Another Blue Cheese update!
Today my wife and I cracked open the blue cheese that I made quite a while ago. This series of posts describes the process and each update. It was a bit of a mess when I wrapped it up a few months ago, but it looked quite nice today when I unwrapped it and cut out the first wedge.
Kim said, “This cheese is the best blue cheese she has ever tasted!” Well I can certainly vouch for that. It was divine. There was a slight blue marbling throughout, and a little bit of red and white mould on the exterior which added to the flavour. It was really a cross between a sharp brie and a soft blue. We demolished half of it for supper because it was just so good. It went well with a nice bottle of Merlot!
So it just goes to show that even in failure there is always something worth saving! May I suggest that if you do have a blue cheese disaster, persevere with the remnants. It will taste like heaven if kept wrapped for a few months in the normal refrigerator.
Has anyone else saved a blue cheese from disaster?
Hi Gavin…. Since I started making my own cheese in December, I have so far enjoyed 2 Camenbert, 1 ricotta salata and many balls of mozzarella. I want to make a wheel of blue cheese and I heard that there are different ways of making it. The first way is the standard way by adding the penicillium roquforti to the milk while processing, and I also heard that you can make it from previously made blue cheese. I was told that you crumble the blue cheese with milk and then pour it over your wheel of curds that has been poked with air holes. Have you ever heard of this process and if so, is this the correct way?
Thank you, best regards….Frank Daniels
Hi Frank, well done on the varieties you have made so far.
As for that alternative method of making blue, I was once told by someone that you could use the blue mould out of and existing blue cheese, and add it to the milk at the beginning of the process, however I have not tried it.
I stick to the tried and true inoculation method as per the recipes that I have shared on this blog.
Sorry that I can't be of more help.
Gav
Hi Gav, just thought you would like to know how things are turning out. My blue cheese wheels are about 2 weeks old as of today. Both wheels are covered with a heavy coating of blue mold. They really look great, I wanted to send you a photo but havent been able to figure out how to attach it to this response. i am going to scrape the mold off of them and continue to both age and scrape. I dissolved the starter blue cheese in my 4 gallons of warmed milk and it worked out perfectly. Considering the fact that the starter piece of cheese only cost about a dollar, I think it is more economical to use a starter piece of blue rather than spending $20.00 for penicllium roqutorti mold. My fingers are crossed so that the cheese will develope into a great tasting aged Blue. I'll keep you posted and thank you again for your help in this little test.
Frank naplesfrank3@aol.com
Thanks Caitlin. It is nice to hear that I am not the only one with a few disasters that turn out for the best in the end. I believe it is more art than science!
Gav
I did a blue a couple months ago that didn't turn out very blue (the aeration holes didn't really work and no blue mold developed in the paste), but it was still delicious (more like a brie). I think I got confused about the aging time and only gave it about 2 months. Sounds like I should have let it go longer. It's true though – very few cheese "mistakes" are inedible and most are still tasty, even if they aren't what you intended!