Thoughts About Blue
I recently came across this video about an artisanal cheesemaker who makes only blue cheese.
A few takeaways:
- They work those curds. They are way more aggressive with them than I am, which makes me kinda laugh at myself for being so precious.
- In the early stages — they let the curd ferment for several days prior to molding — the curd is positively riddled with holes. It looks like the milk has been wildly contaminated and yet it’s perfectly fine.
- They do not innoculate the cheeses with penicillium roqueforti. Whether or not they get blue veining is hit or miss, and they’re okay with that.
- As the cheeses dry, they develop cracks in the rind and those dried out cracks — what I’ve always considered to be “bad” — are what allow the blue mold to penetrate the cheese.
- Some of the cheeses get that dangerous white “cat hair” mold on the rind, and the guy didn’t seem at all concerned. I’m not sure how he handled it — maybe just brushed them off? — but now I’m wondering just how dangerous that type of mold, which I’ve never seen firsthand, actually is. Like, if you remove it, is the cheese still fine?
