Cheese production archives
September 2019 | Normandie smoked cheese in Paris
Rygeost
| Milk origin | Milk processing and curdling | Starter | Molding | Ripening time and process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normandie full cow milk, unpasteurized. | Powdered animal rennet in re-heated milk, 24h curdling. | No lactic ferments nor starter culture. | Homemade mold from drilled plastic containers where the cheeses spent a few days without being pressed. | - Turned daily the first week. - days outside in aerated box before dry salting on both faces. - 4 days in fridge before smoking for 1 hour with hay. - Kept in fridge 1 more week before serving (2 months for extra batch). |
This cheese recipe was inspired by a Danish smoked cheese called Rygeost. It is crucial to let the cheese rest at least one week after smoking, so that the burnt taste does not take over on the freshness of the soft cheese taste. The cheese should not be over-ripen, but it can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks as the smoke prevents mold to develop on its rind. 2 batches of this cheese were made in Paris before to be served in Amsterdam on the 4th of October for a performance dinner called The Soft Protest, re-chewing & Digest. A third batch was kept unsmoked and ripen for 2 month.
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February 2020 | Vexin cheeses in Paris
| Milk origin | Milk processing and curdling | Starter | Molding | Ripening time and process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vexin full cow milk, unpasteurized. (Sourced from Laiterie de la Chapelle, Paris.) | Powdered animal rennet in re-heated milk, 24h curdling. | No lactic ferments. Attempt of starter culture transplantation from blue cheese (Penicillium roqueforti) on the squarish ones. | Homemade mold from drilled plastic containers where the cheeses spent a few days without being pressed. | - Turned daily the first week. - 3 days outside in aerated box before dry salting on both faces. - Sealed in aluminium paper. - 1 month ripening in fridge for 1 round sample. 3 months for the others. |
The round ones are as simple as it gets: no small organism culture of any kind has been added. The squarish ones saw their milk curdle with Penicillium roqueforti in it (in the form of Bleu d'Auvergne AOC cheese).
After being forgotten during the covid19 lockdown in France 3 months in the fridge, they gave the most unexpected results. Despite the aluminium paper in which they were sealed, the humid environment led mold to develop itself to a much too large extent. As a result, the over-ripen round samples turned out to taste even more “blue-cheese-like” than the square ones. Furthermore, none of them develop the expected blue veins but rather spots of unwanted dark mold. On the positive side, both had a grainy/smooth texture akin to Roquefort cheese. Their smell and taste was strong but deliciously tart.
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