Reblochon - B.Linens MIA

[Helen]

Good afternoon all,

I am new to this forum and spent the best part of the afternoon reading through the different posts. I am in awe of the resources available here.

I would like to request your help with regards to my first attempt at making reblochon.

I have made reblochon two weeks ago, inoculating the milk with Geo and then washing the cheese every two days with a 3% brine solution to which I added a pinch of B.Linens. After 1 week, the Geo was looking good and my cheese was covered in white. However, the white bloom receded (which is normal) but the B.Linens does not seem to be kicking in. My cheese has taken a yellow-ish color (but no bright orange as I expected) and I think it has caught a slight case of toad skin 

The recipe said to stop washing after two weeks.

My question is: Should I keep washing with the B.Linens or stop as recommended by the recipe?

Thank you in advance for your kind help!

Helen



 

[linuxboy]

What are your aging conditions in terms of humidity and temp?

If doing a geo/b linens washed rind, I will usually pick a very mild strain of geo, and/or I will increase the salt content to 10% to kill back the geo

A yellowish color is perfectly fine for some variants of b linens. How does it smell? And which b linens did you use?

[Helen]

Hello LinuxBoy and thank you so much for helping me out.

I apologize for not thinking of providing all components of the problem.
- I age my cheese in a ripening container placed in a wine fridge at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity in the box is between 90-95% per my hygrometer.
- The b.linens I used is Corynebacterium (not sure if that is the strain though. I apologize for my ignorance) and the little pack says "red mold"
- It smells quite good in my opinion  It is a smell that I associate with Reblochon. However, it used to smell quite yeasty a couple of days ago. 

I will increase the salt content of the brine per your recommendation. Which strain of b.linens would you recommend that I use?

Again, thank you for your help. I am very grateful!

[iratherfly]

Can you take any photos and post so we can see it?

Where did you get your B.Linen from? It doesn't seem like it is fighting your geo so I wouldn't quite kill the geo with salt yet. The geo stabilizes the surface for the B.Linen growth (and will come back after the B.Linen again). The yeasty aroma may be a good thing. It may happen sometimes between the Geo's receding and the B.Linen coming out.

B.Linens do come out later in the maturation process. As Linuxboy mentioned, not all of them are crazy orange and some are quite mild and light colored. Knowing which strain you are using helps. The growth usually starts up as a pale yellow becoming a stronger yellow and turning orange-ish around the end of the 2nd or 3rd week of washing. You should start by washing every second day and in the 2nd or 3rd week wash them less often and give it a chance to grow for 2-4 days in between washes (I turn the cheese once in between washes).  Another issue could be initial acidity that prevented or slowed down growth.  I have a feeling you can still fix this cheese.

[Brie]

As an addendum to this great advice, I would also add that b.linens need oxygen to grow, so I always let them out of the containers every other day for a half an hour to "breathe".

[Helen]

Good morning, Iratherfly and Brie,

Thank you for your piece of advice. I appreciate your kind help!

Truth is... the reblochons got eaten this weekend and it was heavenly (we ate it on bread and as a tartiflette). The rind was definitely not as thick as it was on reblochons I ate before so I know there is room for improvement there. It was very pale also... which was not something I expected.

Actually, I am still having issues with my Raclette rind (B.linens is barely showing up after one month and half of washing). I wash it twice a week and did not think that it needed to breathe. I will change the washing schedule and let the cheese breathe for half an hour.

Thank you for sharing your insight with the newbie that I am.

[iratherfly]

Hmmm... tartiflette!!! Good for you!

Brie's comment is actually very important, they do like some air flow, let them breath a bit.

You need to investigate the B.Linen you are using. Can you buy a culture at a culture dealer like The Dairy Connection? Use the classic Danisco Choozit "SR3" or the stronger "LR". You may just have a low strain.  I would also suggest to suppement the milk and wash with Danisco Choozit KL71 cheese yeast (Use about 1/8 tsp per gallon). It will help in growing a thicker and faster B.Linen rind. It also gives the cheese favorable aromatic properties.  Or, instead of the KL71 you may want to also look into Danisco Choozit PLA, it's a combo of a very light yellow B.Linen, Geo, Yeast and aromatics. Will give the cheese more of a barnyard quality.

[Helen]

Tartiflette is definitely one of my favorite. We made it with some homemade bacon and the whole dish tasted so good! I need to make more reblochons soon

I have attached (or hope to attach... I never posted a pic to the forum before) pictures of the reblochon and the tartiflette. Please note the very pale color of the cheese. I looked at the b.linens packaging but could not locate information beyond "red" strain. I bought the bacteria on cheesemaking.com. Now I purchase most of my supplies from Glengarry and will give thought to purchasing the strains that you recommended in your post.

I have also attached a picture of my aging raclette. As you can see, the b.linens appears much redder but the spots are kind of spread out. I hope that by using your tips, it will eventually recover the whole cheese.

Thanks again and have a good evening!

[Brie]

The tartiflette looks amazing--it was pivotal in making a poato gratin with my Reblochon tonight. The original recipe is just a bit too fat-laden for me. Bon Appetit!

[linuxboy]

OK, so for anyone wondering about b linens color. It is hugely strain dependent. Moreover, it depends on the available food (amino acids, mostly). One strain can have a wide range of colors based on the pH, the interaction with other molds/bacteria, and the salt/humidity/temp/oxygen levels.

In general, to achieve the most red, you must:

- Decrease surface pH by using Geo or a yeast like DH or KL. Or a mix like PLA. This is required for all b linens.
- Ensure good air exchange so there's plenty of oxygen
- Keep humidity high, at least 95%.
- Keep the right ratio of the cultures. The candida utils, or DH or Geo must only deacidify, not be the primary mix.
- Keep the temp moderate, around 50-55F, preferably at the lower end.
- Keep the salt low to moderate. You want Geo to slow down and b linens to take off. most geos will die at 5% or lower. B linens can tolerate 10-15%, and certainly 8% or so. I'm talking about the wash. This is one option if you have runaway geo- kill it with salt.
- Use a strain with high red coloration, as Yoav already mentioned.

Helen, your cheese looks quite good, actually. That color is certainly within the acceptable range for b linens variants. And in the end, we make cheese to share with others and if any is left, to enjoy our selves. So if you made a delicious dish, I would call that a smashing success

[Helen]

Brie, potato gratin sounds yummy too. Cheese makes any dish taste better. One thing I love is melt some diced reblochon on my hot pasta.

Linuxboy, thank you for your very detailed explanation. I will try to master all those components of a successful rind for my next washed-rind. Thank you also for reminding me of what is important. A cheese shared with friends always taste better. 

Thanks again to all of you who took the time to alleviate my anxiety regarding those cheeses!