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Hello,

I was hoping someone would be able to help me figure out what when wrong with my Bucheron.
I used the recipe from "Artisan Cheese Making at Home" by Mary Karlin and it was my first time making a mold-ripened but I thought that I had followed the recipe carefully.
I cut open the cheese yesterday (it's been 4 weeks since I started, and 2 weeks since I wrapped it in cheese paper) and when I cut through the rind, I found the inside was completely runny and everything poured out - please see the attached picture. To me, it seems as though it is over ripe? I still tasted it, and the taste was very sharp or strong... I don't know how to describe it exactly.

The ripening took place at 90% humidity and 12.5°C (55°F). I used 1/8th teaspoon of penicillium candidum and 1/16th teaspoon of geotrichum candidum. I also had troubles at the beginning trying to fit all of the curds in to the two moulds (as the recipe said). I finally managed to get them all in but it took about a day and a half of me adding the curds a little bit at a time. One last thing is that when I felt the cheeses a week ago, they already felt pretty soft. I had a suspicion that they were all ready really ripe then but I don't know why they would be ripening so quickly.

If you have any ideas or suggestions I would really appreciate hearing them. I plan to try the cheese again soon but I don't want the same thing to happen.

Thank you and have a great rest of the weekend!
Tom

What type of milk do you use?

I used whole goat milk for this.

My guess is that the curd held too much moisture , this causes the inside right under the rind to go runny .....

usually that isolates the center from the outside and the whole ripening processes shuts down  and the rind thickens as yours has , but this usually leads to a tart center that does not go runny . 

That has been my experience when the curd has too much moisture.

was there a strong ammonia smell?

Quote from: LantGladstone on January 28, 2018, 08:40:19 AM
was there a strong ammonia smell?

No, not really. It mostly had a strong earthy/mushroom smell. It wasn't unpleasant. The goo inside tasted exactly like a cheese I've bought in the past, St. Andre https://www.gourmet-food.com/french-cheese/saint-andre-cheese-102847.aspx. I don't know if anyone is familiar this this exact cheese but it had the same punchy taste but much much stronger.

Thank you for your comments everyone thus far. I really appreciate it!

I find that aging bloomy rind cheeses as around 40-45 deg. F to be much better, otherwise they also tend to over-ripen for me. The lower temp. slows down the ripening and makes things more controllable.


Susan

That runny goo sounds oddly familiar. Years ago when I lived in Switzerland I had the great good fortune of buying a tomme de la vallee in the market. The lady said it was nearing its expiry date so she encouraged me to eat it that very weekend. When I cut in the most wonderful looking paste began to ooze out. And it kept oozing, and oozing and oozing. I had to eat it with a spoon.

If you enjoyed the cheese then kudos to you! AC4U!