I flipped my Stilton this evening and decided to put a few more holes in the top (what was previously the bottom) of the cheese. As I slid the skewer into the cheese my wife said “You just cracked it”.
Now at first I figured she meant that I had slid the skewer out of the side of the cheese but sure enough I had this large crack right down one side, from top to bottom.
I took a hot knife and tried smoothing the crack closed and did have moderate success in doing so. It’s certainly not perfect but it looks better than it did.
I’m a little bummed out since with this crack it will not be a true stilton. Stilton’s should have a completely uncracked smooth surface which is no longer a good definition of my cheese.
Even though this has happened I still have hopes for a very good blue cheese. This is quite possibly the prettiest cheese I’ve ever made. The 4’ diameter, 8” tall wheel is simply beautiful with it’s streaks of white and blue colors.
If nothing else, the crack will allow the blue to penetrate the interior of the wheel better than it would have with only the piercing. At least that’s the theory I’m using right now.
I’m still excited about this cheese. I need to get my humidity level up a little more since the cheese doesn’t seem as moist as it did just a day or two ago. I don’t want to get it too wet but I don’t want it to dry out either.
On the brighter side of my cheesemaking day, my swiss is really coming along. It is swelling (not overly so, but I do see some puffing of the wheel) and the elasticity is still excellent. The only problem that I am having is with surface mold which I continue to wipe each morning and evening with either a brine cloth or vinegar.
Even the rind on the side of the wheel is still very elastic. This is a first, since usually the side rind gets extermely hard. I can literally press down a good quarter to half an inch on the top and bottom of the wheel and watch it srping right back up when released.
I’m envisioning a nice, creamy, smooth texture with at least medium/small eyes. Of course I also sometimes envision myself as a cross between Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe, so this might not be a true representation of what the final cheese will turn out to be.
Next up…..Brie on Friday night.
Wish me luck and everyone have a great weekend.
Dave

Your stilton sounds dried out, it should be soft, did u press it ? or is it loosing too much moisture from low humidity or too high a temp?
Sounds good on your Swiss, realy hope it works for u :D

Neil…
The Stilton doesn’t seem drid out at all. It’s not “soft” but it is nice and moist. When I skewered it I would pull bits of cheese out when removing the skewer and it has a moist, creamy texture. The creaminess (is that a word?) seems to go from the middle of the cheese clear to the outer edges.
When the side cracked I was putting a hole very close (too close) to the edge of the cheese. It was a screw up that I won’t make in the future.
I chose not to use any pressing weight in the cheese. I know that some have tried doing so but every recipe I read said to let the curds compress via their own weight. This actually seemed to work out perfectly for me and other than some crevices in the log it held together beautifully.
I think my main problem is not lack of humidity but lack of attention. i just had to get that last hole punched in the cheese even though I should have known it was too close to the side.
Oh well, live and learn.
Thanks for your input though. I welcome all advice and suggestions on my quest for the perfect cheese.
Dave

Oh, forgot to mention that I’m holding the temperature at 49 - 51 degrees F. If anything I think this is a little cool but it’s the upper limit of my wine fridge. I would love to keep it at about 58 degrees for the first month but I figure this is at least workable. The spread of bluing has slowed down a lot since putting it in the fridge but it still continues to grow.
Three main things I’m trying to avoid with this cheese is melting it down from too high of a humidity ......drying it out from too low of a humidity and the smell of death associated with too high of a ripening temperature.
What I’m trying to accomplish is simply the best blue cheese anyone has ever tasted. As you can see, I keep my goals simple.

Good to hear, yup natural “pressing” works nice in that it creates little caves in the cheese that allows the bloom to form.