OK, I started my blue last weekend so by the time 60 days pass we should hopefully all have something to celebrate ... Bit like waiting for a new baby ;o) Take pictures!
Product of 4L of milk, one week out of the chezzels. They were twice the height, lily-white and cylindrical like yours, pie. I kinda like the barrel-shaped truckles they’ve become ;o) No blue mold evident yet.
on the subject of the cheeses being that cylindrical plug-shape—do any of you guys ever run into the problem that your yield of curds doesn’t quite fit in the molds that claim to be the right size? for example, i always make 2 gallons’ worth of cheese, and my press and molds all say they are the right size for that, but i always end up having to squish down or wait for it to sit for a few hours before it will actually fit.
for the blue i made yesterday, it was a couple of inches over the top of the mold, and i had to wait/squish intermittently for several hours before it was flat and i could turn it over. it makes me worry, because the recipes say to turn the cheese over every 15 minutes for the first couple of hours.
likewise, i’ve had the problem several times where the curds filled my 2 gallon ‘cheesypress’ to the point where i couldn’t fit the chaser and the spring in for quite a while.
Hi there-
Well, I am not sure if it’s a problem that your curds don’t fit the mold initially, as I’ve seen a lot of squishing down in various videos, and I’ve seen a few blue cheese recipes that even call for very light weights at the beginning. I’M NO EXPERT THOUGH!
So, here are a couple of photos of my effort, started on the same day as yours, Pie. I am following a combo of Ricki Carroll and Fankhauser’s recipes, which is, I’m sure, bound to doom me… The thermostat in my camper fridge is on the blink (freezing uncontrollably!) so I’ve set this cheese up in a basic cooler in the garage. It’s holding steady at 61 degrees F, which is considerably higher than either recipe calls for, though with a dish of water I’ve got the humidity right. The first photo is fresh out of the mold, the other is 7 days old. I was shocked, SHOCKED! to see this kind of mold and have no idea if I’m headed in the right direction since I have the temp held so high. I wonder what the other cheeses you guys are working on look like now???
Um, is this a Cheese-a-long?! (as in, sing-a-long?)
Bobbie
wow, that is a lot of mold!
obviously i have not made blue cheese before, so i have no idea whether that’s good or not :)
i poked the holes in mine on Tuesday, and so far i’m not seeing any mold, but i am not expecting to for another several days.
temp is 55F and the humididity has been between 70 and 88%, kept it in a closed container for a while wrapped in a cloth, but now it’s sitting in the bottom of my cheese fridge with a glass of water next to it. everything else in the fridge is waxed, so i figure it’s safe enough.
it has a slight smell of Point Reyes Blue to it, so i’m hopeful :)
u have to be carefull about in ripening too fast (too warm), or it might develop an ammonia smell. Mold should start showing in 3 days, prolific culture will just speed it up.
Wow Pie- that’s beautiful! Keep the photos coming! I’m resigned to making a new one when I fix the mini fridge in the camper; I’m sure my temp is too high and it’s too late to salvage it- will go smell it now…
Bobbie
I’m not a moldy cheese person, but as the the question of curd not fitting the mold: Different recipes result in different curd size. My Monterey Jack, for instance, is a lot bulkier than a cheddar. Even when pressed, not all cheeses are the same thickness. As a solution, just cut a new mold that is a bit longer.
PS, I’d recommend against the Cheesy Press. I used one initially, and found that the spring system produces inconsistent pressure over time as the spring pushes the cheese and decompresses itself. There are lots of press ideas in past threads, and you can make one for yourself that will better suit your needs.
and yeah, i’m not really liking the cheesypress either. i just find it hard to really know how many turns i’ve turned the crank on the spring when i have to kind of jam the spring in there because my press is overfull. i wish he’d made the tube taller.
i have been looking for a free/cheap set of disc weights on craigslist; when i get those, i will just use them instead.
Wow Pie- that’s beautiful! Keep the photos coming! I’m resigned to making a new one when I fix the mini fridge in the camper; I’m sure my temp is too high and it’s too late to salvage it- will go smell it now…
Bobbie
Don’t throw it out even if it does have an ammonia smell! I’ve had cheeses with a strong ammonia smell and the outside was well past my ability to cope, but the runny inside was just delicious. Just put a peg on your nose and taste the inside.
