Step 9: Flipping your Cheese
As soon as you have
filled all of your forms, flip each form entirely over onto a draining
board. Begin your clean up, but be sure to flip the cheeses, still
in their form, again after only 10 minutes.
Flip again after 15 minutes, and then again 15 minutes after that.
By this time you can probably start taking the cheese out of it's form
and flip it- placing it back into the now right-side up form.
Flip two more times on the 1/2 hour, then two more times on the hour,
finally make two more flips 2-3 hours apart.
All of this flipping helps ensure the integrity of the air-spaces
within as well as the general shape of the cheese and your ability to
remove it from the form without sticking. The times for flipping
listed here are a very general guide, use your judgement based on
watching the cheese - in general flip more often at first, and less
often as the first 24 hours go by.
Options for Aging
Setting
Up the Cave
There are many ways
to create a "cave" like environment to age your caseinous creation.
The simplest is to find a rubber maid cake box - a stout cylinder
sizable enough to cover your cheese creating a few inches of air space
that will trap moisture leaving the cheese.
Place this unit in your normal refrigerator.
If you choose this method,
be sure to lift up the lid every couple of days to let the cheese
breath.
This option will work, though the temperature of your fridge will be a
tad chilly for the blue culture to grow - it may add a month or more
to your aging process.
If you want something more exacting and dedicated - you can convert an
old refrigerator into a cave. All you need is a thermostatic
controller and a source for humidity. Full directions can be found on
Ricki Carroll's website.
Maintaining Your Cheese
You are going to
want to flip your cheese at least weekly during the 3-6 months it will
age in your cave. As mentioned above, you will also want to use a
clean metal rod (or other food grade prod) to "stab" each wheel. Do
this after about 1 week, stabbing in a spiral pattern, every 2
inches. Flip the wheel and repeat the stabbing pattern on the other
side.
There are also
several options for developing different types of rinds. Affinage -
or the study of aging cheeses is a technical field that individuals
devote their lives to. If you really enjoy making blue-veined cheeses
I would encourage you to explore the range of management techniques
you can employ to achieve various rind results. Traditional
Gorognzola has a clean rind that is developed by wrapping the wheel in
a foil at around 30 days of age. I prefer a wild rind. By allowing
native molds to grow unchecked until the wheel is ready, the rind
develops a mottled appearance and a wonderfully unique flavor and
texture. There are even options beyond this, experiment and see what
you like.
Enjoying Your Work
Like all aged
cheeses, the blues require intense patience and the willingness to
endure a long and steep learning curve. The rewards for your
steadfast dedication will be unrivaled culinary enjoyment and the
amazement of your friends and family. Certainly Gorgonzola is well
suited to almost any type of salad, but I also enjoy adding it to a
number of hot dishes. Try making a buffalo chicken pizza - with diced
chicken breast marinated in a buffalo sauce combined with blue
crumbles - sure to be a favorite at informal gatherings. I think it
also makes a unique addition to classic Mac'n Cheese, or combined with
sausage as a filling for stuffed baby portabellas. No matter how you
prepare it, your home made blue cheese is sure to be a source of pride
every time you bring it out - Enjoy!
