Yes, I'm down another rabbit hole...cheesemaking!

[SherryT]

I made a small batch of large curd cottage cheese (with culture/rennet) and it turned out surprisingly good, so I'm like WTH, let's do this!

Using Gavin Webber's SIMILAR to Gorgonzola Dulce recipe (nod to the EU Cheese Police!), I made a 1 gal batch. I harvested my blue mold from a store-bought Danish blue as I didn't want to spend $30 for Penicillium roqueforti and then have this whole new thing end up being a bust and I used Aroma B instead of Flora Danica as my meso culture.

Put it in the cave on Jan 29th...5 days later (yesterday), I saw blue:

...and yes, I squealed like a tween girl!

Today, Day 6, this is what it looks like:

Anyway, so far, so good...I hope!

According to Gavin, I should pierce it around Day 10-ish. His was covered in mold at that point, so I'll do the same.

Anyway, don't ask me what I'm gonna do with a fridge-full of cheese, but I'm diggin' this so far!

Later!

 

[SmokinEdge]

I made a small batch of large curd cottage cheese (with culture/rennet) and it turned out surprisingly good, so I'm like WTH, let's do this!

Using Gavin Webber's SIMILAR to Gorgonzola Dulce recipe (nod to the EU Cheese Police!), I made a 1 gal batch. I harvested my blue mold from a store-bought Danish blue as I didn't want to spend $30 for Penicillium roqueforti and then have this whole new thing end up being a bust and I used Aroma B instead of Flora Danica as my meso culture.

Put it in the cave on Jan 29th...5 days later (yesterday), I saw blue:

View attachment 687784

...and yes, I squealed like a tween girl!

Today, Day 6, this is what it looks like:
View attachment 687785

Anyway, so far, so good...I hope!

According to Gavin, I should pierce it around Day 10-ish. His was covered in mold at that point, so I'll do the same.

Anyway, don't ask me what I'm gonna do with a fridge-full of cheese, but I'm diggin' this so far!

Later!

That’s awesome Sherry! Nice work.

 

[LoydB]

Welcome to the rabbit hole! That looks great.

 

[SherryT]

That’s awesome Sherry! Nice work.

Thanks!

Cross your fingers with me that it doesn't turn out tasting like feet because I didn't use "proper" mold spores!

I'm telling you now, this whole waiting-thing is gonna be a challenge for me...I am not known for my patience!

 

[Brokenhandle]

Well they make stinky cheeses as well! I'm along for the ride.

Ryan

 

[Fueling Around]

Looks good.
I was wondering what's been keeping you busy.

 

[indaswamp]

Congratulations on making the leap into cheese. Those wheels look great so far.

 

[crazymoon]

ST, Looks good ,I love cheese but I am avoiding that rabbit hole ! :)

 

[jhend]

Thanks!

Cross your fingers with me that it doesn't turn out tasting like feet because I didn't use "proper" mold spores!

I'm telling you now, this whole waiting-thing is gonna be a challenge for me...I am not known for my patience!

I made a small batch of large curd cottage cheese (with culture/rennet) and it turned out surprisingly good, so I'm like WTH, let's do this!

Using Gavin Webber's SIMILAR to Gorgonzola Dulce recipe (nod to the EU Cheese Police!), I made a 1 gal batch. I harvested my blue mold from a store-bought Danish blue as I didn't want to spend $30 for Penicillium roqueforti and then have this whole new thing end up being a bust and I used Aroma B instead of Flora Danica as my meso culture.

Put it in the cave on Jan 29th...5 days later (yesterday), I saw blue:

View attachment 687784

...and yes, I squealed like a tween girl!

Today, Day 6, this is what it looks like:
View attachment 687785

Anyway, so far, so good...I hope!

According to Gavin, I should pierce it around Day 10-ish. His was covered in mold at that point, so I'll do the same.

Anyway, don't ask me what I'm gonna do with a fridge-full of cheese, but I'm diggin' this so far!

Later!

You will love it. Beware this rabbit hole is bottomless. :D)

 

[SherryT]

Just thought I'd add a few more pics of the blue's progression...

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

I stopped taking pics at Day 10 as I cannot see much of a difference afterward.

Gavin says to turn them once a week from here on out, but I'm still turning them daily (I'm scared to death I'm gonna starve them of oxygen and get the dreaded "ammonia" smell (according to r/cheesemaking on Reddit anyway).

Now if I can just decided on what to make next! What I "want" to make is cheddar, but the thought of standing in front of my stove and stirring something constantly for 45+ minutes is not something I'm looking forward to...at all.

Later!

 

[JLeonard]

Looks good. But I dont have the patience to wait out the process.

Jim

 

[SherryT]

Ne

Looks good. But I dont have the patience to wait out the process.

Jim

Neither do I, but my love of blue cheese is stronger than my impatience.

Let me re-phrase that...my love of GOOD blue cheese is stronger than my impatience. HOWEVER, if this turns out tasting like feet, I will be SORELY vexed!

 

[jhend]

Ne

Neither do I, but my love of blue cheese is stronger than my impatience.

Let me re-phrase that...my love of GOOD blue cheese is stronger than my impatience. HOWEVER, if this turns out tasting like feet, I will be SORELY vexed!

The way you inoculated your blue i.e Harvested the blue from store bought cheese I'm sure it will be excellent. The only time I have made a blue that was unpalatable was my first make. I have liquid Penicillium roqueforti mold culture that is very difficult to measure for small batches and is very aggressive. Just incase you are not in free fall into the rabbit hole here is an excellent resource for everything cheese. https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=unread

 

[SherryT]

The way you inoculated your blue i.e Harvested the blue from store bought cheese I'm sure it will be excellent. The only time I have made a blue that was unpalatable was my first make. I have liquid Penicillium roqueforti mold culture that is very difficult to measure for small batches and is very aggressive. Just incase you are not in free fall into the rabbit hole here is an excellent resource for everything cheese. https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=unread

I'm aware of cheeseforum.org and agree that it's a treasure trove of info, but I REALLY wish the links provided in the posts were still good...all I get is a 404 error (I've yet to click a link that still works, even from "newer" posts).

It's frustrating when someone says "Here's a pic of the problem" (click link, 404 error) and then "Here is a pic of the solution" (click link, 404 error).

I DO read the posts when they come up in a search...it's about the only place I can even HOPE to find info regarding pH markers and what I should be aiming for.