My other two tomme threads are ghost-towns, hopeful this generates a bit more. Re-tooling thinking on my cheeses, and dialing back adjunct use, which is why
Peter Dixon's Tomme recipe intrigues me - like Gianaclis's from her Mastering book, a very simple affinage and make. No adjuncts.
I am puzzled, though, by what seems by my calculation to be a very low starter inoculation rate. If going with using DVI MA4001, Peter's recipe calls for 2.5 DCU/500 lbs milk (raw milk) or double that, 5.0 DCU/500 lbs, if using p/h milk.
That seems really low, isn't it? By my calculation, for a 4 gallon batch, that yields:
(2.5 dcu/500 lbs milk) * (8.6 lbs/gallon of milk) * 4 gallons = 0.172 DCUs. According to the Mother and DVI calculation chart (sorry, can't recall where I got it), 1% inoculation for 4 gallons would be .9842 DCUs. So that's 0.175% inoculation for the raw milk rate and .350% for the p/h.
Both are obviously well below a 1% rate - less than 1/5 the rate for raw milk, just over 1/3 for the p/h rate.
Do I have this right? Isn't this really low? What's the reasoning - some of what's been talked about, looking at a substantial lag and slow curve as a positive?
Additionally, I note he goes straight from the brine into the main cave, to begin affinage. No drying-out period, prior to going into the main affinage. Thoughts?
Incidentally, I note the French AOC forbids adjuncts, as well as curd-washing:
Artificial introduction of bacteria or moulds and washing of curd is forbidden.
Would be interesting to just strip bare the make, using only the farmhouse 4001, and nothing else, but compare a washed-curd to a straight make.
Anyway, thoughts?