I’m a new cheese maker. I’ve made several 30 minute mozzarella’s and have recently made two Farmhouse Cheddar’s. (All cheese from the New England Cheese kits)

I would like to make a Stilton, but would rather not purchase a new Penicillin Roqueforti every time.

Is there a good way to grow and maintain a mold while it’s not in a cheese?

Any other considerations I should be aware of?

Thanks,

Nathan

Hello Nathan, and welcome to the forum.  I’m not a moldy cheese person; so I’m not going to pretend to give you pointers on this one.  I just wanted to welcome you aboard.  There are several folks here who actually enjoy moldy cheese and I’m sure some of them will help you along.  Keep us posted on your progress and we’ll all learn together.

Thanks Rich.

I’m still awaiting my first taste of the farmhouse cheddar, 3 months seems so long when you’re waiting for it to age.

i am by no means an expert at this, but as discussed in another thread, it’s possible to use a piece of mold from an existing cheese as a starting culture for another cheese—i did this with a piece of Point Reyes Original Blue cheese, and it worked very well.

i took about a 1” cube of the cheese, with a rich vein of blue in it, mashed it up with water, and mixed it in with the milk.

good luck!

As Pie said. If u dont want to buy a culture pack (lasts a long time, easy to keep in the freezer) then your fav local blue cheese will do.

I’m fine with buying a culture pack, but I’d like to make several cheeses from the same pack.

I make beer and I know you can take a small amount of yeast, and grow it so that there’s enough to be useful. I was wondering if the same process was available with cheese.

I think I’ll buy one of the packs and reserve some of it and try what pie mentioned.

Thanks everyone.

doc0tis - 09 April 2010 03:21 PM

I’m fine with buying a culture pack, but I’d like to make several cheeses from the same pack.

That’s what we do now. You don’t need to use the whole amount, take out what you need seal the original package and freeze it.
The blue mould cultures are very aggressive, so you don’t need much. I reduced the amount on my last blue and didn’t get a big mould growth, but the taste was just as good.
Just in passing, you don’t need to wait 3 months for a Farmhouse Cheddar. When I make that I only wait 1 month and the taste is good.

Thanks newbie. The information on the website made it sound like you needed the whole package.

One more note, Nathan.  Farmhouse cheddar can be eaten in as little as one month; so there’s no need to wait longer unless you just want to.  You might try one of them earlier and save the other (s) for a future feed.

I find its always worth waiting as long as possible since the flavour improves, even if it can be eaten in 30 days.

Thanks Neil,

I did try the cheddar and it was fine, very very creamy, with not a super strong old taste. Nothing seriously wrong with it though, so I’m going to age the other one for a minimum of 6 months and hopefully aim for more like a year.

The more u make the easier it is to age them longer and forget about some of them