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Well the day has finally come.  Had to cut this thing to get it out of the cave so I could make some cheeses without blue on them.  So while I sterilize my cave feast your eyes on the results of the Large Easy Blue experiment.

So you would be happy with that I'm guessing? If it tastes as good as it looks, you should be! AC4U

Very happy and it absolutely tastes as good as it looks.  I would recommend this make to anyone.  Thank you!

Ahhh the cut.... how exciting to finally get to that point.  Al, that looks amazing.  Worth every patient minute.  What are your plans for it?  How long will this one last you?  I will definitely put that make on my list.  AC4U sir. 



What is your cave sterilization procedure?

Thank you very much.  I have a few friends that will each be receiving a wedge.  The rest will be put to good use by my wife and I.  Should go great on tonights Italian Roast Beef paninis     I take all of the glass shelves and dairylene boards out and run them through the dishwasher with a hot "sani-rinse" cycle.  While that is running I spray and wipe down the entire inside of the cave with a water/chlorine bleach solution.
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Ah, a successful experiment. 

Have a cheese, Al.

Good bluing throughout. It looks a little dry in spots. Am I seeing that wrong?

-Boofer-

Thanks Boofer!!  The dry spots are the areas surrounding the piercings.  They're really inconsequential to the taste or texture.

Hats off to you Al

I hate to say it but that deserves another cheese buddy, MMMMmmmmm

Yep, gotta add another cheese to your collection. Well done!

Well Al, you have certainly done as you set out: to make a large, easy blue. And yes, it is a recipe that will be easy to follow, and I'll give it a go next month, to mark my 20th cheese style.
I read somewhere that Stiltons are like children: fun to make, but hard to bring to maturity without a lot of practise... I'm just wondering, without trawling through heaps of other blue recipes for comparison (and never having made one), are there many points of difference that made this easier than other blues? Oh, and is a bottomless form essential, in your opinion? My largest form is 6 1/2" diameter, 5 1/2" high, but has a (perforated) bottom.
Edwin

First off thank you guys for the cheeses and accolades.  As far as the experiment goes, in my mind, the easy part is that the entire recipe is done on times.  Ingredients are all added at the start, except rennet, rather than a series of "timed additions."  I've always found it interesting that they tell you to heat the milk prior to adding cultures and molds when they have been kept in a freezer.  It's not like the cold milk is going to hurt them.  Toss them in.  They get more time to hydrate and do their thing while the milk is gradually brought up to temperature.  Not sure the open ended mold is a necessity but it's the one I use for blues and the ones the creameries use.  Could be so the air can get to the ends, I don't know.  With regards to aging H-K-J told me some time back that he airs his blues out for an hour a day.  Since then I have done this and found it to be beneficial to the rind.  It prevents those slimy molds from occurring.  If it starts to dry out a bit too much I don't air it for a week and it seems to pick up enough moisture to overcome the dryness and even slight cracking.  I discovered, during this experiment, that the creameries pierce a lot more than I had.  With that in mind I pierced this cheese on four different occasions about two weeks apart.  Nothing about that is set in stone.  Just get some air into it.  Hopefully any newcomers that love Stilton as much as I do will find this thread and it will help them.  That, and seeing how much curd it took to fill my mold, was the entire purpose of the experiment.  I'm glad it worked for that reason and because I now get to eat the result!

A great recipe and a great cheese!

Quote from: Frodage3 on March 31, 2016, 01:50:14 PM
A great recipe and a great cheese!

Thank you!!

Al, you da man!  Have another cheese on me!   

Thanks Kern!  Now let's see if it actually helps anyone.