Valencay

I've been venturing into the world of aged goat cheeses. More specifically, I'm trying to make good mold ripened aged goat cheeses. When it comes to goat cheese, mold makes it better! Last Wednesday, I started a batch of Valencay. I began the process with making a curd very similar to what I would make for Chevre. The only difference was that I added Penicillium Candidum and Geotrichum Candidum cultures when I added my starter culture. Thursday, I cut the curd and spooned the curds into my Valencay molds, which I had ordered from New England Cheesemaking Supply. I had more curds than molds, so I attempted to emulate a Humbolt Fog type cheese. I used a camembert mold, spooned in half the curds, added a layer of ash, and then the rest of the curds (after the first half of curds had settled).



Friday evening, I unmolded the cheeses and gave them a dusting of salt and then a good coat of ash. They are aging in my new "cheese cave." I was able to pick up a working refrigerator on the cheap a the local fire department fundraiser auction. I ordered an override thermostat from an online homebrew supply. Using the new override thermostat, the temperature in the fridge is staying around 55 degrees. Unfortunately, the relative humidity in the fridge is hanging around 40%. To provide a more humid environment, I'm aging the cheeses on a rack in a plastic box.

When I checked the cheese Sunday night, there is definitely mold growing through the ash. We'll try these in about two weeks.