Guys,
My Stilton has been in the press for two days now and I can’t believe how good it smells each time I give it a flip. I honestly think I could dig into this right now, even before the bluing takes place.
My question is this:
How long does it take before I start to see some bluing on the cheese? I’ve seen some people report the beginning of blue mold on the third day but is that the third day out of the press or the third day from the actual making of the cheese?
The reason that I’m asking is because I’m not real confident in the mold that I used. I’ve had this mold for a little under two years but it has been in the refrigerator instead of in the freezer.
Some of my other cultures are over two years old and still work beautifully but they have been stored in the freezer since day one.
On the bright side, my curds are compressing nicely and the amount of whey coming out of the cheese is becoming less and less each time I give it a turn.
I’m really hoping this cheese turns out so I can start making it on a regular basis.
If someone could give me an idea on when I should start seeing the bluing action and also give me some insight on when it is acceptable to remove it from the mold I would appreciate it.
I have not used any weight on this cheese other than turing the mold and allowing it to compress by it’s own weight.
Thanks in advance.
Dave

3-7 days, depending on how strong the culture is in the mix. I add mine to the starter I make the night before so its nice and strong.
As long as its kept cold and sealed it should be ok, best way to test it is use it, if it works then great no prob, if not, buy new
At the beginning u say its in the press and at the end u say its not being weighed down??. Proper stilton is not pressed its just granulated then fliped in a tall tube so its presses itself.
Going to check the one I made 8 months ago, the little one that was the leftover in foil is about gone, have used it in sandwiches, soups and popcorn Mmmmmmm, so il post a pic tomorrow on the barrel version, see if its dried out, cant believe time has flown so quickly

Neil….
First of all, thanks for the response. Hopefully I’ll see some bluing happening over the next few days.
I did say press, but I meant mold. I have it in an eight inch tall 4” mold and am allowing it to compress via it’s own weight.
So far the curds have shrunk by about a third of their original size in the mold. I take it that this is a good sign of the curds compressing and knitting together.
I absolutely love all blue cheeses and have a cousin who woud lop off an arm for a good stilton.  Because of this I’m sincerely hoping this turns out so I can share it with him.
He was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) about 7 years ago and was given 3 to 5 years to live at that time. I plan on taking this cheese along with a nice bottle of Cab and having a nice evening with him.
Thanks for the information and good luck on the one you are getting ready to crack and I’ll be looking forward to the pics.
I’m buying my wife a nice digital camera for Christmas so soon I’ll try uploading some photos of my own. The camera we currently have doesn’t take very good pictures so I’m waiting.
I did make a very nice looking gouda today that is about to come out of the brine bath. I used my newly aquired double strength cheese coloring (from The Dairy Connection) and the color looks absolutely perfect.
The coloring that I was buying from Leeners is nothing compared to this stuff. I was using over a 1/4 tsp. of the Leeners coloring to get just a slight hint of a yellow color.
With far less than an 1/8 tsp. of this stuff I have a beautiful yellow orange color that actually looks like commercial cheese.
Also, I was paying close to $6.00 for a tiny little bottle of the color from Leeners and bought a full pint of color from Dairy Connection for $11.65. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is by far the better deal.
Again, thanks for your response.
Dave

LOL, yup one thing I learn’t on this journey is u have to try things out . If your adventurous then u might try what I did by mistake and add brie and blue cultures together, what a smooth taste it is, at least this batch I made (8 months ago).

Okay, I slid the mold up about 3/4 of the way off of my stilton this evening and was too afraid to go any farther. Although the cheese has knitted together, it looks so fragile I was afraid to remove the mold completely.
I know from reading previous posts that this cheese always looks fragile when removing from the mold but I’m so used to pressed cheeses that I just didn’t have the confidence to totally remove it. Maybe in another couple of days I’ll be able to take it off and smooth the cheese out with a hot knife.
My main concern now is seeing some bluing form on this cheese. I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve stressed so much over one of my creations. More than likely it was when I made my very first cheese ( a natural cottage variety), but this one might even top that.
I actually dreamt about this cheese melting down on me last night. Sheesh, what happened to my dreams about Cindy Crawford begging me to ask her out on a date?!?!? I really need to calm down a little about this Stilton. I mean sheesh, it’s two gallons of milk. If it fails I’ll simply give it another try with some adjustments made.
I think that I’ve always felt that to consider myself a “true” cheesemaker I have to make two cheeses turn out good.
One would be this Stilton and the other a swiss. So far my swiss cheeses have been relative failures in that they tasted okay but were extremely dry and did not swell. I’m hoping the one I have on the kitchen island will take care of that part of the equation and that the Stilton will surpass all expectations.
All in all I love this hobby but with every hobby I’ve ever tried it has become a bit of an obsession.
I remember when I first started making homemade ice cream I went through several hundred dollars worth of milk before I was completely satisfied with my results. I just couldn’t get over the fact that commercial made ice cream was smooth and creamy and all homemade varieties that I’d tasted were grainy and melted almost immediatey when taken out of the freezer.
My goal in cheesemaking is to turn out a cheese that not only surpasses the commercial varieties but also my own expectations. I’ve accomplished that on my Gouda and Colby varieties but I still have some work to do on some of the more complicated recipes.
By the way….I now make a butter pecan ice cream that makes people beg for more. In fact I got scolded last weekend for showing up at a cousins birthday party without bringing a gallon of it along.
I admit that I have obsessive tendencies that border on anal retentive if not out right obsessive compulsive disorder,  but it does allow me to excel in most of my undertakings. Of course there are always failures that need to be corrected but with enough patience and money, (and worrying and stressing), I am usually able to accomplish my goals.
I really do appreciate all of the suggestions and advice that I’ve received on this site. I learned long ago that to succeed you need to not only rely on your own understanding but on that of people who have a greater knowledge than yourself.
Thanks everyone and good luck in your endeavors.
Dave

LOL, yup practice makes perfect. I spend a couple hundred dollars just in start up with a variety of cultures etc. however once your out of the gate it gets easy. its not hard to beat the taste of the commercial cheeses, one thing that I noticed is that when I eat the commercial cheese it feels like lead weight, however when I eat mine I feel energized, I would account that on the live enzymes and that the commercial stuff is dead due to processing and preservation.
(by the way I make ice cream as well and its like going back to chemistry school )