Blueee

There is a cheese I really like the look of – Shropshire Blue – The combination of the annatto orange cheese with the blue veins is quite stunning and looks the part on any cheeseboard. So I though I would make a cheese today that is inspired by the Shropshire, though mine will be a softer and creamier blue.

Also a few differences in the cheese making process

  1. I’ve also been creating two cheeses per 10L recently, a 6L aged one and a 4L fresh one, so this cheese was made with 6L of milk.
  2. I used a new brand of culture – Country Brewer: Flora Danica. This is a lot heavier than the other brand of culture I have been using so the culture weights are much higher. Don’t mind that at all, much easier to weigh out.

Ingredients

  • 6l of non-homogenised fresh milk
  • 1.24g of Flora Danica starter
  • a pinch of Penicillin Roqueforti (Blue mould)
  • 1.5ml of 50% CaCl solution
  • 1.8ml of Annatto
  • 1.7ml of 140 IMCU/ml rennet
  • 14g of salt flakes
Ripening Milk - the cultures, blue mould an annatto have been added.
Ripening Milk – the cultures, blue mould an annatto have been added.

 

Freshly Cut Curds. The little black spots in the curds are not contamination but rather the blue mould spores!
Freshly Cut Curds. The little black spots in the curds are not contamination but rather the blue mould spores!

 

Curds in the hoop ready to drain without wieghts overnight. The cheese is not pressed to keep it moist.
Curds in the hoop ready to drain without wieghts overnight. The cheese is not pressed to keep it moist.

 

Pierced and ready for the cheese cave. We should see some blue mould growth in a week or so. Lets hope there are lots of cavities in there for the mould to grow in!
Pierced and ready for the cheese cave. We should see some blue mould growth in a week or so. Lets hope there are lots of cavities in there for the mould to grow in!