Cheese #1

Office Experiment

The other day I went to the kitchen at the office and prepared myself a cup of coffee. One of the benefits we have (albeit a minor one) is that we can choose between using the powdered artificial creamer or half & half. I have gotten hooked on using half & half. I use two though, I don't usually go for half of anything, so I end up having coffee with half & half & half & half. But I digress...

I reached over to get my first half & half and as I opened it I noticed something distinctly different. There was some sort of solid material in it! Being a scientist at heart, instead of thinking, "GROSS!" and throwing it out, I studied the new material.




There it is. I deduced that the half & half had curdled. Then continuing my studies I sniffed it. Whoa!! It smelled very familiar. I knew instantly that it was cheese, but I couldn't quite figure out which cheese it smelled like.

I cupped the cup in my palm and went to find other unsuspecting scientists. I approached my boss, who given her present condition (pregnancy) is extremely squeamish. Invoking the power of research, I eventually coaxed her into taking a deep whiff. No, she was no help in identifying the cheese strain but the antics she made after smelling it were worth the effort.

Science marches on....

I found another unsuspecting scientist and she was much more receptive to having me place an unknown putrid substance near her face so she could smell the effects of random bacteria. She did confirm that the half & half smelled exactly like Blue Cheese.

After further research, I came to the conclusion that even though it smelled like Blue Cheese, it really wasn't Blue Cheese but some other sort of cheese.

So what makes Blue Cheese blue? Penicillium roqueforti

That particular strain is in short supply around the office but I hatched a plan. I would get yet another mini container of half & half and start a small cheese farm in a corner of my office!

I'm thinking that my first batches won't taste all that great since I know I need to add salt but through trial & error I will get it right. There are tons of cheese recipes out there.

I found this site that explains the cheesemaking process. In the drawing, I am at the 'natural souring' stage. I figure that in a week or so it should begin to curdle. If it doesn't, it seem sthat heat speeds up the process, so I'll stick it in the microwave.

And here is the genesis of my cheese farm...