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pics I decided make Jamaican Habanero + Ghost pepper Camembert cheese

I prefer a more stable "grocery store style" camembert. That means cutting the curd and stirring to remove more moisture than usual before dumping it into the hoops. Basically I follow the same procedure as this recipe as featured on Gavin Webber's video except for that part. Oh, and of course another difference is adding a shitload of really hot fresh cut up peppers. Because we're only two people at home, I also only make 1 gallon worth cutting the recipe in half (technically the 3-pack bags of milk you buy in Ontario, Canada now costing over $5... apparently because inflation. Anyway, it's still super cheap to buying camembert or brie from the store, and so much better!

I put the finely chopped up pods in after I put in the cultures and allowed it to ripen, but before I added the rennet.

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And this is it after cutting and heating, which continued another half hour or so after this photo:
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And this is just before the first flip after I dumped it all into the molds: I like to let it settle for an hour or so before I do the first flip:

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And after salting and multiple flips, she's ready for the cheese box:

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This is about 10 days later, when it now has a nice coating of mold all over it. (These P. camemberti cultures will last a long time in your freezer. No need to throw them out after 12 months!)

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Time to wrap in cheese paper:

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These will stay in the drawer in the regular refrigerator for a couple/few weeks now so that the enzymes created by the mold can work their creamy magic on the milk proteins. I need to remember to still flip them once in awhile.

These will be pretty spicy and not the thing I'd bring to a family gathering. I've done the same with just a few thai chillies, but this is a whole different level that most of my family would not enjoy. I'm really looking forward to trying it soon! Lol
 
Dang, that looks great! You make it sound easy, but I happen to know getting nice results like that from home cheesemaking is tough… reminding myself of that before I wind up with another hobby. 😉
 
Dang, that looks great! You make it sound easy, but I happen to know getting nice results like that from home cheesemaking is tough… reminding myself of that before I wind up with another hobby. 😉
Depends on the Cheeses, Bloomed are the easiest, just takes time. (Brie, Cam, Blue)
 
Dang, that looks great! You make it sound easy, but I happen to know getting nice results like that from home cheesemaking is tough… reminding myself of that before I wind up with another hobby. 😉
As @dragonsfire mentioned, these bloomed cheeses are among the easiest ripened cheeses to make. There is no need for a cheese press, they take only about 4 to 6 weeks from milk to finished cheese, and other than having to remember to turn the cheese, the labour is minimal. That's not to say things never go wrong when starting out. Optimal timing of things like "is it time to spoon into the molds?", "when to salt?", "is it dry enough to cover in the cheese box?", "is it ready for wrapping?" can take a bit of first-hand practice. And of course, like fermenting anything meant for human consumption, cleanliness and thorough sanitation are mandatory.

Slip Skin is probably the most common issue and results from the Geotrichcum mold going crazy because too much culture was used, incubation temps too high, or the cheese has too much moisture before closing it up. I've never made anything completely inedible though, even when first starting out, but appearance and texture may not be appealing.

IMO, the most difficult and time consuming cheeses to make include most of the hard aged cheeses, especially aged cheddar or the washed rind harder cheeses. They can take a lot of aging time. I have a couple unopened rounds of parmesan cheese that have been aging just over 4 years. Another one that can be tricky is swiss style or emmental cheeses because the culture involved is a bit "tricky". There is a photo of one I made that went a little bit too far, but it still tasted great:
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Ive never tasted a better Swiss then the one I made, Ive only made one, long time ago, and it has to be aged, huge difference after 6 months.
Air flow is very important for the Bloomed cheese so the bad mold does not grow and too much moisture collects.
Cheddar I found the hardest and only tried ones, Bloomed are my Fav's :)
Your Swiss looks great :)
 
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