Ledger / Soft ripened / 2026-10-07
Reblochon: A Mixed Culture, a Warm Cave, and a Thin Orange Skin
Reblochon ripens warmer than almost any other washed-rind cheese, at 13-15 C, which is why it is ready in four weeks instead of eight. The mixed meso/thermo culture is what keeps it from turning bitter at that temperature, and the thin rind is a function of the wash strength.
Each segment is as wide as its share of the 117 minutes in the vat; the set segment carries the set temperature, the cut segment carries the cut size.
Salt and press drawer
Press ladder
- 1.5 kg1.0 h
- 3.0 kg2.0 h
2-3% brine wiped over the surface every 2-3 days. Selects for Brevibacterium linens and the orange, oniony rind.
Both cultures, and a warm scald
0.5% mixed mesophilic and thermophilic culture at 34 C, ripened forty minutes, 26 IMCU of animal rennet per litre, forty-minute set. Cutting at 15 mm and scalding to 38 C over twenty minutes gives a curd firm enough to press but still open.
The thermophilic half is there for the 13 C cave. A pure mesophilic culture at that temperature keeps acidifying for the first ten days and the cheese ends up sharp and slightly bitter, which is the classic home reblochon fault.
Press lightly, brine briefly
Press at 1.5 kg for an hour, then 3 kg for two hours. Then brine at 16% for two hours per kilo at 12 C, and dry on a rack at 15 C for twenty-four hours.
Reblochon is brined, not dry-salted, and the salt level is deliberately low, around 1.4% in the finished cheese. That is not enough to protect it on its own, which is why the rind wash and the cool chain both matter.
Wash at 2%, and stop when the colour is right
Wipe with 2% brine every second day for the first two weeks, then every third day. At 13 C the orange comes up fast, often by day five. Stop washing once the rind is an even pale orange with a fine, slightly sticky surface.
Washing past that point makes the rind thick and rubbery and it stops the paste softening. A reblochon with a 4 mm rind is a reblochon that was washed too long.
Four weeks at 13 C, then a week cold
Age at 13 C and 92% RH for four weeks, turning every second day. Then move to 6 C for a week to firm the rind before sale or eating.
Cut it cold and let it come to room temperature for twenty minutes. Reblochon is at its best when the paste is soft enough to spread but the rind still holds the shape of the wedge; if it runs off the board, it is a week past its peak.
Aging parameters
| Milk | Raw cow milk 3.9% fat |
|---|---|
| Culture | Mixed meso/thermo 30–42 °C |
| Rennet | Calf rennet (animal) 26 IMCU/L |
| pH at drain | 5.6 target 6.1–6.5 |
| Target moisture | 56 % |
| Cave temperature | 13 °C |
| Cave humidity | 92 % |
| Aging days | 28 days |
| Rind treatment | Brine wash |
| Yield | 1.35 kg |
Raw cow milk Soft ripened 28 days
Defect diagnosis
Flagged on this make: Misread surface mould、Faulty eye formation
Bitterness not seen
Signal — A harsh, lingering bitter note at the back of the palate, strongest in the first three weeks and often fading after six.
Cause — Too much rennet for the set time, or a microbial coagulant with high protease activity, or a scald that never got past 38 C.
Fix — Cut the dose by 20% next make and hold the scald 2 C higher for 10 minutes longer. Bitter peptides are water-soluble, so a 12% brine for 24 hours pulls some out.
Rancidity not seen
Signal — Soapy, paint-like smell that hits before the cheese reaches the mouth. Sharp and unpleasant rather than merely strong.
Cause — Free fatty acids released by lipase, usually from raw milk that sat warm too long, or from rennet paste, or from a knife or cloth that carried old milk residue.
Fix — Chill milk to 4 C within two hours of milking and pasteurise anything older than 24 hours. Retire the cloth: boil it, do not just rinse it.
Faulty eye formation seen this make
Signal — Either no eyes where the style demands them, or a scatter of irregular slits and cracks instead of round, evenly spaced holes.
Cause — Coliform or yeast contamination from unsanitary brine, or a press that was too cold (below 18 C) so the propionic culture never woke up, or too much salt killing it outright.
Fix — Boil and re-salt the brine to 18-20% between batches, press at 20-22 C for the first six hours, and keep the salt under 1.6% for eye-forming styles.
Misread surface mould seen this make
Signal — A grey-green or black fuzzy patch on a rind that was supposed to be white or orange, or blue speckling on a hard cheese.
Cause — Wild Penicillium and Cladosporium from a cave with moving air and standing humidity. Also from brushing a good rind with a damp, dirty brush.
Fix — Distinguish before you discard: white felt and orange smear are wanted, green fuzz on a hard rind is surface only and rubs off with 3% brine. Black patches that pit the paste mean the wheel is lost.
Four things to carry forward
- 0.5% mixed meso/thermo culture at 34 C, 26 IMCU/litre
- Press 3 kg for two hours, brine at 16% for two hours per kilo
- Wash at 2% every second day; stop at the first even orange
- Age at 13 C / 92% RH for four weeks, then a week at 6 C