This past week I had intended to make another batch of Stilton-style blue cheese. The reserves are running low and it is a favorite. Unfortunately I forgot to change my milk deliver to include a half-gallon of cream. Since I had three-and-a-half gallons of whole milk, I decided to try something new.

Morris has a recipe for what she calls castello blue. Obviously this is a blue cheese, like Stilton. And it only takes six or so weeks to age, unlike the three to four months that my Stilton-style takes. It seemed worth a try.

When I did a little digging, it looked to me like this was not a true castello blue. This recipe does not call for any additional cream, whereas Wikipedia and a few other places call it a triple-cream cheese. That means that it has a bunch of extra cream added to it, increasing the butterfat significantly.

So what if this is not the real deal. I decided that it was worth the short aging time to give it a try. In the meantime I am on the lookout for some commercial castello blue to compare it against.

On to manufacturing, which began Friday (15 February 2008). First, I did not have the exact culture that the recipe called for. I did have MM100, which is similar to one of the recommendations, MA4001/4002. It was lacking the streptococcus thermophilus, but that should not actually be a problem for the temperatures used during production. The other option was Meso Aroma B, which is basically MM100 with lactococcus mesenteroides. LM does not do much acidifying itself, but produces small gas pockets, which is good for mold growth in blue cheeses. (Morris is full of information like this, which is why my copy is full of bookmarks.)

On draining. When I made the cambozola last fall, I apparently did not pre-drain the curd enough. When it was in the molds, it adhered to the draining mat and made flipping it difficult and messy. I had the same problem again this time. I need to work out a better way of predraining a large batch like this.

My current method is to line a pasta insert (sort of a colander that is just slightly smaller than the pot it belongs to) with sterilized muslin. I sit this on a colander to lift it away from the whey that collects in the (non-sterilized) sink. The insert I have is a bit on the small side for such a large batch, so it takes time to load it up, waiting for whey to drain as I go. Since the sides are not pressing in, it drains more slowly than using a curd bag as Morris recommends. I do not really have anything that will support thirty pounds of curds and whey over a basin.

My current thought is that I should make a bag that will fit over a ten gallon food grade plastic bucket. That should provide adequate pressure and collect the whey for some other use rather than letting it run down the drain. Now I just need to locate the materials before the next batch of soft cheese.

Anyway, I am expecting to make my first taste of this cheese at the end of March. One of the four wheels somewhat fell apart during flipping, so that is going to be the sacrificial victim. I will let you know how that is.

Next week will probably be some type of Swiss-style. It has been a while since I made one of those. I have some new production ideas that I think will resolve some previous problems.

Tschuess.

Kristi managed to get some fairly good photos of the Cambozola this afternoon.

Yum. I know that there are those out there who do not appreciate moldy cheese. For myself, I am anxiously awaiting the day when this is ready to be cut in to.

Tschuess.

The Cambozola that I put together a few weeks ago is doing quite well. There was some blue mold growth early on, but that is fairly well covered by the white mold now. The skin is looking pretty good. It is still fairly firm and a taste of the cheese that stuck to the probe when I pierced it the other day showed the chemical taste of young Camembert. In a few more weeks that taste should go away and the center should soften nicely. I am really excited.

I am still trying to figure out a good way to photograph it. No conclusions yet on that, so no pictures of the development.

Gruyere. I sliced into the remaining wheel and removed the moldy bits. It is quite good. A bit on the hard side, but the fat content and flavor seems pretty much right on the money. As with the other wheels, it is a bit sharp but has a nice nutty flavor. Good stuff.

Tschuess.