Am I on the right track with the molds on this Tomme?

[mattip]

Hi all!

I made this Tomme about one month ago. Everything seems to go OK. But I am wondering about the green molds. I haven't seen green mold on a Tomme before. Should I scrape it away or just let it develop naturally? I have seen that some people brush a tomme. Why is that?

/matti

[john H]

Good day Matti, I would lightly crape the mold off then wash with brine made with 3% salt and 1 TBS of vinegar to 1 cup of water. If the mold is persistent you may need to dab with some spots with  straight  vinegar. If you are using an aging box you may need to open it every other day for air circulation. Maybe some one with more rind development experience can chime in here.

[Kern]

I'd let it go and have the rind develop normally.  Keep the molds under control by brushing.  You've got a lot of good looking molds there and washing could remove them all.

[john H]

I'd let it go and have the rind develop normally.  Keep the molds under control by brushing.  You've got a lot of good looking molds there and washing could remove them all.

Very true Kern my assumption was that a washed rind was desired  . Probably because that is what I have been into with my current cheeses.

When you say "brush to keep under control" Do you use a dry brush (no liquid) to knock back the molds on a natural rind cheese?

John

[Chetty]

I had a tomme that looked about like that.  I wiped with brine solution to get rid of some of the black spots.  Then I just dry brushed.  I was pretty happy with the results.

[Kern]

Right.  You use a dry brush to keep the growth in check.  If you've got the right flora you end up with a colorful natural rind like classic Tomme's are supposed to have.  Think of the brush as giving the mold a haircut.

[mattip]

Thank you all! I'll try and dry brush it a bit then.