Sage Derby
Posted: 05 August 2013 09:33 AM   [ Ignore ]
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My attempt at a Sage Derby. I followed the recipe given on the New England Cheesemaking website. I gave the sage and spinach a really good pureeing in the food processor, but when I added it after breaking up and salting the curds the liquid seemed to disappear and all I was left with was little flecks of leaf. The cheese out of the press looks more speckled than marbled - here’s hoping the inside looks more like it’s supposed to. It smells quite sagey.

The waxing went better this time - I dipped instead of brushing, the addition of a bit of green made it a lot easier to see what I was doing, and of course the green wax themes very nicely with the herby cheese. I think it looks very pretty though I say so meself. wink
I’m going to try and age this for at least three months, if I can stand the suspense!

From 8l of milk, I got a yield of 955gm plus 350gm ricotta.

Photos are the cheese after three days drying, and after waxing and labelling.

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Posted: 05 August 2013 07:58 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]
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Nice job ! smile
Maybe try dehydrating the veggies then mix in.

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The Cheese Hole

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Posted: 05 August 2013 09:21 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]
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I washed the fresh leaves, soaked them in cold water for a while, then scalded them to kill off any microbeasties and set the colour. Then I whizzed the leaves with half a cup or so of water until I had what seems a pretty fine puree. Maybe I should have had more leaves/less water to make a stickier/thicker paste?

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Posted: 06 August 2013 05:01 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]
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I don’t know, Denise, it looks really good the way it is.  You may not want to change anything.  Better to wait and see what the outcome is.  Derby is one of my favorites, but I’ve had some trouble with very dry cheese.  I have a Leicester in the cave now that is 4 months old, and it is also dry.  BTW the label is really nice!

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