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Those of you who have tried to spice up a cheese with something hot, know the heat quickly ameliorates during aging (especially horseradish it seems.)
I wanted to try to overcome that. So today I made a Bel Paese style cheese  and I added 5 oz of Iguana XXX Habanero chili sauce to 4 gallons of milk. 


If you are familiar with that stuff, you know that a single drop goes a loooooong way as they advertise it to be "pretty damn hot." While it was draining initially, I felt "burning tingles" on my forearms when it would splash up on them. I wore gloves when I was flipping it to be sure I didn't accidentally rub my eyes, etc. 
The texture of the curd was quite different--it reminded me of mozzarella curd--which I put off to the amount of vinegar in the sauce.  However all my pH markers were on track after it was molded.  It just went in the brine.  It looks mighty pretty with those red and orange pepper flecks.  We'll see in a couple of months if the heat holds. 

Yikes you are brave. I hope it turns out good for you

Thanks RBF.  I bet it's going to get milder as it ages.
I'll post a picture tomorrow when it comes out of the brine.

This is it.  You can see all the bits of the chiles.  We'll see if it retains the heat as it ages.

Your cheese looks exceptional and I'm sure it will be very tasty. I love spicy things. Panamanians think spicy is Bell Peppers. LOL

The Ticos don't eat spicy either. Funny thing is that the hottest pepper we have here is called a Panamanian Chile. 

Here's the update.
Cut into this today. Creamy texture and and really nice depth of flavor. There is a nice bite of heat that kicks in at the end after you swallow the paste. I'm calling it Habanero País and I proclaim it a winner.

Glad it turned out for you Mike. AC4U

Sounds like a winner, if you're going to kill your tastebuds with the anesthetic "capsaicin"... 

Congrats on getting a cheese the whey you wanted it.

See what I did there? 

Thanks RBF

Haha  Curd

AC4U Mike. Looks wonderful and bet it is very good. I have given up on Bel Paese. Didn't turn out or maybe just don't like it. Heaved 12lbs over the fence for the dogs to eat. ( didn't kill them so it must have been edible )

OH my goodness....12 pounds!  That's awful.
I don't know if it would help, but I'd be glad to share the recipe I use, if you want to try again.

It looks and sounds awesome!  I love cheeses with chilies.

I am planning Bel Paese as one of my first couple of cheeses.  I would appreciate your recipe.  I found out about Bel Paese from Gavin Webbers video and was planning on following that recipe.

Travis
I'll be glad to post my recipe....give me a day or so. Things are really hectic here (I had a mama goat die shortly after the birth of twins and I'm having to bottle feed them every 3 hours)
Two things to remember about my recipes:  I use raw milk.  I use goat milk.  That means I use about 50% of the amount of rennet and culture that most recipes for pasteurized cow milk call for.  Also, generally speaking, temps for goat milk vs cow milk tend to run about 3 degrees cooler at any step

Travis,
I keep very detailed notes about each make and then my curd-nurd cheesehead friends and I having tasting sheets to score the cheese. I keep tweaking the recipe until it reaches what we all consider to be 5 star status.

Here it is.  Remember: "Your mileage may vary"


Bel Paese


4 gal milk (I use raw goat milk with a butterfat content of about 4.5%)
1/32 tsp MD88
1/8 tsp KAZU
1/32 tsp Thermo B
1/32 tsp Thermo C
1/64 tsp Geotrichum
1/64 Mycodore


Initial pH about 6.65
Heat to 88 F and Add cultures
Then raise heat over 15 min to 105 F --pH should now have dropped by 0.05.  If not hold until it does
Add 1/4 tsp rennet
Set time approx 40 min--check for clean break
Cut curd to 3/8" cubes over 5 min
Hold 5 min
GENTLE stir for 20-30 min (pH goal of 6.35-6.4 whey)
Hoop up in Large Tomme mold
Press at 5 pounds  x 15 min
Turn and redress and press at 10 pounds x 45 min
Turn and redress and press at 15 pounds x 90 min
Can go up to 25 pounds next if needed (but I never have)
Once rind is smooth no further weight--Wait for pH of 5.4 
Then Brine in saturated brine 1.5 hours/ pound
Dry off and then
Age at 50 F and 85% RH for 3 weeks, turning daily the first week, and then every other day the second week and then twice a week thereafter
You should have a fine white dusting forming on the natural rind as the molds/yeasts we inoculated show up. If rampant grow of other molds is occurring, wipe down with a cheese cloth dipped in light brine solution
After three weeks more to 40 F and 2 weeks
Ready to eat at 6 weeks.


Good luck. Hope that helps.  Keep me posted if you try this recipe.