  I think that's a good sign.

Looks really good! :-)

Thanks Danbo.  Still not softening though.  Got a long time to go. LOL

Same with my bries. Unfortunately I had some problems with my make. The flocculation took forever and instead of using a floc.factor of 6, I landed on around 3. That made them too hard, but let's see if they soften. If not, I think that I will make deep fried Camemberts out of them - delicious...

Yeah, I don't mess with the floc and PH things. Call me silly but I believe the monks and folks in the 1500s didn't either.  I can see they have their place, especially for quality control, but I just time mine and they come out right every time.  Might buy a PH meter one day just for curiosity though.