There should be some ripe stiltons around......

[Rik vonTrense]

Anyone had a taste of the stiltons that were made a few weeks back ??

If so how did they taste.??


.

[Wohoki]

Unfortunately, due the hot weather and having only a small house with no-where cool to keep my cheese while it matured........it just collapsed into a rank, mouldy mess.

I may wait for the Autumn to try again, and stick to small batches of fresh cream cheeses until then, or I might try to pick up an old fridge to put in the shed, and use some form of cooling (cooler-blocks, or frozen bottles of water) in hot weather.


I am undetered, however. I find the transformation from milk to curd to cheese fascinating (and if I gave up on these things, I wouldn't make sausages as often as I do, as my first few gos were dreadful )

[saucisson]

I'm taking mine to the in-laws at the weekend, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Dave

[markh]

My first attempt had its 6 week needling last weekend - I am booking a 'port and stilton' evening (a long held tradition now alas lapsed ) for week 9 - if the paste on the needle is anything to go by it will be spectacular.

Biggest problem is resisting the temptation to try it, I have a second cheese about a week behind so might sample one first (just to check the flavour of course...)

At the moment the rind, well, frankly isn't at the mo, its all really soft. It's been sitting in a covered box at about 10C, is it time to take off the cover to allow a rind to form?

BTW, Wohohi, I have been maturing my stiltons in a 12 bottle wine cooler - it was hopeless for wine (for me Red should be room temp and white should be ibelow zero) but I reckon it could handle up to 6 cheeses using Riks 1 gallon & 1 pint Cream recipe. (or mix and match with the wine )

[Rik vonTrense]

Hi Mark...


Well done it is now time to dry out a bit but don't let it crack.....just leave it uncovered but don't forget to turn it over every day.


.I usually leave it uncovered for as long as i can providing it does't start to crack.

Bon Appetitte...............

[jenny_haddow]

Had a look at my goats cheese and camembert just now, they are about four weeks old, and I've had them in my dairy fridge at 45f, wrapped in cellophane. The goats cheese is really soft now, one is quite runny so I had to give it a road test! Fabulous flavour, and a lovely creamy consistency.
The camembert looks to be maturing nicely and I'll leave that for 2 weeks or so before I cut into it, but I think the goats cheese will need eating sooner, it seems to be ripening faster.
Stiltons are all gone, all had a good strong flavour, one I thought was too salty, perhaps I salted it twice, I can lose the plot sometimes!
I'm waiting now until I get back from France before I set off any more cheese when I plan to make a good selection from all the recipes Rik has posted.

Cheers

Jen

[Rik vonTrense]

I will ask you an honest question.............

Are you glad you made the effort to make cheeses ? and is it a skill you are now pleased you have acquired.

They roll some goat cheese logs in wood ash it suppose to be a gourmet practice....

[jenny_haddow]

Honest answer? Thrilled to bits!

I took my two step daughters some years ago to watch a guy in West Wales make cheese, he'd been a musician or an actor and had given it up to make the most fabulous cheese. Given that the girls show little interest in anything other than shopping and popular culture, it was the only time I have ever seen them genuinely interested in something.

I spent some time last Autumn near La Rochelle, goats cheese country, and had the woodash variety, and they seemed to be threaded on a long straw as well. Divine stuff, thanks for showing us how to do it, and cracking the 'mystery'

Cheers

Jen

[Wohoki]

Rik, for my part I have loved every part of it, even if I have yet to make a stilton that can be eaten. I have made several cream cheeses, a soft goat cheese, and even managed to get a couple of pints of un-pasturised ewes milk that I made into an ash-rolled log that is awaiting my parents visit on Sunday.
Like Jen, I would like to express my gratitude for all the advice, and please keep it up. I wouldn't be doing it without your guidance.

[saucisson]

"Like Jen, I would like to express my gratitude for all the advice, and please keep it up. I wouldn't be doing it without your guidance."

Couldn't have put it better myself, Wohoki.

Dave

[vinner]

Hey, Rik, I haven't even made any yet, but I have my supplies, and all I need is the time and space in the wine cabinet. However, I too appreciate all of your advice. Please do keep it up.

Tim

[Rik vonTrense]

It is very nice to know that you have contributed to someones pleasure in life and making cheese is a skill that you will build on because all hard cheeses are made a similar way and when they were first made it was all a hit a miss affair.

It depended on the milk from which cows and from what area and how long you cooked it and to what temperature you raised it to....

Then how long you kept it in the whey to increase it's acidity and like Gouda and Edam whether you diluted the whey with water of the same temperature and so decreased the acidity.

How much and how fast you removed the whey from the curd and how you pressed it gradually increasing the pressure over a period of time.

And of course how and where you mature it and for how long. Usually the longer a cheese is matured the stronger the flavours get,.

So if you like a mild cheddar then it can be made like a Lancashire cheese and salted for flavour and keeping qualities and used inside a week if necessary.

So really like your bacon can be cured in a week then so can your cheese be masde in a week and your sourdough bread nurtured and made with a week....what more does a man need ?

Don't answer that last question......


Soft cheeses that do not require a heavy press or any press at all can make a very nice cheese for quicker consumption.


./

[jenny_haddow]

If you ever find yourself in Pembrokeshire this place is an interesting afternoon out if you like your cheese.http://www.welshcheese.co.uk/contact/default.asp

[markh]

Rik,

I must agree with the rest, it is great to have been given a chance to learn a new skill and an appreciation of the subtle techniques of the cheesemaker.

What makes it possible is the time and effort of people like yourself, passing on your hard-earned experience (despite the often dumb questions of the student )

I would also like to thank Franco for hosting this forum to allow the skills and recipes to be distributed, it is a real treat that it is not just an adjunct to his business but a vibrant and informative site in its own right.

[saucisson]

A good point Mark

If you ever find yourself in Pembrokeshire this place is an interesting afternoon out if you like your cheese.http://www.welshcheese.co.uk/contact/default.asp

We're off to Pembrookshire this summer so I think I know what we'll be doing on one day (unless I get outvoted!)

Dave