first time cheesemaking

[andrewqld]

Hi guys,
I have been reading these pages for some months and decided to have a go at the Blue Stilton step by step with pics. I had a hard time finding junket tablets as they are not produced in Australia anymore, however some of the ladies that work for the company that manufactured them have started a small cottage industry and sell the product in powdered form, YAY.

This is my first attempt at cheesemaking and I was surprised that the clean break came after only 20 minutes and was even more surprised that the curds went almost all the way to the bottom of the pot, is that normal? or did I use too much Rennet?

I have to say at this point , into my first 30 min rest the curds smell GREAT (another surprise) my hand smells like a dairy !.

The curds are starting to sink as I type and I will give a full follow up tomorrow.
Even my teenage kids are finding the process fascinating

Thanks to everyone here for helping me to start this project.

Cheers
Andrew

[saucisson]

Sounds good to me although 20 minutes is quite fast.

[andrewqld]

My cheeses are now sitting in a sealed tupperware container in the fridge, what is the best temperature to store the cheese at for matureing and mold growth? I am an all grain home brewer and my brewfridge has a seperate thermostat that I can set for whatever temp I like so I will be able to use this for my cheese.

I have 2 x 3 1/2 inch rounds, and I am looking forward to sharing these with my family at Xmas.

Cheers
Andrew

[saucisson]

Ideally you want 7-10C in a RH of 95%. The latter can be achieved by keeping a bowl inverted over the cheese.

Dave

[andrewqld]

Thanks Dave, I have my temp set at 9c and the cheeses are in a sealed tupperware container, thanks for the information I will be making some more this weekend.

cheers
Andrew

[andrewqld]

I have another silly question,
After I turned my stilton out of the mould I put it straight into the fridge with the temp set at 10c, is that right? or should I have left it at room temperature until the mold started to appear?

I put it straight into the fridge because room temp here is between 24c-34c.

Cheers
Andrew

[saucisson]

It's best in the fridge, now if you were here where it's 10-12 C it would be another matter.

Dave

[andrewqld]

Thanks for the reply Dave, here is a picture of my cheeses on the second day out of the mould, not much action in the way of mold growing but the edges are taking on a yellowish color as apposed to the white they displayed when I first made them.

I hope this turns out ok.

Cheers
Andrew

[BlueCheese]

Looks great!

[jenny_haddow]

It certainly does look great. They look in good shape and seem to be doing the right things.

I've had curds form fairly quickly with some of my cheese, but I've still left them to 'cook' for the full time. I think it helps develop flavour. Anyway these are looking good, you'll enjoy the end product I'm sure.

Jen

[andrewqld]

Hi Jen,
I hope I enjoy the end product too, it's very hard waiting for these to develope and I will post some more pics if/when they start to bloom.
I think I might have a go at Franco's 7 day Lancashire this weekend, I think the bug has bitten and I have been infected by this hobby! So a fast turn around hard cheese is in order.
Oh, and thanks for the compliment BlueCheese.

Cheers
Andrew

[jenny_haddow]

Hi Andrew,

The Lancashire recipe of Franco's is a good one. I've made several of these and you can tuck into them pretty quickly, whereas it's well worth biding your time with the stiltons.

Looks like the bug has bitten and you've become a 'cheeser', one spin off is that turning the curds is great for the skin on your hands.

Jen

[andrewqld]

A quick update 7 days after making this cheese the mold has really started to take off, sorry for the poor picture quality.

Starting to smell good too!

Cheers
Andrew

[saucisson]

Electric blue cheese

Dave

[andrewqld]

Electric blue cheese

Dave

Yes, I was wondering if blue mold was normal, any ideas? I used a piece if "Blue Vein Cheese" as the culture but it didn't look that blue. Hopefully I won't poison myself .

Cheers
Andrew