Rosemary Stilton

Here's my rosemary Stilton.  I made a "rosemary tea" with boiling water and a tiny bit of rosemary, strained it, and added the tea to the milk before doing anything else.  It is nearly ready, but because I was traveling and could not monitor this for over a week, the ageing conainer got a little too humid and pink slime started to form on the surface.  Not to worry, a quick trim and it's just fine.  I'm drying them out now outside the ageing container so I can wrap them later.  A little young, but still very tasty.   I'll wrap the rest and put it in cold storage so it gets a little sharper.  Also, next time I use rosemary, I'll try using a little less.  It's not overpowering, but it could be a bit more subtle.

Port Salut - Again!

OK, this time, armed with even more helpful hints, I made another Port Salut this weekend.  We did eat the last one, even though it did not manage to have it's signature orange/red bloom of b. linens.  It tasted great, and from what I described to a cheese master, it was close in taste to the real thing.  The Port Salut you get at a store is not really Port Salut.  It's a "prettied-up" version.  Commercial Port Salut is softer and close to a cross between cream cheese and gooey Brie in texture.  It is rind-less, too.  And the color on the "rind" is imprinted onto the surface using food dyes, so the color is way off...almost neon orange.

Since I've detailed what I've done making Port Salut's before, I'll just cover the highlights of what I did differently this time, to ensure it ripens properly and develops a rind.  I received two tips from different sources that indicated that my previous versions were too acidic, and that's why the b. linens didn't grow.  It's a fast grower, so I should not have had the trouble I did.  To remedy it, I was told by both sources to add a tiny bit (1/64th of a teaspoon) of either GEO 15, Danisco's Choozit brand of geotrichnum candidum (yeast form) bacteria, or a strain of kluyveromyces yeast, Choozit brand KL71.  And I am supposed to use these in the bacterial wash as well with the b.linens.  A 1/64th teaspoon is about the size of the tip of knife full of powder.  The yeast acts to stabilize the pH of the cheese and keeps it from becoming too acidic.

I have both of these on hand, so I used both, to make up the 1/64th tsp.  The cheese came out of it's brine solution yesterday afternoon, and after drying for 12 hours at room temperature, it's now in the ageing container at 52F.  Believe it or not, I can see some very faint mottling of yellow mixed in with the usually creamy white color of the cheese already.  That didn't happen last time until a few days after being in the ageing container.

Another tip I received was that it was possible that by avoiding having the cheese be too moist in the container, I accidentally let it get too dry.  So, I will have to monitor the moisture on the surface more carefully and try to find the right balance.

Finally, the cheese is supposed to weigh 2.75 lbs.  Mine weighs 3.2 lbs, or almost half a pound too much, meaning there may be too much water/whey left.  I did press it for 12 hours under medium pressure.  But I think I'll lose some weight as it ages.  So I'll weigh it again in a week to see what it is.  The salt from the brining is still on the surface.  It should pull more moisture out over time..

Creme Fraiche

With all the "little bugs", bacteria, mold, and yeast, I've collected trying different cheeses, making Finnish viili (yogurt), and cultured butter, I thought it time to make some creme fraiche....real creme fraiche.  Since it's Thanksgiving, it should be a great compliment to the pumpkin pie I will be making to share at my sister's house.  The tartness of the creme fraiche will counter the sweetness of the pie.  But not just ordinary creme fraiche.  I had the idea to slightly sweeten it and flavor it with a spice that compliments pumpkin pie.  What I got is a tart, thick, eggnogy flavored creme fraiche.  Tastes great.

According to the recipe, I heated a quart of whipping cream to 70F, added 1/4 teaspoon of the aroma mesophilic culture, and let it rehydrate for 5 minutes.  Then gently stirred it into the cream.  I let it sit out on the counter for 48 hours, chilled in the refrigerator, and then spooned it into a container.  When completely chilled, it is firmer, but soft like prepackaged pudding.  If I wish, I could whip it like whipped cream to make it fluffy, but I think I'll leave it the way it is.  I found a variation online to sweeten the creme fraiche.  It said to use 1-2 Tblsp of sugar for each cup.  I thought that a bit too sweet, so I used about a third of that, and added some nutmeg to taste, realizing that the nutmeg will infuse it's flavor while it sits in the cream.

Speaking of sour cream, I compared the creme fraiche recipe to the one for sour cream.  I never realized they were identical, except that for sour cream, you let the cream and starter set out for 24-36 hours, not 48.  Not sure what the big difference is.  So I took a taste of the creme fraiche after 24 hours, when it was in the sour cream phase.  It was slightly thinner than creme fraiche, and not as tart.  Nothing like the sour cream you buy at the store...it's better.

Our kitchen this week is a veritable "bug" factory.  The creme fraiche was sitting on the counter next to the villi I was making.  The Caciotta and Stilton are ripening in the wine refrigerator, and the cheddars are waxed and ripening too.  I ordered a new strain of b. linens and will be making a new Port Salut on Saturday.  I am determined to not let that cheese defeat me!  But then I think I'll take a break from cheese...at least until Christmas vacation :-)

Port Salut, The Saga Continues

I thought the lot number of the LR series b. linens (Choozit LR from Danisco) might be bad.  The b.linens growth had stopped completely a couple weeks ago.  I trimmed off the surface and rebrined it, then applied a smear of b. linens.  It's supposed to be a fast growing bacteria, but two weeks later, nothing.  So I cut into it.  It tastes great.  But not quite right.

I wrote Danisco and they referred me to Diairy Connection, their distributor in Wisconsin.  I thought they could tell me if there was a problem with the lot of LR I have.  Instead, they gave me some more advice.  The pH of my cheese is probably off, inhibiting the b. linens.  I should use the KL 71 yeast to neutralize the pH in the milk and in the smear. 

I sent their response to Debra Amrein-Boyes, author of the recipe book I'm using, to get her thoughts on this.  I am determined to conquer this cheese!  Stay tuned.  I'm not going to post again on Port Salut until I have a pic of a nice bloom on the darned thing.

Waxing Cheddars

I waxed my three cheddars this morning.  I bought a low melting cheese wax and placed it in a stainless bowl over a pot of boiling water to melt the wax.  I used a combination of dipping and brushing to get the wax on.  Fortunately, our kitchen ha a marble cutting slab (under the cheeses in the pic), so I put wax paper down and the cool marble solidified the wax quickly.  I used a low melting cheese wax so I could heat it in a double boiler instead of directly on the stove in a pot.

It was not as hard or messy as I thought it would be.  I made the labels to remind me which one is which, and to remind me of when these ought to be ready. They are now residing quietly in the wine refrigerator at 50F for the next six months. 

I had some difficulty with, you guessed it, the port wine cheddar.  Even though the surface was dry, the wax peeled away from an area after the first coating.  I just removed the wax, remelted it, and continued on.  And, this one had three spots where the curds just would not knit completely.  I held them closed and "spot welded" the joints with wax, letting it cool before handling.   It seemed to work well.

I realized as I was working with these, that when I wax my 3.5 lb Caciotta, I will have to brush on the wax only.  It will be too large to handle easily for dipping.  Oh, well. 

Port Salut Disaster...Again!

I had posted that my remake of the Port Salut was progressing.  Well, it turns out, it's not.  The b. linens stopped growing (if indeed it WAS b. linens), and spoilage mold began to appear.  At first, I tried trimming it.  But when the b. linens wasn't taking over, I had no choice but to either toss it, or carefully trim the rind, re-brine it, and start with a fresh packet of b. linens.  I chose the second option.  It's been two weeks since retrimming it, and no b. linens.  It's supposed to be a fast growing bacteria.  This is not fast.  Now, once again, I am getting small spots of other molds starting on the cheese.  The cheese itself was made over 5 weeks ago.  By now, I should be close to having a ripe Port Salut, with another 1-3 weeks before it's supposed to be done.  Not even close!

I think the lot# of my LR series of Choozit b. linens culture from Danisco is bad, somehow.  I am not giving up, though.  I ordered the SR3 series b. linens and will make a new Port Salut soon.  Although the SR3 is not as aromatic as the LR, it should still work.  My other Choozit cultures all work fine.  It's just the b. linens LR series that isn't.

I now consider this Port Salut a dud.  BUT....it is still edible.  I'm bringing it to my sister's house for Thanksgiving.  Why let it go to waste?

More on Cheddar Troubleshooting

After the port and beer cheddars sat overnight, after I had already tried to re-knit the curds using the water bath method, my port cheddar still showed signs of cracking where the curds meet.  The beer flavored cheddar seemed OK.  I emailed the author of "200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes" to see if she had more suggestions.

Evidently, I am doing all I can now that this happened.  She said she has run into this as well, until they finally discovered that the wine has a low pH (acidic) and that interferes with the curd's ability to knit when pressed.  Beer can also have this effect, but less so.  Hmmm...seems to match my experience.  She suggested that the next time, I buy a wine conditioner and add it to the port before soaking the curds.  It raises the pH and helps.  The downside is that it sweetens the wine.  Wine conditioners are made with complex sugars.  I think, too, I'll still warm the port to 100F to keep the curds warm while they soak, just to be sure.  Patting the curds with a lint-free towel after they've soaked will also help.

But for now, I just have to baby the port cheddar until I can wax it.  Waxing will hold the curds together.  Right now, I'm repressing the port cheddar while it's wrapped in dry cheesecloth, under very light pressure.  This is expressing any moisture, holding the curds closed, and the cheesecloth is wicking away that moisture so the curds can knit a little more.  After that, it's handle with exreme caution.