Gorgonzola is an Italian cheese that is traditionally made by combining an afternoon batch with a morning batch of raw cheese. Gorgonzola is a creamy, rich cheese whose flavor is enhanced with a special blue mold. The ingredients given below are for a single batch, you will need to make a second batch using the same steps and ingredients to make true Gorgonzola cheese.
Instructions
Making the Curd Batches
1. Heat the milk to 86 degrees over low to medium-low heat. Use a cheese thermometer to insure that the temperature is reached.
2. Add the Penicillium roqueforti and the starter to the milk and stir thoroughly with a long-handled stainless steel spoon. Cover the pot and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Add the rennet to the milk and stir for 1 minute to distribute. Recover and let sit an additional 45 minutes at 86 degrees.
4. Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth.
5. Bring up the corners of the cloth and tie together to make a ball. Hang the ball over the kitchen sink to drain for at least 8 hours or overnight.
6. Make the second batch, the same way as the first, 8 hours later. Hang this ball for 1 hour to drain.
Make the Cheese
7. Unwrap the first batch of curds and cut into 1 inch cubes. Place the cubes in a large bowl and mix in 2 tbsp. of cheese salt. This is best accomplished using your hands.
8. Unwrap the second batch and cut into cubes and place in the second bowl. Add salt.
9. Place a cheese mat on a cheese board and place the forming mold in the center.
10. Place 3/4 of the youngest batch of cheese into the mold. Press the cheese across the bottom of the mold and up the sides.
11. Place all of the oldest batch of cheese on the inside of the curd covered mold.
12. Place the remaining amount of young curds over the top of the older curds, spreading to cover the top of the mold.
13. Place the second cheese mat on top of the mold, followed by the second cheese board.
14. Set the cheese in an area between 55 and 60 degrees. In many modern homes, this temperature can be found directly in front of an air-conditioning vent.
15. Turn the cheese every 15 minutes for the first 2 hours and then 3 times daily for the next 3 days.
16. Remove the cheese from the mold after 3 days. Sprinkle salt over the entire cheese and shake off any excess.
Age the Cheese
17.Place the cheese in an area where the temperature is approximately 55 degrees with high humidity.
18. Rub the cheese with salt daily for 4 days, shaking off any excess.
19. Poke holes in the sides of the cheese using a sterile ice pick and working from top to bottom.
20. Scrape off any mold that forms, in the first 30 days, on the outside of the cheese using the back side of a long knife.
21. Age the cheese in this manner for 3 to 4 months.
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