Hi everyone-

I made my second Meunster last night according to Ricki’s recipe. When I removed the mold this morning I noticed that all surfaces have little round indentations,dare I say it, like a sponge! I had recalled Ricki mentioning coliform due to poor sanitation and I began to worry. This cheese isn’t one that you set and forget. It requires the washings, waiting for B. Linens to grow, etc., so I hope it’s worth the effort.

I was making a bechamel for a souffle at one point during the cheese making process and hope that flour particles didn’t get in there to cause this. I had the cheese pot covered.

Still I wonder if I got the cheese contaminated with something.

Any thoughts?

Heather

sounds like u have fermentation or bubble creations. A picture would help. Any interesting scents?

Picture is attached. Yes I know it looks bad. No funky smells though. That makes me feel somewhat relieved.

How about my other curd weirdness: notice gapes in the curds on the crust. This happens on my cheeses whose curds are cooked but not pressed. Do I have to use cheesecloth under the mold? My other Muenster also had gaping curds on the surface. Mold grew in the spaces, but the insides tasted pretty good after mature.

Heathers - 11 August 2008 02:16 AM

Picture is attached. Yes I know it looks bad. No funky smells though. That makes me feel somewhat relieved.

How about my other curd weirdness: notice gapes in the curds on the crust. This happens on my cheeses whose curds are cooked but not pressed. Do I have to use cheesecloth under the mold? My other Muenster also had gaping curds on the surface. Mold grew in the spaces, but the insides tasted pretty good after mature.

ur tools or milk got contaminated (by bread as example) , this will make ur cheese spoongy with small bubbles

make sure next time to take extra clean care

In addition to the small bubbles, it appears as though the curd is not completely pressed - there are still individual curds showing.  What was the pressure and duration of your press?

Thanks Nabil. Do you think this cheese is worth trying to save?

And Rich, the recipe doesn’t say to press, only to flip the curds, but I did press anyway at just 5 pounds for 10 hours. The gaping happened last time so I can’t figure out what the deal is.

And now an update on the indentations. They smoothed out a bit after the brine bath so maybe I’m ok. This is clearly wishful thinking. I’ll keep you all posted with pics in case someone else has this experience.

Heather

To me it would be worth keeping just to see what develops.  Especially if you have the room in your cave.  I would hate to throw it out and never know.  :(

KEEP it, always keep track what u do and see what happens. Can easily turn out as a great cheese.

Well I sprayed the B. Linens on it and put it in the basement to grow red. We’ll see what happens.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Make sure you keep us posted on the progress and taste results.  LOL it will probably be one of your best!

if contamination is from bread yeast, then i think it is fine, but it will have mold for sure

Its the black grey molds u need to be weary about.

I had some mold on one of my waxed cheeses, I must have missed a spot with the waxing.  I peeled off the wax, cut the mold away and washed it with salt brine.  Dried and re-waxed.  Looks great now and it has been about two month.  No more mold.

OK I figured out why I have gaps in my curds in the last three cheeses. It’s because I didn’t use cheesecloth in the mold. This helps tighten the crust.

Note to self for next time!

P.S. That doesn’t answer the spongy looking curd issue…

still thingk u have some kind of fermenting going on.