Author Topic: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS  (Read 1768 times)

Tobiasrer

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Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« on: November 23, 2012, 05:00:15 AM »
This is my first make of gruyere, it is about 2 weeks old, and it has some mold that i dont think should be there.
I am assuming the red tinge is good based on pics but the fluffy white and greenish is bad? how do i treat them with out affecting the good stuff?

Sorry I am not a better photographer!

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2012, 01:34:02 PM »
I am very new at this so I'm hoping advanced cheese makers will chime in.  I have never made Gruyere so I don't know what the usual options are for rind development.  My Mary Karlin cheese book says to flip daily for a week and rub with simple brine twice a week for three more weeks.  She says the salt solution will decrease the amount of mold that grows on the surface.  At the bottom of the page she writes a variation for an aged Gruyere that allows for desirable mold growth and says not to rub it with brine but instead to dry brush it once a week for the duration of aging.  (she's instructed that the cheese should be in a box at 54F degrees and 90 percent humidity)

The lush white mold sounds like PC mold.  The orange sounds like B. linens.  For me I just did rind maintenance on a washed curd cheese with less white than yours and some spots of blue.  I chose to dry brush the whole cheese and use a bit of clean cloth moistened in brine to gently wash off any remaining sign of blue.  On another softer cheese of mine (Reblochon style) I had LOTS of white growth like you show in your photos and I didn't want so much of that and I chose to wash it gently under running water with a soft brush.  I'm expecting the Geo growth to grow back on that to finish it's ripening.  Don't know if this has been helpful but maybe reading how I deal with molds will give you some ideas.

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2012, 02:51:36 PM »
That is a good  explanation Tiarella, I believe you are right on for getting rid of the blue spot's.
I had some blue spots on my emmentaler, It was suggested that I not wash it but maybe once a week, so I took a large gauze cloth using just a small amount of my wash to wipe away the blue molds, worked very well.
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Tobiasrer

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Re: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2012, 03:53:51 PM »
Sorry what do you mean by dry brushing?

I was succesful, for now at least, in wiping it way with the brine wash, we will see how it goes from here.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2012, 04:10:47 PM »
Dry brushing is using a dry brush and no brine to brush off most of the mold.  It can be very helpful to keep the mold down.  With one of my cheeses today I dry brushed and then just used a barely damp cloth on the worst blue spots.  If I wanted a natural molded rind I probably wouldn't wash it off.  I'd just do the dry brushing when I felt like it was getting too much mold.  The problem I have with washing with brine is that it creates yet more moisture to manage. 

Now, maybe H-J-K can post a link to the thread where Alp talks about creating a traditional moldless rind the way they do it in Switzerland.  Their method is to keep the rind too wet for mold and wash it often to have a creamy paste develop with B. Linens and other stuff and then that dries into a lovely protective rind.  I'm writing from my iPad and don't yet know how to copy links into a post with it.

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2012, 04:26:30 PM »
I'm not sure, I think this is the thread or comment you mean Tiarella, after reading I had a better understanding of the wash concept (thank you Alp) :)
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Tobiasrer

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Re: Help, what should I do about these MOLDS
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2012, 04:46:55 PM »
Thanks, thats my concern with the brine wash is moisture, I have been having trouble ( Ithink its an issue) with it feeling slimy, I have basicaly taken the lid right of the ripening box. I keep it in my cold room (just canned goods are stored in there) that is maintained between 10-12C, I dont measure humidity, the thermostat upstairs has us at about 40%humidity, so I cant see the basement being over 80% but I will be getting a device from the cold room as well to be safe.