Poil De Chat (Cat's Hair) Mold, Unwanted - How Prevent

[mcfly]

Hey all,
I have question about poil de chat. I read that its attracted to cheeses that are moist and lightly salted? Aren't most cheeses moist and lightly salted when they start out? What's the main cause or how can I prevent it?

Steve

[ConnieG]

What is it?

[mcfly]

This is it:

http://heinennellie.blogspot.com/2009/03/poil-de-chat.html

After reading this I have a feeling it's caused by the brine not matching the PH of the actual cheese?

So its nothing to do with contamination?

[linuxboy]

Just the opposite. It's a natural mold that must be controlled. Your options for controlling are:

- Clean the cave to remove any hyphae and any spores
- dry salt cheese to create a gradient to inhibit it
- Wash/scrub rind to remove any signs as soon as they appear
- Use a rind inoculant, like some versions of geo and candidum that kill it
- Use a rind culture mix that will outcompete poile de chat for resources making the rind inhospitable to colonization

pH imbalance in cheese and brine is more about influencing salt uptake rate and rate of ion exchange, such as calcium ions.

[mcfly]

Ah ok, so it cant destroy a cheese?! I thought with a name like 'black cat hair' it was some kind contamination that would end with a cheese in the bin.

I've been reading quite a bit about brine and it cropped up.

Thanks again 

[linuxboy]

Makes cheese very bitter, the mold enzymes are really proteolytic.

[ConnieG]

As I read further, it seemed as if sometimes the white mold on Brie and Camembert were called that even when white.  Is that a misnomer?  Is it only the black hairy mold that is this troubler?