At the web site schmidling.com I finally found a good recipe
for Stilton Blue English Cheese, and it isn’t too difficult to make as long as
you have a liquid thermometer that is very accurate, cheese cloth, long wooden skewers
and two ten pound weights. This sounds
silly, but if you don’t use evenly dispersed weights, your curd will to out to
be an unbelievable mess. I don’t know if
they were the originators of this recipe but it does taste amazing. Check out
the web site schmidling.com.cres.htm for this recipe and many other cheese
recipes too. Stilton, Blue English Cheese can be made with homogenized milk,
unlike many other cheeses. The
ingredients are: 2 gallons of milk, a
pint of whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride, 1/4th cup of
mesophilic starter culture, 1/8th teaspoon P. Roquefort, 1 teaspoon
rennet and 2 tablespoons of salt. Heat
the milk and cream to 88 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes. Next, cut the curd with a whisk and let the
milk/cream mixture rest 30 minutes. Pour
off whey until all that is left is a small amount covering the curd, again, let
it rest 30 minutes. Place the curd in cheese cloth, over a bowl and let it
drain for about 25 minutes. Next press the covered cheese ball between two ten
pound weights for 2 hours. Return the
curd to the pan and break into small pieces.
Add the salt and mix well. Place the curd into a 4” mold and set aside. Turn the mold over once each day for about
three days. Remove the cheese from the
mold and place in a plastic container to keep moisture in. Let the cheese age in this container in an environment
which is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30-35 days. Poke holes in the cheese from both ends with wooden skewers when the
top has a bluish cast.
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