Saint Nectaire Cheese Making Recipe

Heat & Acidify Milk

Begin by heating the milk to 90F. You do this by placing the milk in a pot or sink of very warm water. If you do this in a pot on the stove make sure you heat the milk slowly and stir it well as it heats

I have provided 3 choices for Lactic cultures above. The C101 and MA011 are both quite similar as they just do lactose conversion to lactic acid. The MA4002 will produce a bit more complexity and would be closer to a traditional farm culture derived from the milk. These will both function in converting the sweet lactose and whey release.

If you are using raw milk the above culture choice can be reduced by 25-40% due to natural bacteria working in the milk.

Also an addition of the Geotrichum 17 will help develop a natural rind as the cheese ages

Once the milk is at 90F the culture can be added. To prevent the powder from caking and sinking in clumps sprinkle the powder over the surface of the milk and then allow about 2 minutes for the powder to re-hydrate before stirring it in.

The milk now needs to be kept at this target temperature until it is time to increase for cooking the curds. Hold the milk with culture quiet for the next 60 minutes to allow the culture to begin doing its work. It will be very slow initially but will soon kick into its more rapid rate of converting lactose to lactic acid.

Coagulate with Rennet

Then add about 1.75ml (slightly more than 1/4tsp) of single strength liquid rennet.

The milk now needs to sit quiet for 45minutes while the culture works and the rennet coagulates the curd. You should notice the milk beginning to thicken (flocculation point for the TEK oriented) but make sure you let it set for the time needed.

The thermal mass of this milk should keep it warm during this period. It is OK if the temp drops a few degrees during this time.

Cut Curd

Once a firm curd has developed to hold a good break it is time to cut. cut the curd to as even a 1/4-3/8" size as possible taking about 5 minutes.

Then begin a very slow stir to firm up the newly cut edges over the next 15 minutes.

Wash Curd

This process is known as the washed curd method.

When the stir is complete allow the curds to drop to the bottom and the remove about 1/3 of the vat content as whey.

Immediately begin adding back the same amount of clean warm water at 102F slowly over the next 10 minutes while slowly stirring. This will limit the food source (lactose) and the acid production slows. The curds should be at 95F at the end of this process.

Cook Curd

For the next 30-40 minutes stir the curds slowly to allow the acid to develop and the whey to flow from the curds

Now it is time to begin drying out the curds. The total cooking time will be 30-40 minutes.

The final curds should be cooked well through and should be examined to make sure that enough moisture has been removed. A broken curd should be firm throughout and the curds should have a moderate resistance when pressed between the fingers.

When this point is reached the curds can be allowed to settle under the whey again

First Pressing

This is another unique process to this cheese it will press the curd body and limit the air and whey trapped inside, defining the texture of the finished cheese.

Note: Counting this one, there are three separate pressings for this cheese.

Once the curds have settled under the whey, begin removing the whey, leaving 1-2" of whey covering the curd mass. Then gather the curds into a consolidated mass on the bottom. You can do this with your hands but I find that using a large piece of our medium draining mat material helps to bring the cheese together (see photos).

Traditionally in the Auvergne they would do this with a specially made paddle

Once this is done place the plate or lid on top and press down firmly (this is the pre-press) to consolidate. A little hand pressure or a gallon of warm water set on top for 15-20 minutes should suffice.

Once the curd mass (commonly called the Tomme) is firmly consolidated then cut or break the mass into 2-3 pieces and let rest for a few minutes while you prepare the forms and drain cloth. This allows the new cuts to heal and the curd develop a bit more releasing more whey.

Second Pressing

This step is a general consolidation of the curd mass.

The curd pieces are now transferred to the forms without the drain cloth, packed in and firmly pressed by hand.

The follower is then placed on top and a weight of 12-15lbs per cheese is added for about 1hr.

Third Pressing

This step includes an early salting of the cheese mass to slow the bacteria cultures even more (again a sweeter cheese). This also encourages some more whey release. This is very unusual, the only case I have ever seen with the split pressing and salting in the press. It is somewhat like cheddar where the curds are totaly salted before press but this one salts the surface only mid pressing. A very interesting adaptation.

The cheese is then removed from the form and salted with about 1.5% of salt by final curd weight. This is a dry salt rub to all surfaces and then returned to the form lined with cloth this time. The follower is then placed on top and the form returned to the press. The cheese is then pressed for 12 hrs with 25 lbs per cheese. Then turned rewrapped and pressed again for another 12 hrs.

The form should show tears of whey weeping from the form very slowly. At each turn you will notice the cheese has formed a smoother surface and rests lower in the mold.

Note: the cloth is used in the form for this pressing because the salt will generate more whey release when complete the cheese should show a good consolidate with no gaps or holes on the surfacethe cloth is used in the form for this pressing because the salt will generate more whey release when complete the cheese should show a good consolidate with no gaps or holes on the surface.

Ripening

Once the cheese has been pressed it should show a nice smooth and even consolidated surface with no openings. It should be taken from the mold and allowed to rest (the salting was already done in the mold) at 60-65F with 70-75% moisture for a few days. This will allow the surface mold (natural yeast and the Geotrichum you added to the milk)

Then the cheese needs to be moved to the aging space. Temperature should be at 52-56F and moisture kept high at 85-90%. In the Auvergne they lay the cheeses out on Rye straw but here I find a wooden board in my cave works just fine. Bamboo mats might be an alternative to allow air flow under as well but they will leave a very definite pattern.

This should be first held for 1 week while the ambient yeast and the Geo17 you added begin to develop.

At the end of the first week the cheese should be washed with a light brine(~6%) made with a cup of cool water and a tablespoon of cheese salt.

• The top and the sides should be washed then allowed to dry.
• Then the cheese is turned and the other side is done.
• Repeat this at 1 week intervals for the next 2 weeks.
• 3 applications in total.
• It is best to allow the surface to dry slightly before returning to the aging space each time.

You should expect to see the following evolution of the surface and cheese body, starting with the day it is removed from the press.:

• Day 1 | The cheese should appear moist but with no apparent surface growth.
• Day 5 | Should show a slight white growth on the surface
• Day 7 | Should show a growth of white hair like mold (mucor)
• Day 9 | Will show either a grey/brown or a blue/grey surface and the curd begins to soften slightly. If the moisture of the cheese body or aging space is high the surface will take on a more washed rind rosy appearance. Either is acceptable depending on the makers intent. I see the former condition more from the small farm producers and the later from the larger producers. They are often side by side in the display cases at the cheese shops.
• Day 25 | The surface should be well established and from great producers you may find the natural pink powdery patches of the mold t.roseum.
• Day 30 - 60 | The surface begins to dry more and the cheese body becomes softer and creamier. This gradually moves from the surface to the center of the cheese when totally ripe. The longer it is aged for the stronger the flavor and more character.

Final Cheese

The cheese should develop a nice mottled mold surface with white to gray patches and eventually a felt of blue grey from the mucor. If the cheese have a higher moisture when the whey is removed they may take on a rosy to pinkish character similar to a wash rind. I do see examples of both in shops in the Auvergne but the farm cheeses seem to always have the grey while the larger cooperative cheese seem to have the more colorful rinds. This may be due to many cooperatives pasteurizing the cheese whereas the small farms do not. The cheese is normally ripe in about 6-8 weeks.

The cheese pictured below is one I bought from a farm where the maker went right into the cave and brought up a cheese right from the shelf. We had talked at length about aging so I am sure he brought me one of his best. It had a beautiful dampness about it and that good kind of mushroomy and damp earth smell.

The surface of his cheese was covered with a solid mass of blue/grey felt felt-like molds. The incandescent lights did not do the surface justice in the first pic though. The entire cheese was more like the side here. The last two pictures show the evolution of 'said' cheese over the next few days during our lunches. The picture on the right shows more of the texture and rind character than the other two though.