Stilton cheese
Why I Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
2 gallons homo milk
1 pint whipping cream
1 tsp calcium chloride
1/4 cup mesophilic starter culture
1/8 tsp P. roqueforte
1 tsp rennet
2 tbs salt
Directions
Heat milk and cream to 88F then add cultures and rennet and hold at 88F for 90 minutes.
Cut curd with French whisk very gently and let rest for 30 minutes.
Pour off whey till just over curd and let rest for 30 minutes.
Dip or pour curds into cheese cloth lined collander or tub. Form cheese cloth into a bag and hang to drain for 15 minutes.
Press bag of curds between boards with 10 lb weight for 2 hrs.
Return the curds to the kettle and break up into walnut sized pieces. Add 2 tbs salt and mix thoroughly.
Put curds into 4" mold and set aside to drain and compress by its own weight. Invert the mold several times a day for several days until the cheese slides out and retains it shape.
To ripen the cheese, it should be in a cool and humid environment. A plastic shoe box with the lid on will maintian about 95% humidity with the cheese inside. For the first month or so, it wants to be around 60F.
After surface blueing is obvious, pierce the cheese from both ends about 20 times with a long needle.
It is delicious at 60 days but just keeps getting better with time.
