Monday, November 17, 2008

"Blue" cheese (Taleggio)


This cheese I made last Monday (Nov 10). I basically used the same recipe as the Taleggio style recently I made recently, but I cooked this batch longer and slightly higher to extract more whey from the curd in the vat. I cooked it for half an hour at 90 F (32C). I aim for a soft but not runny cheese.
The blue on the cheese is from oxidation of the copper draining tray. Needles to say that the draining whey is highly active as a oxidant due to the acidity.
I figure it won't harm the cheese. Copper is widely used in the food industry, among it the cheese industry. Most vats in the alps are traditionally made of copper and many a cheese maker believes it adds to the character of the cheese.

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