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Boofer made me do it ...

So I've been using the recipe from 200 Easy all along - amazingly enough, without too many modifications (most of which I don't write down anyway).  The only thing I did differently on this last one was increase the weight some on the pressing, because the number of holes/really bad knits were bothering me.  Not that it made a difference in the end anyway, still ended up with lots of holes/bad knit.  It didn't help that the room they were in had gotten down to 66F overnight, even though I'd used a space heater to get it up to 75F or so when they first went into the press. 

So  - no notes, but lots of pics:

And the saga continues ...

And here they are now, at 3 weeks old.  This batch had a better push on getting the b. linens going, because I also had made a Port Salut that was developing nicely already, so I've been washing the Port Salut first, then using the same cloth for the rebs.  I suspect that these are still going to take a lot longer, probably a month or so, before they're ready, since they're still WAY too tall.  It's been fun playing with these, though, a good use of winter milk.  (I do most of my experimenting in the wintertime.)

Great pics. Thanks for those. Nice work.

Now I'm in a dither.... Should I make Butterkaese or Reblochon next? Decisions, decisions....

Dos Equis, huh? That makes the cheesemaking process smoother I would imagine. 

A cheese to you for inspiring and entertaining me today.

-Boofer-

Thanks for the cheesey! 

I said before in the other thread, go for butterkaese!  IIRC, your wife is not a fan of stinkys and likes pretty mild stuff, so it's right up her alley and she won't even have to surreptitiously cut off any rind!   

I admit that my one disappointment was not having the lovely molds that you do (Kadova?) that you used for your Rebs.  Mine are so straight that they don't really have any little cheese bellies to pat.  I miss that.

Hi Mary,

I have just discovered this site and I know I belong to it. Right now I have some aged Bucheron (at least a kilo).I also have access to raw milk. The cows are grass fed. We are also fortunate to have a home in Donegal, Ireland and I know I can access grass-fed cows and goat milk there. I recently been making yogurt with great success but now I want to move on to cheese making. Can I innoculate some milk with some of the aged Bucheron and begin the process of cheese making. in other words, I assumes the P. Cand.... will still be in the cheese.  Once again, I am new to this and hope with time to be making cheese for my family.  I'd ike to know ideal temperatures, etc. Bear with me, I am a good student with a lot of tenacity.

Best,

Pauline

I think they are on the tall side so they may take a long time to age but that's a nice show of blinens.

I personally do not press my reblochon strongly. Just a glass of water on the lid overnight.

Mary -
Looking nice.

Pauline -
Bucheron that is one I am NOT familuar with. Can you share the make and details of it's style?

Quote from: DeejayDebi on March 15, 2012, 12:57:02 AM
Mary -
Looking nice.

Pauline -
Bucheron that is one I am NOT familuar with. Can you share the make and details of it's style?

Hey, I've got the molds, just no recipe yet. I recall iratherfly saying "Bûcheron is a giant Crottin".

-Boofer-

Quote from: Boofer on March 15, 2012, 06:55:13 AM
Hey, I've got the molds, just no recipe yet. I recall iratherfly saying "Bûcheron is a giant Crottin".

My tastebuds agree with that statement.

Ahhh thanks!

Alas, alack!! 

The season for ripening cheeses outside the cave in the chilly basement is officially over.  I had seen one little fungus gnat flitting around the laundry area a couple of weeks ago, didn't think much of it (foolishly, of course - but wait, did I just ruin the punch line?).  At that time when I washed the rebs, I thought the rind was looking a little weird, but it was hard to tell because of all the indentations from the mat they were on when being pressed.

Went down the other day to wash them again.  "DANG, those DO look like pinholes, don't they?  Hmmm."

*wash wash*

"HEY!  THAT'S not a teensy piece of wet paper towel!  Paper towels don't move!"

*SOB*

On the good side, I WAS mildly entertained when I realized that rather than the usual white or off-white, the little squigglies were orange-colored. 

Not to be deterred, however, after having invested 7 weeks in these little boogers (the cheeses, not the gnat larvae), I decided that they couldn't have gone TOO far down past the rind, right?  I can still eat the middles, right?  Suuuuurrrreeeeee you can.  So out comes the knife.

First pic is of the pinholes (which you can barely see) - second is after surgery, sitting on the plate waiting to see if any more critters were going to decide to come out for a visit  (none did).  So whenever I feel an abundance of intestinal fortitude, I'm gonna eat some of my now much slimmer Reblochons #3.

And yesterday I proceeded to order some better molds to use for Rebs (what do you mean, I can't afford them?  I WANT THEM!!!)  Ordered three so that I can end up with three hopefully-normal-sized cheeses instead of two way-too-tall-these-will-take-forever-to-ripen cheeses.  Shipped yesterday, so the end of the week most likely will see Reb #4 in process.     

pity about the bugs. those cheeses were looking mighty fine. i'd still eat em.

Oh george, you brave soul. You've made a version of Casu Marzu. Congratulations! A cheese to you for your awesomeness!

Those Reblochon molds should help you get to the proper dimensioned cheese. I have the right molds but haven't found the time to put curd in them. 

One more look.

-Boofer-

Its like finding gold and hoping it was silver