emphasizing Mycodore and KL71 more, linens less, if at all. I may bag the linens and just go with geo, mycodore, and the KL.
KL when it goes too far and overtakes is not very pleasant. And a slow linens bloom at 88% RH is really, really nice (to me). It gives an additional breakdown to the paste and increases sliceability. I'm not the world's biggest fan of KL for tommes. Prefer DH or candida utils. I like some KL in certain blues. Individual preference...
Yoav just posted my favorite rind for tommes: PLA and mycodore, and that's it. I agree, it's a brilliant culture blend, gives a rustic, very French tomme.
DH, does de-acidify, but has less of a yeasty note than KL. Arthrobacter is a coryneform, so it will help to balance out the b linens. It's a way to keep the b linens in check. Remember when we were talking about blends duking it out? This is one classic example. Two species that compete for nearly identical food, and that food is already reduced from the geo consuming it, and the geo/yeast has already colonized the surface and formed a thin mat all around the cheese. For PLA, you have a mycelium mat, and then colonies growing on top and through and interspersed with the mat. End result is that you have a very solid foundation in the geo, and then everything else comes after it.
I have PLA ratios somewhere, have to look it up, will try to post.
You can make it yourself in time. More encouraging to have success right away . And most of us started with malt extract, then mini-mashes, then custom grain bills
Incredibly helpful, as usual, Pav, thanks. (Yoav, thank you, as well, for all the contributions here...very helpful). Will drop the ego, grab the PLA, and go with it an the Myco for these first (several) attempts.
Keeping in mind that my wife bought me a beer kit for Xmas one year. Then it was 5 carboys in a row, in a dinky apartment in Chicago. Then a 60 acre farm, a Frankenstein brewery, and Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh Malting and Brewing study, all within a couple of years. So she will hate all of you for lighting yet another passionate spark.
Now...specific suggestions (outside of blues - only one cave, at the moment, and will be holding off on blues until I've got everything else bubbling nicely, and have my chops down) for my pure-pack of KL?
(BTW - on the reblochon - planning some p. candidum and linens, together. Presume the geo can work as the pH setup, no need for KL there, esp. as I'm not looking for any "yeasty" notes - but any KL thoughts there, why/why not, if so?....any other cheeses besides blue where KL works well...?...will be digging and thinking as well, but if some immediate thoughts come to mind, well...).
edit: I see from Danisco that KL is intended for "flavor of soft cheese, and control of the hole formation," while DH is exactly what Pav and Yoav have been indicating, pH setup. I did a search (useful, duh), and Yoav, see this about reblochon
from your post:
I too use SR3 in my current batch of Reblochons (which are the same age as yours). I do however use Geo 15 and KL71 as they work together to prepare the surface pH for the growth of B.Linen and to spread the rind faster and stronger. Yes, B.Linen and Geo can work without the yeast but they will grow slower and thinner so you may end up with a cheese that is too dry and not open to absorb their unique characters by the time it is covered with a good protective rind. Surface-ripened cheese relies on having aging from the outside-in so the better rind you create, the better your cheese will age.
There is another side effect to the Yeast to consider: When inoculated into the milk it apparently feeds on the sugars in the milk. As it becomes trapped in the paste with no proper oxygen supply it dies off and in that process it releases gas that contributes much to the aroma (and possible eye development).
"Control of hole formation." Presume this means something about the rate of CO2 during fermentation would somehow be unique to KL, and given the curd moisture/elasticity, a finer "bead" of eye, if using this over other options?