CheeseForum.org » Forum

Hi all,

I'm planning to make my first Stilton this weekend!  Have all the supplies I need for a 2 gallon batch. 

Is there any reason to not split it into two appx 1lb cheeses?  Or do I really need to make one larger one?

Thanks!

Turgid, in the two gallon batches I have made I put it all in one cheese, I am getting around 3-lbs. from the two gallons,
I have been happy withe outcome from this and am enjoying one right now
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,9152.0.html

Thanks for the info H-K-J!   I was estimating about 1lb per gallon.   I only have 4" moulds now so I wasnt sure if I should do one tall one or two shorter ones.  And if it would affect the cheese.

I would say: Go for the biggest you can make. Like fish tanks and maturing wine or beer: The bigger, the better the chemical and biological balance will be. And flipping  bigger Stilton will cause better matting of the curds by the cheese's own weight. To be honest, I still have to make my first Stilton  , but I wish you success!

Turgid - depends if you like the rind or not, do you have space to age a single tall cheese, etc?
I'm in the same situation - only having 4" molds - and have done batches both ways recently. The single 1kg cheese is about 8" tall - it has been dubbed "Tower o' Stilton" - the form is verging on the ridiculous and it's a little tricky to handle & find a good aging container for. The two half-kilo versions are much easier to handle, but they've got alot more surface area for the same weight of cheese - with such small forms, it could turn out to be more difficult to age them well.
BTW, HKJ is right about the yield - because you're adding cream, the yield should be more than 1 lb/gallon, unless you have a particularly low-yielding milk.

I've done 0.5 kg stiltons and they turned out fine, ripened for about 90 days.

I ended up using one tall 4" mold.  I'll post pics when I un-mold it, but so far it seems like its going okay.  Maybe a touch dryer than I would have liked...

QuoteMaybe a touch dryer than I would have liked

I have also thought this of my Stiltons, It turned out wonderful

I have successfully divided a "blue" after the make into different sizes- usually a smaller and a somewhat larger wheel of around 1.25lbs and 4.75lbs from a 4.5 gallon make. They both age very well.

zenith - you're getting 6lbs of cheese from a 4.5 gallon make??   

well in reality probably closer to 5.5lbs