Tasting the Brie.....mmm-good!

They liked it!

Today, I took Brie number two (the first one that seems to have the right height-to-diameter ratio) into work and sent out an e-mail invitation to my co-workers to come around for a sampling.  It was well received by everyone!

I cut out a good sized wedge and then split it down the middle - laying it open, with rind-side down.  Then, covered with a few walnut pieces and drizzled an apple-cider-molasses over top.  Popped it into the toaster oven for it to lightly melt, and voila!

So, I'm very happy with this success, especially since the whole process took only 4 weeks.

Here's something very strange; the original wine-cooler/cheese cave has risen from the dead to once again maintain desired temperatures!  We'll see how long it lasts.  I may get more milk tomorrow and build another brie. 

Cheesey-boy 

Bigger Troubles with the Cheese Cave

I had high hopes that the Visanni wine cooler would make a great cheese cave.  Even after reading reviews from the Home Depot website that were about 50/50.  After it was plugged in and running, though, the warmest temperature I could get was 53-degrees.  I would have liked to see 58.  The machines had six colder settings than #1 that I was using! Well it did maintain that 53 pretty consistantly (made it hard to get a relative humidity anywhere near the 80% I wanted) ... only for about 10 days!

Then it started keeping 42 degrees! No Way!  If I wanted it that cold I could just but the cheese in my refrigerator.

So I boxed it all back up and took it back to Home Depot for a refund.

The latest brie is in confinement down cellar and is showing a good growth of white mold.  The older bries are now wrapped in a special cheese paper and are stored in my refrigerator. (as per recipe directions)

After I cut one of the first ones open later this week, I'll post my impressions.

Don't know what the next cheese cave attempt is going to be, so until I get that figured out, I'll have to hold off on making any more.

Later cheese-whiz,
Cheesey-boy

Cave trouble!

Saturday morning while I was minding my own bees-wax, I began to hear a constant beeping noise.  It turned out to be the used, Emerson wine cooler that has been my cheese cave.  It was in death-throws. It has died. Of course, the three brie cheeses would not be too happy with this.   So...

I now have a new Visanni wine cooler/cheese cave. It is much larger, came with 5 wooden racks, and is a real refrigeration unit with a compressor, unlike the Emerson which regulated temperature with some bi-metal device and a bunch of circuit board magic.
Anyway, my three brie now have a new home.

Visanni 28 bottle wine cooler

The twin brie are looking good, seem to have a nice even coat developing.  Brie #2 is just beginning to show white growth.

the "twins" at day-12

later, 
Cheesey-boy