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Quote from: Brie on September 25, 2011, 05:25:45 AM
I love the look of that paste (from the first pic); however, the second appeared as if it had melted somewhat--were they taken at two different temperatures? Looks like you have a champion here--let's call it Boofrogina!

LOL    That's an original.

The earlier pic was when I had first cut the tall boy in half. The later shot with the Reb was at room temp. As I said, not a Stilton, but something else. You may have something in that naming.

I've found a Rubbermaid pitcher that I would like to adapt for my next effort. It has almost truly vertical walls. The same volume of curds that went into the two cam molds would fit comfortably in this new form. Seems like that would be closer in volume to the Stilton shown in the video.

I don't know what effect volume or size of the cheese has on affinage and other processing qualities. I do know that in this last effort the curds were too wet. If I follow Sailor's guidance, the curds should not be cut, but merely ladled into the mold. If I follow the technique in the Stilton video, the curds should be cut smaller than I cut mine in this make. I would also figure in a smaller floc multiplier and probably cook a little longer.

-Boofer-

I have a better solution for you; use Bûcheron mold!  I am now doing a small Persillé style cheese with it and it's perfect for that. My outgoing (post drain) weight was 2Lbs. (975g to be exact) and it's the perfect size for 1 gallon. This is a hoop but it drains faster than Camembert molds because it has more holes.  I slowed it down by simply putting it on top of another cheese mold so I got a good overnight drain. Put another cheese mold on top of it when it's time to flip - makes it a breeze.

Here is the apparatus:
First pic - the mold on its own
Second pic - the mold placed inside a 500g mold
Third pic - I demonstrate how you can easily cover it with another 500g mold for easy flipping
Fourth pic - this is the cheese that came out of it. It's a few days old now so don't expect it to be a beauty queen quite yet

Quote from: iratherfly on September 28, 2011, 04:46:08 AM
I have a better solution for you; use Bûcheron mold!

Great alternative! Where do I get one? I haven't seen anything like it being offered in the usual channels.

-Boofer-

A-HA!  You should always ask me for these things.  I get a lot of stuff directly from manufacturers and distributors and have access to an immense amount of cheese molds and other equipment in all shapes you can imagine.  I have a few of these brand new in the box here.  If you want I can sell you some.  I believe they are just a few bucks each.  I can check on it if you want.  Any other requests? 

My hero! 

Matter-of-fact, I was considering a Manchego basket-style mold as well.

Yes, your Bûcheron mold is so much more elegant a solution.

I'll limit my zeal to those two molds because I don't wish to overtax you nor surprise the Missus too much. She doesn't know yet that my four Reblochon molds are due in soon along with Margaret Morris' book. 

-Boofer-

Oh you are killing me here. You too sneak moulds into the cupboard when the wife is not home? This is hilarious!

I was thinking of doing a little online shop for all those interesting moulds and for cultures too. Right now I am putting together a Chèvre-making kit that is super high quality so I got tons of samples.  While I don't have the manchego mould here right now, I can get you one.  The ones I have access too are really nice, they have the traditional manchego markings that are a results of an internal strip that you can take out if you don't want the markings or want to make another cheese.  I am not sure that this is the exact model, but it looks like this:

Can you tell me the capacity of the Manchego mold? It would change depending on whether you had the basket marking piece in place, correct?

If you would, Sir, let me know prices for the two and how you want to be paid. Do you do PayPal? If you're considering an online shop, I'm a big believer in PayPal. Otherwise, the usual forms of payment are there.

Unfortunately, I don't do Chèvre. Seems like a good deal for someone else though.

-Boofer-

Okay, I decided this tall boy was ready to be sealed up and stored for a while. It's just about at the 90-day mark, per Sailor's sage advice. I'd like to let it stay in the main fridge, sealed up, for another two weeks at least. I'd like to see the rind soften a bit. Right now, it seems improbable to actually EAT.... 

We'll see.

-Boofer-

Huh, this is like a Micro-Stilton! How fun! You should give it its own name. Something like "stiltonette" By the way, I don't suggest you keep it in Vaccum. It will ammoniate and spoil. Keep it in wooden box or vented Tupperware over some breathing grille so that it won't touch the bottom.

I can do PayPal.  I am a believer too. My tech startup (Saveby) is a PayPal partner and we are using some very sophisticated transaction apparatuses from the PayPal API there.

Just looked into the Manchego moulds. It seems I only have the heavy duty ones that includes the pattern strip and follower. Those are quite expensive, in the $50-$75 range so I am not sure if this will work out for you. (they come in 1000g to 3200g and the different models have diameters of 100mm, 110mm, 125mm, 130mm, 170mm, 190mm and 210mm.

As for the Bûcheron moulds, much better news here: I can sell those for $7.99 each. $6.79 if you order a dozen or more. They are actually very heavy duty HDPE. Really good stuff.

I'm confused.

How is it that Sailor recommends affinage through 90 days and then vacuum-sealing? If I buy Stilton or Fourme d'Ambert, it comes vacuum-sealed. Yet you tell me that it will ammoniate and spoil. 

Ouch! on the Manchego mold pricing. I guess I'll have to put that off for now.

I would like to buy two of the Bûcheron moulds though. I'll PM my address. Let me know what the total would be for the two moulds plus shipping.

Thanks,

-Boofer-

It's just seems small and moist to me so I suggested not to vacuum seal it.

The best practice with these is to use thin foil. Like this one from Formaticum just without the horrendous price...

No, it's dry on the outside. I'm hoping the paste is moist though. As far as the size, it has shrunk quite a bit since it started in the cam mould.

Wow, 14inches x 500feet! Wait, let me check the current price of silver.... No wonder it's so expensive. Too rich for my budget.

-Boofer-

I hear you man; I feel the same. They do sell them in retail quantities too but it's ridiculous. Frankly, I would look into foil for chocolate wrapping...

There ya go. pre-cut to 6"x6": http://www.clearcellobags.com/catalog/item/6646811/6513687.htm
or to 8"x8: http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/candies/candyfoils/candyfoils.htm#8

Both at $6.75 for 125 pieces

Wow, every time I talk to you it's like peeling an onion...you show me something new! I feel like a kid in a candy store, especially with those foil candy wrappers. Thanks for those links.

-Boofer-

Aging that cheese to 3 months is overkill, even 2 months is overkill. I have a hunch that some parts of the cheese has already liquified inside. Even at 30 days its starting to soften, imho that was the right time to eat it because it is still firm. Just because you age it for a long time doesn't mean it will have Stilton like blue veining or Stilton flavor. Blue veining really depends on the openness of the paste and the potency of the blue mold you used and strains also play a factor, there are strains that grows faster. From my experience 20 days after piercing is enough to get good blue veining if the paste of the cheese is crumbly and open. I think it would be better if you use an apple corer/cheese grader to check the progress of the cheese than relying in set aging time.