Making Artisan Cheese (29 page)

PROCEDURE

Blend the cream and milk in a double boiler. Add
Penicillium roqueforti,
and stir thoroughly. Heat the milk mixture gradually to 86°F (30°C), then gently stir in the starter culture and cover. Let the milk ripen at the target temperature for thirty minutes.

Maintaining the target temperature of 86°F (30°C), add the diluted rennet, and stir for one minute. Cover and let the milk sit for ninety minutes at the target temperature. Check for a clean break (see
page 83
) by inserting a curd knife and making a single cut through the curds.

Line a colander with sterilized cheese cloth, and rest the colander in a deep catch bowl. Using a slotted spoon, ladle the curds into the colander. When finished, the curds should be resting in a pool of whey. Let the mixture sit for ninety minutes at the target temperature in a water bath.

Tie together the corners of the cheese cloth so that they form a ball. Tie the ends around a wooden spoon, and suspend it over a large pot so that the whey can drain freely from the curds. Let the curds drain for thirty minutes at room temperature. When the whey has stopped draining, place the curd mixture, still inside the cheese cloth, on a cheese board. Cover with a second cheese board, and weigh it down with a 1 gallon (3.8 L) bottle of water. Press the cheese overnight, at 70°F (21°C).

Sterilize a 2-pound (900 g) cheese mold, a cheese board, two drying mats, and cheese cloth. Remove the curds from the cheese cloth, and break them into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces. In a bowl, gently blend the salt into the curds using your fingers. Be careful not to work the curds too roughly.

Line the cheese mold with cheese cloth, and place it on top of one of the drying mats. Place the mat on top of the cheese board. Now gently pour the curds into the mold, and cover it with the second cheese mat. Turn the cheese by placing your hands on both the top and bottom of the cheese mats and flipping it over. Do this every fifteen minutes for two hours. Then let the cheese sit overnight at an ambient temperature of 70°F (21°C).

Turn the cheese four times a day for the next four days, keeping the cheese in the mold. (The molds will make the cheese keep its shape, as it has not been pressed.)

Sterilize your piercing tool, and poke twenty holes through the top and bottom of the cheese. Let the cheese rest on the cheese mat, cover it, and place it in your ripening box at 55°F (13°C) at 90 percent humidity.

Turn the cheese three times a week, and clean it off once a week by wiping it with a clean cloth dipped in brine solution. Age for four months at 55°F (13°C) at 85 percent humidity.

Yield: 2 pounds (900 g)

Blue Gouda

Typically blue cheeses have higher moisture content and looser structure to allow for better mold development. Gouda, because it is a washed-curd cheese, tends to have a tighter structure, which is less advantageous for mold development. However, it will work, giving the cheese a unique flavor and texture.

INGREDIENTS

In addition to the ingredients listed for Gouda, on
page 116
, you will need:

teaspoon of
Penicillium roqueforti

TECHNIQUES

For illustrated steps and tools, see Advanced Cheese-Making Techniques,
page 146
.

PROCEDURE

Follow the Gouda recipe on
page 116
, adding
Penicillium roqueforti
to the milk before you add the starter culture. After pressing the cheese, pierce it twenty-five times on the top and bottom. Immerse the cheese in brine, and follow the ripening method described in the Gouda recipe.

Yield: 2 pounds (900 g)

Though it’s not the cheese we usually envision when we think of blue cheese, Gouda can take on an additional level of flavoring when treated as a blue cheese.

Camembert

Camembert, so the legend goes, was the creation of a woman named Marie Harel. Marie, a resident of Normandy, France, in 1790, learned the cheese-making process from a priest. However, references to the cheese date as far back as 1569, making a historical cheese, indeed. Making Camembert takes practice and patience, because it requires a higher humidity than most cheeses for proper development.

INGREDIENTS

2 gallons (7.6 L) whole milk

8 tablespoons mesophilic mother culture, or ¼ teaspoon mesophilic direct-set culture

teaspoon
Penicillium candidum

¼ teaspoon liquid rennet, or ¼ tablet dry rennet dissolved in ¼ cup (60 ml) cool water

Cheese salt

TECHNIQUES

For illustrated steps and tools, see Advanced Cheese-Making Techniques,
page 146
.

PROCEDURE

Heat the milk to 90°F (32°C), then stir in the starter culture and
Penicillium candidum
. Cover, and let the milk ripen for ninety minutes.

Maintaining the target temperature of 90°F (32°C), add the diluted rennet, and stir for two minutes. Cover, and let sit at the target temperature for sixty minutes, or until you have a clean break (see
page 83
). Insert a curd knife into the curds, and make one cut to test for a clean break. While waiting for the curds to set, sterilize the cheese molds and mats in boiling water.

Once you have a clean break, cut the curds into ½" (about 1 cm) cubes, and gently stir for fifteen minutes, while maintaining target temperature. Let the curds settle for an additional fifteen minutes at target temperature, then drain off the whey to the level of the curds, using a sterilized measuring cup. The mixture will resemble very watery cottage cheese. (
Instructions continue on
page 146
.
)

The cool, creamy texture and flavor of Camembert cheese can be had by the home cheese maker who has the patience to age it properly.

Using Penicillium candidum to Make Cheese

There are two approaches to using
P. candidum
for making soft-ripened cheese. One is an external application, which is sprayed onto the cheese once when it has formed its shape. However, applying the mold with a spray bottle can be difficult, because it adds more moisture to the cheese, potentially making it too damp for the mold to grow properly. The other approach is to add the mold directly to the milk during the ripening process, thereby inoculating the milk and ensuring that the mold is distributed evenly throughout the milk. Adding the mold directly to the milk is easy, and it works for blue cheese; try it with soft-ripened cheeses as well.

Fat Percentages and Soft-Ripened Cheeses

It is a common question: What does 50 percent, 60 percent, and 70 percent fat mean when it comes to the soft-ripened cheeses, such as Brie and Camembert? This label is concerned with how the French measure fat content in cheese. The French look at fat in cheese as a percentage of the total dry matter, not of the entire cheese. This is known as Percent Maitre Gras.