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Thank You IRT!

4/13/2013

Our Latest GoJack at the IRT Party in East Indy.

Thanks to all of the wonderful folks from IRT who tried our cheeses and shared such positive feedback. It seems the latest GoJack was all the rave tonight as this Cow-Goat milk washed-rind blend was a very yummy appetizer for all.

The latest Manchego did not go unnoticed, and our Rebclechon, althought the smallest of the three on display this evening was a closet favorite of the hosts, Mike and Jeannie Dinius!

Cheers to everyone. What a great event and an awesome season at IRT!

For those who were interested in more, send us an email by clicking here.

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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Stink Factor 10!

4/7/2013

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We found new heights in the family fridge with four St. Marcellin's, 3 Reblechons, our new GoJack, and our Chevre. Those St. Marcellin's are leading the charge, and there is no stopping their ability to make our fridge smell like a European Cheese Store.

I love it...but I'm on a bit of an Island with that thought!

God bless stinky cheese!!

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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The 8" Rebel is Ready

2/18/2013

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We decided to take our Reblechon recipe and adapt it to an 8" Tomme. The result is a very good looking round of cow's milk washed rind cheese. This particular rind ran a few days unwashed and grew an extra layer of mold, but I was stranded in Boston in Winter Storm Nemo and couldn't get home to keep it pristine. Still, the cheese recovered nicely in the days following and is now in the fridge finishing at 38 degrees.

We'll taste this Rebel in another few weeks. I'm expecting a bold taste, with a nice salted butter and cream finish.

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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St. Marcellin at Peak!

1/24/2013

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It's been six weeks now in the fridge for the final aging process. We have taste tested along the way and it is at a nice creaminess now. With 2 crocs remaining, we will enjoy these over the next week. Almost time for the next batch! This batch was started over Thanksgiving break.

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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Stinky Cheese = Christmas Joy

12/23/2012

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Our latest batch of St. Marcellin has moved from the cave to the fridge in their new ceramic crock homes (pictured here). These beauties will spend the next few days softening up under plastic wrap before a Christmas tasting. These cheeses can age in the fridge for up to six weeks. For us though, Tuesday will be our first day of tasting. There is no sense in not enjoying the spoils of our work on Christmas Day!

Our Christmas Dinner Menu: Reblechon, Valencay, St. Marcellin, Herbed Chevre, Fromage Blanc, Chorizo, Salami, Fresh Fruit, Artisan Sourdough, Oil & Balsamic for dipping, and a couple select Christmas wines. Yum!
Happy holidays everyone!

Tommy Reddicks & Kelly Wensing
www.cheesedesert.com

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The Reb is Ready

12/14/2012

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Can't wait to try the latest Reblechon. Went for a drier aging cycle after the washed rind process to allow for a more traditional texture. The rind has firmed up just enough to allow for wrapping in the fridge. It hasn't lost it's stink though. Good Foot!

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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"10" on The Foot Scale!

12/12/2012

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My indicator for true stink in a cheese is The Foot Scale. It's my 10-point system (10 representing the ultimate in stink) for rating stinky cheese.

I tried the Stinking Bishop in London this fall, and it was a 9. I reserve a score of a 10 for cheeses that can rival scents like a Durian fruit. Today, however, I opened our cheese cave today and it gave me a true 10. Whew.

Inside the cave (pictured here) we've got two batches of Valencay, 1 batch of Saint Marcellin, and a single round of Reblechon. That combination is truly aromatic! We may not be able to bottle this scent, but when bottled up, it has a life of it's own.

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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USA vs FRANCE: Valencay Cheese

12/9/2012

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Well. We've taste-tested our latest batch of Valencay and we're pleased to say we've given our French cousin a good run for her money. Pictured above, our US version is on the left and the French version we tried in Europe this past October is on the right. Ours is a bit younger with a creamier middle, but we're very happy with our aging and affinage this time around. We paired our new superstar with some Artison Sourdough Bread, Figs, apples, and dehydrated apricots (and a healthy dose of Olive Oil w/Balsamic). It was FABULOUS!!!

We controlled the humidity and airflow with more precision this time around. The patting method I used actually held back the gc/pc growth, shutting it down a little earlier. Our next batch will be done without as much patting to see if we can get a little longer mold life and some better rippling from the mold growth in the rind.

As for aromatics, the extra airflow actually lessened the stinky-factor to a 5 or 6 on what I lovingly call The Foot Scale. The Reblechons we're working on (seen in the back left of the US Valencay photo) are certainly winning the stink award (about an 7 on the Foot Scale) in the house at present. But, with the start of a new batch of Saint Marcellin, we'll see if we can add a cheese to our cave that can compete with the Reb's.

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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Taste Tests Bring on Great Suffering!

12/8/2012

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We had the pleasure of taste-testing one of our latest Reblechons today. This one finished well, but started out a bit too humid. If you've been following our previous posts on humidity, you know we've been adjusting to the more humid fall indoors (40% rh indoors in Indy this year). This led to a very tender and thin rind, which needed extra babying during washing. We saved this cheese from near-death by fixing the humidity issue early. If left to it's early humid track, the rind would have over-molded, and would have lost its ability to support the cheese.

In the end all worked out okay, and the reward was today's taste test. It had a great salty-butter outer rind with a nice buttery cream paste on the inside. Admittedly, I ate about a third of this round in a sitting before wrapping for later.

A taste test is indeed great suffering, but someone has to ensure quality control!!

Today we start a new batch of FETA. We're also excited to start a batch of St. Marcellin. It's a cows milk cheese made in smaller molds and finished in 4 small ceramic crocks. This was a cheese that always made appearances at our cheese parties. For whatever reason, we saved our ceramic crocs from those days in Colorado. Now they enable us to put the true finishing touch on this oozy gooey stinker!

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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Ode to Humidity!

12/5/2012

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It's amazing how Mother Nature wreaks havoc with moisture! Over time water can cut a rock in two. It can change the course of landscape, and even turn New York Subway systems into tide pools. But, in the world of cheese making, moisture is a fickle beast. Too little, and your cheese dies (at least the part that's supposed to grow). Too much and you get UFO's (ugly fungal objects) and you have to start scrambling with UFO killer (salt, vinegar, airflow etc.), which can taint the outcome or maturation of the cheese. Some cheeses like less humidity (harder cheeses prefer between 40-60%) during aging, while softer cheeses want more humidity (65-95%).

So, what happens when the house humidity is 40%, the cheese fridge humidity is 50%, and you have one cheese needing 65% and another needing 90%. Perhaps you put the house inside the fridge so you can combine their collective humidity to reach 90%. Or, maybe you buy two fridges in order to have each at a different level. Maybe you use a reptile humidifier pumped into a fridge to get to 90%. May you boil water 24-7 near the cheese to increase relative humidity? All ridiculous notions aside, it is frustrating that in a world where cheese appears at nearly every turn there have yet to be dedicated cheese fridges that can also set themselves to dual zone temperature "and" humidity control. Dual zone temperature can be found on upscale wine fridges. But a fridge with hygrometer controls would be a revolution for the home cheese maker.

For us, we are finding that the days of air conditioning in the hot Indianapolis summers kept our house dehumidified, but the lack of AC and lesser need of heat in the fall/winter has our house at a higher humidity and is playing havoc with our cheese development. And, with tender semi-frim cheeses, each time mold has to be addressed with a salt or vinegar solution, the cheese is at risk. So, we have been adding access to ventilation and open air in the cheese making process and are seeing a correction in our aging process. Having grown up in dry Wyoming, and spent a great deal of time in Colorado, I took too much for granted in terms of seasonal variations in humidity. Note taken!

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

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<<Previous

Thank You IRT!

Stink Factor 10!

The 8" Rebel is Ready

St. Marcellin at Peak!

Stinky Cheese = Christmas Joy

The Reb is Ready

"10" on The Foot Scale!

USA vs FRANCE: Valencay Cheese

Taste Tests Bring on Great Suffering!

Ode to Humidity!

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