The Potting Shed

Somerset Lad · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:54 pm Post subject: Stilton cheese

1 gallon of milk, raw, pasturised but not homogenised. Starter, i use natural organic yogurt, small pot. A few drops of rennet,according to manufacturers instruction. A mold, mine is a plastic pipe or drain, 4.1/2. inches across by 6 inches deep with small holes drilled in the sides. Large fruit tin can be used drill holes and ends taken off but retained . Pour milk into a container that will sit in a bowl of warm water(i use a preserving pan on the hob so it can be heated up when nessescary) and heat to 85deg. F .maintain thgis heat and add starter(yogurt), stirr well and leave for 1 hour maintaining the temp. at 85. Dilute the rennet as instructions and add to milk stirring well in, all the time maintain the heat. Leave until the milk becomes solidified and breaks apart when a finger is drawn through it, (about an hour).

Now cut the curds vertically and horizontally gently then lightly stirr the curds and mix gently. Leave for an hour then drain into some muslin, keeping the curds in the muslin tie the corners together to compress very lightly. Leave to drain overnight then in the morning add salt, about 1/2 oz.Mix well then sprinkle on a small pinch of penicillen roqufortii over the curds and mix in well.

Now prepare your mold, put the mold on a board, fill the mold with the curds and place a follower on top (if you use a tin you can use the lids for this, or find a wood turner to turn one in wood) .DO NOT PRESS. Leave to drain and turn the whole thing over daily for about 4 days using clean mats and boards.

When the cheese will slide out of the mold, stand it on a mat and board and scrape the outside smoothing it out with a hot knife (dipped in hot water), to seal the skin and cover any holes, it needs to be almost air tight. It just needs time to mature now, After a couple of weeks put a skewer or large needle through itto admit air, both vertically and horizontally (this will make the blue veins). Keep the cheese cool but not in the fridgeand fairly humid if possible. Try at about six weeks - eight weeks. it will be lovely honest and well worth the making.
Wink

lloyd · 5 Star Club Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 2562

Thanks, roy. Printed off for usage. Mind you, maintaining that constant temp....If you have an inefficient cooker, and the temperature fluctuates a bit, how much will that matter?...It's going to take a bit of trial and error to get it constant?
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Somerset Lad · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:07 pm Post subject:

I use a jug with the milk in and that goes into a preserving pan with a fair amount of water in so it dosent cool down too much and if it does i light the gas for a few mins and it's ok again. The temperature is not critical but best around that heat. It looks daunting but it's a doddle really. Wink

lloyd · 5 Star Club Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 2562

Probably a daft question, but does the jug itself go in, with milk and water mix, to help controll temps?...or just contents of jug? Confused

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Somerset Lad · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:07 pm Post subject:

Lloyd, the milk goes in the jug, the jug with the milk in stands in the preserving pan which is filled with warm water which keeps the milk warm. You don't add the milk to the water . Its like a bain marie. the water heating the milk in the jug. Wink

lloyd · 5 Star Club Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 2562

Okay, I'm with you now on this, I think.
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nanny · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:57 pm Post subject:

i am going to assume then that a few degrees either way isn't that critical

where do you get the raw milk from?

can't say i have ever noticed any around...........

Somerset Lad · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:46 pm Post subject:

I get some straight from a farm Nanny, and a few degrees is ok. I do sometimes use pasturised though and it's fine. I just like the raw milk as an unpasturised cheese tastes better in my estimation. Wink

Not the best idea to use homogenised though as it is put through a screen at pressure so the fat content dosent clot together. Wink