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Thanks Jos! I didn't know that!

Last week I made an Epoisses-ish kind of cheese. Seems to be taking far less TLC and got a great growth right away. It's basically a St. Marcellin based cheese that I am washing with Umebashi. It smells amazing and the paste is really getting nice and soft. The skin is firming up and B.Linen caught on fast too. Can't wait to try it. Should be ready in about a week. I'll report and send photos.

Sounds great Yoav. Very curious to the outcome.

Would you like some milk, Wednesday?

You might have had a bad experience with some milk, but this is really good, trust me, you'll be amazed.

Would love some!!! I actually meant to make cheese in the middle of this week (this weekend my little cave is too full).  Should I call you? Let's grab a cup of coffee

Iratherfly,

Huh?  your post of 2 days ago said that you made Epoisses type cheese last week and it would be ready in 1 more
week.   Epoisses in 2 weeks?

I must be missing something.

annie

It's Epoisse-ish.  What I am looking for is actually more Langres than Eppoises. If you are not familiar, Langres is the delicate little sister of Epoisses which is washed without Marc and shorter period so it has less orange coverage and less stink element.  It takes 15-35 days to age (Langres AOC rules for the smaller 150g wheel are 15 days). It is washed so lightly that it may seem like a no-wash rind at all!  To make sure that people know it as a washed rind cheese, the French have been mixing Annato in the wash!  (They should have called it "Epoisses Américaine"!)

What I am doing is really a washed St. Marcellin. It ages a lot faster than a regular Epoisses (it is also about 1/4 the volume). The paste will be soft, flavored and ripe well before it is covered with orange bacteria so as soon as I see orange color, I am halting the wash and moving to the refrigerator where it is ready to eat and could live in relative stability for 4-6 weeks or so. I don't think this would take very long but this is an experimental cheese so let's wait and see!

Langres AOC is one of my favorite cheeses. The dimple in the top's center is intentional. Some people like to fill the dimple with Champagne (or Marc, or Cider) when serving.  Like the Epoisses, it too is made in the Bourgogne region, mostly by cheesemakers who also make Epoisses AOC

They should rename it Orange Sharpei Cheese....

Thanks for the answer.

annie