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Regarding the large, round bleu that I was making, and inadvertently cut the culture in half, referenced in this thread:

https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,17187.0.html

I seem to have lost it. I went out a little while ago to turn it as the schedule calls for, and not only could I not turn it over (it felt liquid in the middle) it had some tiny little brown flying bugs in it. They are less than 1/16" long, but they were flying in and out of the puncture holes and inside the plastic ripening box. I only saw about 5-7 of them, but one is too many.

So, I've apparently lost that cheese. I'll open it up tomorrow, just to see what the inside is like, but I think it's going to be a total loss.

On the bright side, the rectangular one I'm doing for my friend seems to be just fine. Different ripening box, still a solid feel, and no flies.

Live and learn.

Flying bugs in the cheese would freak me out too...

I hope when you open it, you just find a few "flying bugs" and no...larvae. (Notice how I didn't use the word "maggots?"  Oooops.....)

Oh, I've had my share of those too this weekend.

I've spent the last three days removing a piece of flooring in the main shed (across the back yard from the garage, where we store tools, pool supplies and such) so that I could get in and remove two dead opossums. They'd been there a week or so already, but Friday was the first day I was able to do anything, and it stretched into a 2.5 day thing. It would make a great interrogation technique for spies.

UUuuuuuuyyyyy!

That doesn't begin to cover just how disgustingly horrible it was.

There aren't words to describe how disgustingly horrible it was.

I hope I never have to do that again.

On a side note, I couldn't work up the nerve to examine the big bleu. It's sitting in the regular fridge in the big shed, forlornly, on a shelf all alone, just above a carton of eggs. If I had anything else in it, I wouldn't have put that ripening box in there.

I'm hoping the significantly lower temp will do something bad to those winged creatures.

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 12, 2018, 01:32:00 AM
I seem to have lost it. I went out a little while ago to turn it as the schedule calls for, and not only could I not turn it over (it felt liquid in the middle) it had some tiny little brown flying bugs in it. They are less than 1/16" long, but they were flying in and out of the puncture holes and inside the plastic ripening box. I only saw about 5-7 of them, but one is too many.

So, I've apparently lost that cheese. I'll open it up tomorrow, just to see what the inside is like, but I think it's going to be a total loss.

Sign up here. 

Been there...done that. 

-Boofer-

Quote from: Boofer on August 13, 2018, 06:19:36 AM

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 12, 2018, 01:32:00 AM
I seem to have lost it. I went out a little while ago to turn it as the schedule calls for, and not only could I not turn it over (it felt liquid in the middle) it had some tiny little brown flying bugs in it. They are less than 1/16" long, but they were flying in and out of the puncture holes and inside the plastic ripening box. I only saw about 5-7 of them, but one is too many.

So, I've apparently lost that cheese. I'll open it up tomorrow, just to see what the inside is like, but I think it's going to be a total loss.

Sign up here. 

Been there...done that. 

-Boofer-

Oh, I don't think so...   

I've not been at this nearly long enough to be willing, comfortable, or thick-skinned enough to expose my failures like that. 

Maybe in the near future, but not right now, thanks. 

For what it's worth, here's a photo of one of the little winged beasties.

It's about the size of half of a grain of rice, just so you know.

@#$%+! things...

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 13, 2018, 03:09:45 PM
Oh, I don't think so...   

I've not been at this nearly long enough to be willing, comfortable, or thick-skinned enough to expose my failures like that. 

Maybe in the near future, but not right now, thanks. 

Yes, I understand your comfort level with regards to failures of process or technique. My aim in starting that thread exposing my failures was that someone else out there might benefit and not repeat my errors and also to give confidence to new cheese makers. Your choice of location on your profile further elucidates your lack of confidence. As your confidence grows, perhaps you'll be more willing to share your darker experiences. 

-Boofer-

Quote from: Boofer on August 18, 2018, 03:26:41 PM

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 13, 2018, 03:09:45 PM
Oh, I don't think so...   

I've not been at this nearly long enough to be willing, comfortable, or thick-skinned enough to expose my failures like that. 

Maybe in the near future, but not right now, thanks. 

Yes, I understand your comfort level with regards to failures of process or technique. My aim in starting that thread exposing my failures was that someone else out there might benefit and not repeat my errors and also to give confidence to new cheese makers. Your choice of location on your profile further elucidates your lack of confidence. As your confidence grows, perhaps you'll be more willing to share your darker experiences. 

-Boofer-

My lack of interest to post in that thread has nothing to do with my generally depressive disposition. It most certainly is not "lack of confidence" but rather speaks to inexperience. In my fifty-plus years of experience with life, inexperience in one area does not in any way correlate to lack of confidence, nor does experience or knowledge correlate to having confidence. You may disagree, but you are not me.

My reason for choosing not to post in that thread is twofold: First, I don't have the knowledge base to explain what screwed up nor how to fix, troubleshoot, or resolve the issue, and therefore, any post I made would not be of any value (educational or otherwise) to anyone, including me. It would only be an opportunity to display a failure to everyone.  Second, I am my harshest critic. No one could find fault, point out shortcomings, errors, mistakes, or generally criticize me any more than I already do for myself, and because of that, the very act of someone else finding fault or pointing out a mistake is emotionally uncomfortable for me, because it confirms my own worst fears about myself.

If everyone else out there sees it enough to point it out, then it demonstrates it far too clearly for my liking. All those people can't be wrong. I don't really like to publicly point out where I've screwed up. I dwell on it too much myself to go around knowing everyone else knows it too. If I fail, I would rather do it in private, so that I don't have to deal with the inevitable criticism, "I could have done it better" comments, and general "tsk tsk-ing" that is always there, even if it's not publicly posted.

This thread was frustrating enough. The only reason I posted it was to not leave the audience hanging, as I've seen so much in other threads. To that end, I probably won't ever post another thread on a cheese in progress, because it might fail due to my inexperience, and the certain response is something I do not wish to endure again. If I ever do post another thread, I'll wait until it's finished and successful.

Even though I'm certain it was not your intention, thanks for pouring lemon juice in my paper cut.

Ouch! 

-Boofer-

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 18, 2018, 04:17:54 PM

Quote from: Boofer on August 18, 2018, 03:26:41 PM

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 13, 2018, 03:09:45 PM
Oh, I don't think so...   

I've not been at this nearly long enough to be willing, comfortable, or thick-skinned enough to expose my failures like that. 

Maybe in the near future, but not right now, thanks. 

Yes, I understand your comfort level with regards to failures of process or technique. My aim in starting that thread exposing my failures was that someone else out there might benefit and not repeat my errors and also to give confidence to new cheese makers. Your choice of location on your profile further elucidates your lack of confidence. As your confidence grows, perhaps you'll be more willing to share your darker experiences. 

-Boofer-

My lack of interest to post in that thread has nothing to do with my generally depressive disposition. It most certainly is not "lack of confidence" but rather speaks to inexperience. In my fifty-plus years of experience with life, inexperience in one area does not in any way correlate to lack of confidence, nor does experience or knowledge correlate to having confidence. You may disagree, but you are not me.

My reason for choosing not to post in that thread is twofold: First, I don't have the knowledge base to explain what screwed up nor how to fix, troubleshoot, or resolve the issue, and therefore, any post I made would not be of any value (educational or otherwise) to anyone, including me. It would only be an opportunity to display a failure to everyone.  Second, I am my harshest critic. No one could find fault, point out shortcomings, errors, mistakes, or generally criticize me any more than I already do for myself, and because of that, the very act of someone else finding fault or pointing out a mistake is emotionally uncomfortable for me, because it confirms my own worst fears about myself.

If everyone else out there sees it enough to point it out, then it demonstrates it far too clearly for my liking. All those people can't be wrong. I don't really like to publicly point out where I've screwed up. I dwell on it too much myself to go around knowing everyone else knows it too. If I fail, I would rather do it in private, so that I don't have to deal with the inevitable criticism, "I could have done it better" comments, and general "tsk tsk-ing" that is always there, even if it's not publicly posted.

This thread was frustrating enough. The only reason I posted it was to not leave the audience hanging, as I've seen so much in other threads. To that end, I probably won't ever post another thread on a cheese in progress, because it might fail due to my inexperience, and the certain response is something I do not wish to endure again. If I ever do post another thread, I'll wait until it's finished and successful.

Even though I'm certain it was not your intention, thanks for pouring lemon juice in my paper cut.

Ba-zing!  By the way, awesome forum name.  I'm envious of people who think of the clever ones. 

I'll be watching for your next success.

Andrew: I have to thank you for thinking I have a great forum name, and that I'm clever. That's the first time anyone has ever described me that way.

Quote from: Curdlessness on August 20, 2018, 01:37:57 AM
Andrew: I have to thank you for thinking I have a great forum name, and that I'm clever. That's the first time anyone has ever described me that way.

Well, add awesome to the list.  Your post above puts you there.