Poil De Chat (Cat's Hair) Mold, Unwanted - Pictures On My Blue

[mtncheesemaker]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but someone asked for a picture of this mold once, and since I had a perfect example, I thought I'd share.
Pam

[linuxboy]

Here's another one of a more serious Mucor mold issue.
http://www.inst-elevage.asso.fr/html1/IMG/jpg/Mucor_PM.jpg

[DeejayDebi]

Oh no! Sorry about your cheese Pam. 

[driekus]

Is it salvageable Pam?
How does this mold form Pam, does it start of short and then grow or does it rapidly appear as long hairs?

[DeejayDebi]

I have read that Mucor is the same stuff that makes the "Black mold" that kills people. It's toxic. Can cause bad lung problems. I would not try to wash it off but I am a scaredy cat. I had an aunt die from the mucor black mold it wasn't pretty but it was fast.

[driekus]

How do you tell it apart from Penicillium candidium? Is it the length of the hairs?

[DeejayDebi]

length, color, it looks like cat hair not short happy looking little marshmellow mold.

[Oude Kaas]

I have had quite a few cheeses which developed cat's hair, especially lactic ones. I have also seen it on cheeses in France, sometimes it is a stage the cheese goes through while aging.
Don,t know how to insert a link, but here is some poil de chat http://heinennellie.blogspot.com/2009/03/ash-coated-cheese_26.html

[driekus]

Absolutely beautiful photos. Im not sure I would eat them (a little funky for my taste). I had some mold that look like penicillium candidum on my blue. I check my cheeses every second day so it had only gotten a few mm across before I dabbed it in vinegar and salted it some more. So couldnt really identify it.
Pam thankyou so much for providing the photos and thankyou Kaas as well for the photos.
Photos are very very helpful for the newbies like myself.

[mtncheesemaker]

Glad to be of service. I rubbed a little salt on the spots. I only ever get this at the beginning of the blues, just rub them off and they don't come back.

[driekus]

Wow Deejay, bad cheese making joke. I still laughed though, does that make me just as bad?

[DeejayDebi]

Did I make a joke? Darn I missed it!

I sure hope mucor doesn't have long roots.   But then I am still itching from washing some mold off that deveolped on my Reggianito last night. I wore my gloves but I splashed on my arm. Don't know if you can see the rash it's hard to take a picture that close without washing out from the flash. I don't get along well with mold.

Meow!

[driekus]

Sorry thought the reference to cat hair and roots was a joke, didnt realise that it had roots like cat hair.
I can easily see your arm is red, like some sort of allergic reaction to the mold. Molds can put off a lot of allergenic and toxic compounds.
Is it only certain types of mold you react to, or molds in general?

[DeejayDebi]

I think just green and blue molds. I did eat a brie and camembert so I guess the white mold doesn't bother me. I have to be very anal about washing my cheeses if they grow mold I always get a rash like poison ivy and itchy eyes. I guess the green and blue molds are cosins so to speak to penicilin which I am very allegic to.

As far as roots go. I had a salami that didn't cure right last year that looked from the outside like the mold was just on the surface skin. That is normal. When I cut it open the roots could clearly be seen and they were right in the center. Very weird and ugly. White molds seem to be well behaved - greens molds can be very nasty to deal with.