Making Raw Milk Camembert with Made by Cow

Sanitize all equipment by boiling stainless steel items for at least 15 minutes.

Pour 4 liters of cold-pressed raw cow's milk into a pot and whisk to evenly distribute the cream.

Heat the milk to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Once the target temperature is reached, remove the pot from heat and stir the milk.

Add 1/8 teaspoon of flora Danica mesophilic starter culture to the milk and mix.

Sprinkle 1/16 teaspoon of Penicillium candidum and 1/32 teaspoon of Geotrichum candidum over the milk and let it rehydrate for 5 minutes.

Stir the milk to ensure even distribution of the cultures and molds.

Add 1/8 teaspoon of rennet to the milk and stir for no more than 1 minute.

Cover the pot and allow the milk to set for 90 minutes.

Check for a clean break by inserting a knife at a 45-degree angle and twisting it.

Cut the curds into 2.5 cm (1 inch) columns without making horizontal cuts.

Let the curds heal for 5 minutes before transferring them to camembert baskets using a skimmer.

Fill the baskets with curds, allowing them to settle for about 30 minutes before refilling as needed.

After filling, flip the baskets every 2 hours for 6 hours to help form the rind.

After the final flip, let the cheese settle overnight in the molds with mats on top to keep pests out.

The next day, flip the cheese every 6 hours for 24 hours to ensure even rind formation.

Remove the cheese from the molds after 24 hours and brine them in an 18% brine solution for 3 hours, flipping halfway through and sprinkling salt on the exposed surface.

After brining, place the cheese in a ripening box with two cheeses per box, ensuring adequate space for mold growth.

Ripen the cheese at 7-10 degrees Celsius (44-50 degrees Fahrenheit) with 90% relative humidity until white mold covers the cheese, turning daily.

After about a week, check for the initial bloom of white mold.

After two weeks, wrap the cheese and label it with the date for tasting.

Ripen the wrapped cheese in the kitchen fridge at 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) until soft, typically around two weeks.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens