Triple Creme Recipe

Acidify & Heat Milk & Cream

In sourcing the milk, do not use any ultra-pasteurized milk but ultra-pasteurized cream is OK. It is the butterfat you need from cream. Homogenized is also good for making this cheese because it will resist the tendency of the cream to rise during coagulation.

Begin by heating separately:

1. 118 oz. of the whole milk (1 gallon less the 10 oz. of heavy cream to be added) to 86-88°F
2. 10 oz. heavy cream to 100°F (the warm cream will blend better with the warm milk)

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.

As your milk reaches 80°F, combine the milk and cream and add 1/4 tsp Calcium Chloride then mix gently and continue heating to target temperature.

Once the milk is at the 86-88°F temperature, the culture can be added.

Add the pack of Buttermilk culture and 1/16 tsp P.candidum and a pinch (1/64 tsp) of Geotrichum.

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.

Keep the milk/cream combo covered at this temperature for about 60 minutes while the bacteria begin to work.

Coagulate with Rennet

Next, add slightly less than 1/4 tsp (1.0 ml) of single strength liquid rennet. This will be slightly more than if making a Camembert and is needed due to the higher fat content. Dilute the rennet in about 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water, then add to the milk.

Stir the milk/cream mix gently in an up and down manner for about 1 minute.

If the cream tends to rise to the surface, it is best to top stir (just across the surface gently) every few minutes for the first 8-10 minutes but this should be minimal and only as needed to help the cream mix back in and must stop before the milk begins to thicken.

The pot now needs to set till for at least 90 minutes while the culture works and the rennet coagulates the curd. 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. You should notice the milk begin to thicken at about 15-20 minutes, but allow it to firm up for the full time.

If you find the curd still too soft, you can hold it for another 1/2 hour.

Some of the French producers using very slow fermentations use less rennet and hold for up to 3-4 hours before cutting.

The longer setting time for this curd formation will insure a higher level of moisture being held by the final cheese and is largely responsible for the soft creamy texture of these cheeses.

During this time, sanitize your draining area, colander, draining cloth, molds and mats and arrange in the draining area to receive the curds after the next step.

Cut Curd & Release Whey

Once a firm curd forms, the surface is cut with a long knife vertically in a large checkerboard manner of about 1 inch squares, then allowed to rest 5 minutes while the cuts heal and whey is released. Then the curd is broken down using a spoon or flat ladle to cut horizontally into 1 inch pieces.

Then it is allowed to rest again for 5 minutes before a slow and gentle stir begins for another 10 minutes to release more whey. If your temperature has dropped at this point, this is a good time to return it to the original temperature during this stirring phase.

Drain Curds

Next, the curds can be allowed to settle under the whey and the free whey ladled off.

The curds can now be transferred to a colander lined with butter muslin. They should be allowed to drain for 30 minutes.

Some producers will leave the cut curd to settle in the whey for 12-14 hours instead of using the pre-draining step above. I have not tried this yet.

Form the Cheese

Any combination of our small molds can be used:

1. The Camembert form will require 2 molds and produce a low form but wider disc shape, similar to Camembert.
2. The Crottin, Chevre, or Saint Marcellin forms… will need 3-4 molds and produce a smaller, more compact cheese.

The pre-drained curd can now be transferred to the sanitized molds and arranged on the draining mat to begin matting into their final shape. This should take place at about 70-74°F and should last another 24 hours, turning the cheese at least 3 times during this time, beginning 4-6 hours after molding. The next morning they will have sunk to about half of the original fill height.

Salting

The next morning, the cheese is ready to be salted on the top surface. The total salt should be about 2 teaspoons for the cheese from 1 gallon of milk (about 1.5-2% by weight of salt to cheese).

Use 1/2 of this salt (1tsp) distributed evenly between the top surface of all cheeses and then spread that evenly over top surface and sides only. I generally place these back in the molds with salt side up to allow the salt brine to form and to be absorbed by the cheese.

The other side can be salted in the afternoon using the other half of the salt and a similar procedure.

Aging

On the following morning (day 3), the cheese is removed from the molds and moved to a drier room with moisture at about 65-75% and 58-65°F. The purpose of this will be to dry off any residual surface moisture and it may take anywhere from 4-12 hours depending on the room conditions.

Your triple cremes are now ready for a brief aging but not more than a few weeks usually. However, they must be kept in a damp, cool environment to keep from drying out. 52-58°F and 90-95% moisture is good to preserve the moisture in the cheese. If you do not have a suitable space, this can easily be accomplished with a plastic box and tight fitting cover.

If you age them more than a week, the white mold should begin to cover the surface, adding another dimension to the flavor of this cheese. Otherwise you can eat them fresh after just a couple of days to allow the salt to stabilize.