Industrialment, fan servir termòfils per estabilitzar i que siguin més ferms
I would wait too long to refill - fill it up once, and maybe top it up once more after 15 minutes, but no more, because the cheese will be too heavy and will collapse in on itself during aging
If aging in a normal kitchen refrigerator, the cheese will take a little longer to form mould and age. Make sure that you check it regularly until you get an even mould all over the surface. Then use cheese wrap as mentioned above. It may take until week 4 to fully mature, but still check at the 3 week mark
If this cheese is matured above 7°C, the flavour will be overpowering and stink to high heaven! Make sure you keep it below the this temperature
There should be no black mould. If there is, just pick it off with a sterile knife. Don’t wipe with brine or vinegar as this will destroy the white mould layer
Ripen at temperatures between 8-10c. Too high a temperature will encourage rapid mold growth rather than a growth that supports the ripening of the whole cheese. In addition to the obvious odd appearance of slip skin, your cheese will also likely have a strong ammonia smell if it has been left to ripen once slip skin has taken hold
If the cheese is moved to the aging area before the proper draining/drying phase is complete, excessive moisture will cause defects such as mucor or blue mold and increased protein breakdown at the surface resulting in runny cheese during aging
Pasteurized preferred, if using then add diuted Calcium Chloride, amount as per manufacturers directions or your experience. Raw milk has some special safety concerns especially if using raw milk because the acidity decreases (pH increases) dramatically due to the white mould which can allow pathogens to survive and then grow when the pH increases during ripening. To mitigate this Camembert curing rooms must be cleaned and sanitized regularly.
Adding cream is optional and will result in a more solid – less oozy cheese.
Draining:
The curds do need to drain naturally (not pressed), but rapidly. The cheese should be at around its final size within a few short hours. Final size should be 1/3 to 1/4 of the total height of what you have originally ladled.
Draining is very important in B/C making for i) subsequent mould development, ii) to prevent slip skin, and iii) to prevent accelerated ammoniation before the cheese is ripe.
Excessive whey draining time in hoops results in the whey acidifying the curd too much and prevents the cheese from reaching its correct acidity in the right time. This can result in problems during aging such as poorly knit curd, gas formation or early ammoniation.
Trapped whey that does not come out in the drying phase can cause slip skin.
Salting is a major factor in i) draining the cheese of whey, ii) creating a rind, and iii) causing the mould to bloom.
For home production and consumption, wrapping camemberts like the wraps found on commercially produced camemberts is not required. Instead keep them in the aging container, Camembert de Normandie (AOC) are not wrapped for shipping until they are at least two weeks old.
Consum:
At ~2 weeks age B/C’s are “affiné” (refined).
At ~3 weeks age they are “à point” which is when at room temperature, the pate is runny or when the pH increases to near 7.0 or above, especially on the surface. You can test this when in cheese cave by gently pressing the cheese with a finger. Make a fist with your hand, and press the area between thumb and forefinger, if cheese has that consistency when cold it will be “à point”. Alternatively press your eye ball to understand the consistency.
After ~4 weeks age, the smell of ammonia will become apparent while the creamy golden interior will become ever-more liquid. This is the preferred age of B/C snobs. But eventually, even the hardiest of B/C-lovers will concede defeat to an odor that is “not far removed from wet gym kit that has been allowed to fester undisturbed inside a plastic bag for more than a week”. If the cheese reaches this stage, it should be thrown out, or buried.
If want to take longer to age then i) cut the curd smaller and drain longer to get a drier cheese, and ii) age at colder temperature.
If want to take shorter to age then i) air dry the cheese for a couple of days, and ii) age initially warmer 55F for 10-15 days before moving to colder storage.