The ship’s goin down cap’n!
Not sure what induced me to extend the renneting time but it was a rookie mistake with all the predictable results - chalky paste etc. etc. But we’ll build her back and the Sea Legs will be sailing the high seas again! Fair winds and tight lines my friends!
I thought the length of time in the vat after cutting the curd was the main data point for whether it is a soft or firm cheese. These spend quite a bit of time-90 minutes. But now I’m wondering whether it is the length of time before the cut after renting. These are flocc time x 4. Also this is a washed curd which I believe also lends itself to a more elastic cheese. I remove the cheeses from the molds at the end of the day (instead of leaving them in overnight). This causes them to slump down and develop those sexy curves. The ones on the upper shelf are the same cheese at about 3 weeks.
“Hey Mr. Tucker can we do a rum and cheese thing? Maybe get some of your cheese to rub on the inside of one of our rum barrels?”
“No Little Seal. That’s a terrible idea. And frankly somewhat terrifying.”
But his words did stick with me and these little Pont l’Eveques seemed like they had the “legs” to show off both the rum and the cheese. So I brushed a few in a morge of Goslings Old Rum, a little water and salt and sat them in these adorable little trays back in the ripening fridge. When I open the fridge door the “nose” of the rum floats out through the air and is absolutely wonderful!
Little Seal, I think we may have something here - sh*t this one could go viral island wide!
Only 11 days old but the Dig Its are already looking spectacular. I’m hand rubbing them down daily to keep the p.cam in check while the rind is developing. The beautiful rosy glow is the b.linens starting to come through. They have another 20 days or so in the ripening fridge after which they will be wrapped and put in the stock fridge for another month. The top rack is the Pont l’Eveques (Camembert and Brie’s crazy little sister). They are less than a week old and a potential answer to my bloomy disappointments. It’s the first time I’ve made them but so far Im loving everything about cray cray.
The molds are easily removed and the cheeses are firm enough to be handled. They will air dry for a couple of days before being salted and moved into the ripening fridge.
A simple yet crazily satisfying cheese to make. We will see how the ripening with the geo and b. Linens progresses.