Thursday, September 29, 2011

Port Salut Already Getting "Pudgy"

It's only been 4 days since I made the wheel of Port Salut and already it's gotten a little shorter and is beginning to bulge around the side...kind of like me!

I realize now that I was not fully prepared to age this cheese.  It's not controlling the temperature or having space in the wine refrigerator.  It's the ageing container.  I had to improvise an ageing container to accommodate the larger size by using a larger square Corning casserole dish.  Even so, now that it's bulging a bit, it won't be long before it starts to touch the sides of the dish.  So now I have to quickly look for a container to purchase.  But at least I'll have one for the next time I make a 6 inch wheel of cheese. 

When it starts to develop it's orange colored rind, I'll post a pick of it.  But already, the color is beginning to turn slightly golden, so I know the bacteria is working it's magic.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Port Salut Ready for Ageing

Here's my "baby" at almost 3lbs, fresh from it's brine bath.  I set it next to a Courtland apple for scale.  It is six inches across and quite firm after 8hrs in brine.  I did let it sit at room temperature to dry for 12hrs before putting it in the wine refrigerator at 50 degF in an ageing container.

The recipe says that as it ages, it will begin to bulge, making the side more rounded.  I will also soften.  That should be fun to watch it trasform.  In a week, I have to wash it with a brine and bacteria solution so the rind begins to turn orange from the mold.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Port Salut Cheese

Sunday was a rainy day here and I  was bored.  So I thumbed through my book of 200 cheese recipes and decided to make a Port Salut.  I followed the recipe, but failed to see that it made one large cheese with three gallons of milk.  Based on the recipe, that's one 2.75 lb wheel of cheese!!  Thank heaven I have a cheese press that has both a 4 and a 6 inch diameter casing.  The cheese stands at six inches in diameter and about three inches thick.  This will be ideal for cutting up into wedges and passing out as gifts.

Besides being the largest cheese in size I've attempted, it also had a more complicated process.  Once the curds were cut and settled, I had to remove 1/3 of the whey and replace it with hot water to bring the temperature to 92F.  After stirring and settling, I had to repeat that step to bring the temperature to 98F. By the time I was done, the large curds had expressed a lot of whey and shrunk down to large-curd cottage cheese in size.  I then put the curds in cheesecloth and pressed it for 12 hours.  As I write this, it is now soaking in a brine bath for 8 hours.  Have not done a brine bath before either. 

All I can say at this point is that this will be one heck of a cheese or a huge disaster.  But in two months, I'll know.  In a week, I'll have to do a brine and wash with brevibacterium linens in it.  This mold is also in the cheese itself and will make it turn golden in color.  The wash will yield an orange-colored  edible rind.  Another difference from the fuzzy penicillum molds I've been using so far.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Viili Rescued!

Well, I got home from a business trip last night and looked at the viili.  It no longer had a watery phase, and had set up to what looked and tasted like a cross between sour cream and viili.  It was still ropey, but thick and more sour.  The master viili I had was still watery, so I tossed the master and took a very small quantity from the thickened batch, spreading it thinly over the inside of a fresh container.  I added my fresh milk and let it set overnight.

This morning, it had begun to thicken and had not separated.  It also tasted right:  tangy, but not as sour as the batch it was made from.  It had the right consistency and was not as thick the batch it came from.  Although it had been out on the counter only 12 hours, it appeared to have matured to the point where it should go into the refrigerator, so that's where I put it.

Tomorrow, I'll take a small portion of my rescued viili and remake my master by adding three tablespoons of milk to one teaspoon of viili.  Let it set overnight and keep it in the refrigerator to use in making future batches.

I have to conclude that I must have used milk that was old and near souring.  By setting it out for 24 hours, the milk soured and separated before the viili cultures grew enough.  However, letting it set for three days undisturbed in the refrigerator, the watery liquid reincorporated as the cultures multiplied to the point of making a sour cream "like" version. 

I did eat the sour batch of viili.  Since there were no signs of contamination, black, yellow or other molds on the surface, I decided it was probably safe.  After all, if cheeses don't show unusual mold growth, but only normal mold growth, they are OK to eat.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Viili Disaster

The first batch of viili was perfect!  So I made another couple of batches from the revitalized "master".  This time around, the viili separated into a more thick ropey yogurt and a watery phase.  Possible causes were:  that the the milk I used was that last bit of organic milk we had in the refrigerator and it was older and nearer souring, I contaminated my master, or it was too warm in the house made the viili too warm in that first 24 hrs. 

I ruled out contamination of the master.  I had given some of my master viili to my aunt and cousin for them to try, and their batch came out perfect.  So I am left with old milk or too warm as the cause.  I don't think either one of these harmed the cultures in any way, just the appearance, so I should be able to drain off the excess water, take a bit of the gelatinous yogurt and remake my master.  Both my revitalized master and the two batches were affected.  My wife tells me that the viili smells "a little like vinegar".  So both the older milk and the temperature may be the culprits as it could have soured during the first 24 hours on the counter.  I was disappointed by this set back.

Since I'm traveling this week, it will have to wait a couple days before I can rescue the viili. I'll report on my success or failure to rescue my viili master.  If it ends up that I trashed it, I'll just have to get a new starter.  But I really think I can salvage this.  Stay tuned.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

First Viili Batch

Nearly forgot I was going to post this as I was so anxious to try my first batch of viili.  After I took a few bites, I remembered and rushed to the computer desk to upload a photo.

MJ says it tastes just like she remembers it.  I agree, though I was only a Yupper for 5 years so my experience is more limited than hers.  But the flavor is sour like yogurt, and a little hint of yeast.  And as you can see, the texture is ropey and gelatinous.  We used non-homogenized whole milk for this batch, so it had a bit of yellowish cream on the surface, along with a slight bloom of penicillum candidum to give it it's velvetty feel

I did put blueberries in it this time.  But I found a hidden jar of thimbleberry jam in the cupboard.  My next serving will have a small dollop of thimbleberry jam in it.  Makes me want to have MJ make some nissu.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Branching Out into Viili (Finnish Yogurt)

It's been over 30 years since I had viili (some call it filia).  It's a Finnish yogurt made at room temperature overnight.  Since starting on my path to recreate good juustoa, I have been looking for an authentic viili starter, too.  It took me a while to find just what it is about viili that makes it different from other yogurts.  Besides containing a mesophilic (cool/moderate temperature loving) lactic acid bacteria, it should also contain geotrichum candidum, a yeast-like fungus that is used in Brie cheese to give it a velvety texture, and two yeasts:  kluveromyces marxianus and pichia fermentans.  The result is a velvety, ropey texture.  Some people say it looks like white snot.  Not very appetizing, and not very accurate, I think. The best thing about viili?  You just put a little starter in milk and set it out at room temperature for 24 hours.  No yogurt maker, no fuss, no muss.

Once I knew what was in it, the hard part was finding a commercially available starter with the right "bugs" in it.  A lot of purported viili starters either didn't say what cultures it contained, or they contained substitutes.  Finally, I did find one at Anahata Balance - Probiotic Cultures, Herbal Teas & Tonics in Buckley, MI.

So tonite, I make viili.  And by the time it's ready, I should have the last of my everbearing strawberries ripe to mix in with it before eating.  Though, I really want blueberries.  Once it's done, I'll post a pic of the end result and let you know if it tastes the way I remember it. 

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Results Are In!

As promised, I made juustoa with the recipe that the commentor, "Violet", sent me.  It worked just fine, as I expected.  I did not drain the curd as I normally do, but did as Violet suggested, and used my hands to gently scoop the curds into the broiling pan.  Actually, it was kind of fun playing with the curds by hand!  The result was that I had more whey expressed from the juustoa during broiling than I normally have, but that was remedied by more frequent draining during the broiling. 

The final juustoa was more moist/soft because of the extra whey left in the cheese using this process.  That is neither a bad thing or a good thing.  Just different.  Also, the extra sugar vs my recipe made a sweeter cheese.  I ususally cut down on the salt from the recipe I posted, but used the full amount this time.  So it turned out more savory.  The cheese still squeaks when you bite into it.  All in all, Violet's recipe works great and tastes great, too. I had no issues with the curds being grainy or falling apart.  They held their shape beautifully.

What's the verdict?  Well, my wife, MJ, who grew up on juustoa in the UP of Michigan liked it as did I.  I'd make this one again.  It also shows that you can vary the recipe and process to produce a juustoa that is tailored to your individual taste:  more or less sugar, more or less salt, more firm or softer cheese by varying the time and way you drain the whey, etc. 

So, my recommendation is find a recipe and feel free to experiment.  Then settle on a process that makes a personal favorite.  Just stay away from homogenized milk, or the curds end up weak and grainy.  Before the year is out, I will try juustoa made with powdered milk so I can report on that method.  I am skeptical, but willing to give it a shot.  So, Violet, if you get to make juustoa with powdered milk before I do, please tell me how it turned out! 

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Trying A New Juustoa Recipe

Today, I've decided to try the recipe for juustoa that "Violet" sent in with her comments on one of my first blog posts.  I'm planning on starting it around lunchtime.  I will follow the recipe exactly, except for the raw milk part...I'll be using the organic whole milk (non-homogenized) I usually use from Castle Rock Dairy.

After we've had a sample of it, I'll report on my attempt, and the quality of the cheese.  I'm sure it will work just fine, but I am curious to see how it differs from what I'm used to doing.

Monday, September 5, 2011

More Camembert With My Wine Refrigerator

Last weekend, I started a new batch of Camember/Brie.  I decided to increase the batch size so that the finished rounds were thicker than the first time I made it.  Although, they were the correct size last time, I just wanted to have more of that creamy goodness. 


After seven days, I have a healthy colony of mold on my cheese, thanks to the wine refrigerator I bought a couple months ago.  I was able to set the temperature at 55 degrees for the initial aging part.  It also has a compartment at 46 degrees for my Stilton.  That lower temperature compartment will hold my Camembert/Brie for its final aging.



Using the wine refrigerator really helped put this on track.  I struggled the first time I made this cheese because I was trying to manage the temperature using a mini-refrigerator.  It was always too warm or too cold.  It took forever for the cheese to develop the white mold.  As a result, the outside started to dry out a little, and my rind was thicker than I wanted.  According to the recipe, I now have a "full bloom" and can wrap the cheese in a couple days.  This is a full week to ten days earlier than my first attempt.  This will ensure a thinner rind.