BLUE CHEESE

This recipe is a duplicate of an excellent blue cheese called "Saga Blue."  It starts with a simple "Farmer's Cheese" (Neufchâtel should do fine as a starting curd).  An inoculum of Penicillium from a cheese you are duplicating is added to the curd, and aeration holes are created so that air can enter the cheese.  Temperature and humidity need to be controlled so that aging proceeds at the correct rate, and the cheese does not dry out, nor "weep" with moisture.

Procedure for makiing Blue Cheese

1. Start with cold drained curds from "Farmer's Cheese" made from two gallons of milk.
2. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of salt, mix in to form pea-sized crumbles.
3. In a blender, blend 1 teaspoon of uncontaminated blue cheese (Saga Blue) with 1/4 cup of cool clean water to create a smooth suspension of cheese (the inoculum).
4. Pour the inoculum over the salted curds, toss to mix thoroughly.
5. Line the cheese press with  a sterile cheese cloth (sterilized by boiling), and load the curd.  cheese press lightly so that the curd are not pressed together, but instead retain air spaces within the cheese. 
6. Place in the cheese press overnight!
7. The next morning, remove from the cheese press, and create air hole by inserting a sterilized rod, about 1/4 inch in diameter (6 mm) through the cheese every inch or so.  This is to allow air to enter the cheese which is necessary for growth of the mold. 
8. Rub the surface lightly with salt, and place the aerated cheese on a dry sterile cheese cloth.  Fold the cloth over to lightly cover.
9. Place on a non-corrosive rack in a "cool box" which will hold the temperature around 10 C (50 F) to encourage air circulation around the cheese.
10. Monitor the temperature and humidity.  The temperature should be around 10 C, and the humidity around 70%. You can elevate the humidity with a pan of water in the bottom of the "cool box."  Since the cheese will be aged unwaxed, higher humidity is important so that the cheese does not dry out.  On the other hand, if it is "dripping wet" so the cheese "weeps," the cheese will spoil.
11. Turn the cheese daily, replace the cheese cloth with a dry sterile one if it appears wet.
12. After a week or ten days, a white "bloom" will appear on the surface and the holes of the cheese.  They should be large enough so that air will not be excluded from the interior of the cheese.  After a month and a half, the outside develops a white with green bloom. The interior should also have bloomed; if not then leave until bloom develops before preparing for cleaning!