Okay, here we go again…..
Let me preface this by saying that my oldest daughter is convinced that I have obsessive compulsive disorder since I will spare no amount of effort in perfecting anything I try. It’s seldom that I reach perfection but with enough work (and questions and stressing out) I usually do find an acceptable compromise.
This is a question/comment on the first Camembert style of cheese that I’ve made.
Overall I am happy with my first attempt. The flavor is there (quite good, actually) and it really does turn out to be a nice looking cheese yet I do have a problem that I’d like to solve.
The texture in the inner two thirds of the cheese is pretty much right on for one that is two weeks old (after wrapping). I would describe it as being smooth and creamy while at the same time having a very slight crumbly texture as well. I knew I was opening this cheese a little early but I wanted to taste at different stages to see what suited my taste.
My problem lies in the outer third of the wheel….
When I cut this cheese open there was actual white liquid that ran out of the area closest to the rind. This liquid, looked exactly like raw milk although it had the musty camembert flavor of mushrooms.
A little way farther in, the cheese had the consistancy of a thick yogurt and also had a nice flavor. A little bit farther in the texture became more firm and had the smooth/slightly crumbly texture that I described earlier.
As I said, all in all I’m happy with this first attempt. The only other Camembert I’ve tried was a generic supermarket variety and it didn’t have near the flavor of my own.
After tasting this cheese a couple of days ago, I have become a great fan of both the flavor and texture, especially the texture of the rind. I’ve been eating small portions with a glass of Pinot Noir and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.
Does anyone have any idea as to why I would get this white liquid from the edges of the cheese? I understand that Camembert ripens from the outside in, so it does seem logical that the outer areas would ripen more quickly and more completely than the inner area. It’s just that I’ve seen samples on the internet of Camemberts with the thick yogurt like consistancy throughout the entire wheel and this is what I’d like mine to look like.
My ripening temperature has stayed pretty close to 45 degrees thoughout the process. Now I’m wondering if this is still a little bit too high.
I’m wondering if I need to move the wheels to our regular kitchen fridge after wrapping to try to slow the process down a little bit more.
At least now I know that I can enjoy a proper Camembert and in fact I’d have to say it is quickly becoming one of my favortie cheeses. The supermarket variety just didn’t do it for me and I only made these because they seemed like a challenge and a lot of fun.
By the way, happy new year to you all and happy, successful cheese making in the coming year.

Dave

This is exactly the same problem I had with my first Camemberts, and I learned that once they are wrapped they need to go into the regular fridge at 38 or so to slow them down.  It is exacerbated by an initial moisture level that is too high.

Once I started ripening at the cooler temperature, the texture was much better.  I find it generally takes 4-6 weeks after the full bloom of mold.  If you want something that ripens faster, you can make smaller cheeses in a St Marcellin mold.  Use about half the curd volume and you will have a cheese that is smaller in diameter and thinner.  I find they are ready in 3 weeks or so.

I’m sure there are other conditions that can cause this, but I think what I described is pretty common.

FineWino…
Thanks for the advice. My 4 wheels are now in my regular fridge (center meat crisper) with a bowl of water and a paper towel to wick the moisture. These wheels have spent a week in a fridge, ranging from 43 to 46 degrees but hopefully I’ve caught it in time to stop the problem.
I did notice a slight softness at the edge of a couple of the wheels but nothing severe. With any luck they will slow down and ripen properly.
Thanks again and I’ll be sure to post how these turn out.

Dave

The cheese normally ripens from the outside in because the culture is sprayed on the out side after the cheese is formed. I always add it to the batch and found it evens out the process more. How is the air supply, if it suffocates it will liquefy. If its too warm it will generally give off a ammonia type smell. Almost what one has to realize and is not thought off is that the cheese process can can produce its own heat like a fermentation. so if its 46 outside, the cheese may be a few deg warmer inside.

Guys,
Here’s a pic of one of the wheels from my first attempt at Camembert. I just opened this a couple of minutes ago and decided to show you the texture defect I’ve been talking about.
As you can see, upon cutting this cheese, the liquid came running out from the edges, but despite this problem the cheese tastes great.
I’ve moved my other wheels to our household fridge and will leave them there for 3 -  4 weeks before cracking the first one. Hopefully the cooler temp. will take care of this problem.

This reminds me of one I did and it didnt get soft at all, have to go over my pics to see what one it was but I got nothing but a hard core. Im guessing something didnt agree with the culture and stopped it dead short. maybe I used too much salt or the batch of salt I used had higher levels of iodine then normal (bad for cheese) The higher concentrations of culture on the surface combated whatever it didnt like to a low level in the cheese.
Those are my thoughts on that.

One thing that might be the problem on this particular batch is that I used flora danica without any other Mesophilic starter. I’ve since read that although flora danica is a mesophilic culture, it has to be combined with some other mesophilic in both camembert and brie.
I’m also sure that my ripening temps were off (according to what FineWino has said) so I’m making necessary adjustments to my next batch.
I do like the cheese. It is both unusual and very tasty so I’m hoping to turn out something of quality in the very near future.
Thanks for your input, Neil.
Dave