1/2 gallon goats milk (Oak Knoll variety, about 9 days out from sell-by date)
1 T of (1 drop rennet diluted in 5 T water)
1 packet direct-set chevre starter culture
Heated milk to 80 +/- 2 degrees. Let cool to 76 +/- 2. Added rennet and culture. Let sit overnight (10 pm to 1 pm the next day). Transferred curds to lined molds. Draining now. Appear to be mostly drained, but will leave out 1 more day to see. Then planning to salt the cheeses, spray on the p. candidum, and see what happens.
I am enjoying getting into cheese that could kill you if you f it up. Though only if you screw it up really badly.
Update 12 am 2/1/10. Cheese still draining in molds. Was going to unmold today, but it turns out the p. candidum has to rehydrate for 16 hours. So we will get that moving tomorrow.
Update 10 pm 2/1/10. Today around 6, I pulled the cheese out of the molds. It had pulled away from the side of the molds, but there was a sort of thin scrim layer of cheese, then air, then the mass of cheese. Odd. I think it had to do with the way I poured it into the molds--gradually adding more as what was already there drained. You can see the layers in the cheese itself. It's a rough and shaggy cheese--I don't know if I should have smoothed the outside before adding the mold; it will have to grow around the the nooks and crannies, if it grows. Anyway, it's very tasty--tangy, and with the texture of a rich chevre. I salted the cheese and let it sit for ten minutes, and then sprayed it with the rehydrated p. candidum (1 cup water, 1/8 tsp p. candidum, 1/8 tsp salt). It's now in the cheese cave at 55 degrees and ? humidity. Unfortunately, there's no way to measure the humidity. But, in order to guarantee a modest level of dampness, the cheese sits on a reed mat which sits on a damp paper towel, and the whole assemblage is covered by a small plastic tupperware. And now we just have to wait--it's a little nerve-wracking. What if no white mold forms? What if I get other molds? I don't like waiting...
2/3/10 Grr. No mold yet. Resprayed today. Changed damp paper towel yesterday, but left it today--still damp.
2/5/10 My cheese is furry! I am doing the my cheese is furry dance! It's got pristine white fuzz all over. Yay. Next time will try inoculating the milk with the p. candidum, instead of spraying it on--see if it's faster.
2/11/10. After doing some reading, I patted the mold down on one of the cylinders, and flipped it. I tore the rind a bit in lifting it (with the aid of an offset spatula) off the cheese mat). It looks like I need another system--some kind of aging tray or something; maybe wire mesh on little feet?
2/13/10. Tasting notes! I cut the cheese I had patted down horizontally into three sections; the rounds have a thin rim of pale parchment colored cream, slightly glossy and drippy; the interior is white and thick and creamy. Solid. It breaks a little like a chevre. When I first cut it, it tasted musty, cavey, sour, peppery. The pepper (similar to blue cheese) was very strong at the back of the throat; it makes my tongue prickle. That has muted since the cheese has been open to the air for a few hours, but is still there. It really lingers. The musty taste is still there, too; the sour is stronger. The rind is thin and has a little snap to the texture when you bite into it. This is good, though the pepper is rather strong, and I would like the drippy stuff to penetrate further in. I will save the second round for next weekend, though--we'll see how it develops!
