We are going to have a “Flash Back” (not the horrible traumatic kind) to the first time I made cheese. Let’s travel back to March of 2014 and I made camembert and filmed the process with my “google glasses”… (I am such a nerd).   While my current steps have changed since the first time I tried I thought it might be interesting to share this video.   I felt like my first attempt was successful… (well as far as I knew at the time) and I think this could be a great starting point for anyone thinking about making cheese.   I have posted two other cheese recipes and this one will not be as long or detailed as the first two: Raclette and Romano

Here are a couple pictures of Camembert making for those who don’t feel like watching the videos.

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First camembert that I made (final result from the video below)… a bit thick and not ripened enough.  It was very delicious and  I was thrilled thinking…”hey this isn’t so hard”
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Second attempt at making camembert… jesh no clue what happened… hmmm not so good.  Maybe there is more to this than I thought…I found this camembert very disgusting and it was actually kind of “stinky” but Isabelle (being french) still ate it.
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First batch in the “cheese cave” which is a wine refrigerator (54 F).  I stopped using the bamboo sticks and placed the cheese directly on the steamer tray.   You have to turn this cheese twice a day so the mold will not stick to the bottom.  After about 2 weeks when the white mold is well formed you wrap the cheese in cheese paper and lower the temperature of the wine fridge by 10 degrees.   This will be ready to eat in 6 weeks….
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This picture is after several years of making it and is how Camembert should be.  I stopped draining the curds in a pillow case and just ladle the curds directly in the molds.   The flipping over is much more difficult but I get four beautiful camemberts each time.

 

SO… Here is the video…  (first time posting a video of myself making something and trying to be very serious… maybe the hardest part)

This video was filmed in march of 2014.   I am really a bit embarrassed when I watched and listened to myself… so I am a bit hesitant to post this (don’t want to destroy my “rockstar” social media persona)

If you want detailed recipe for the camembert plus a place to buy the equipment and cultures here is where I started Cheesemaking.com – Camembert.