Author Topic: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?  (Read 5178 times)

Offline vertlook

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I been making salami for a long time and recently started making cheese. I am using the same small fridge for both (it is becoming too small now). The question is whether it is safe for cheese or not?
The deal here,  salami is growing Penicillium nalgiovense on the surface, which by the way is quite aggressive mold, while some cheeses, Camembert for example is using Penicillium candidum. I am worried that the salami mold gets on my cam and either inhibits p.candidum or make some weird mutation on it. The questions are:
1. Is it safe for consumption then?
2. Does it affect cheese taste/smell/ any other properties?
Any thoughts are appreciated.

tnsven

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2010, 05:22:12 PM »
I'm sure someone here will know about this. I'm hoping to make some fermented sausages myself one day soon!

Here's my two cents on molds.....I suspect these molds are specific to a medium (meat vs. milk) and that they won't infect what they were not designed to infect. And that if they were able to cross contaminate, a cheese infected with the salami mold and vis versa would be safe. Of course, I'm not even a novice when it comes to this sort of thing.

I suspect Debi or Linuxboy will have more to say on the subject.

Kristin

darius

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2011, 07:47:26 PM »
No answers?

Helen

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2011, 07:50:37 PM »
I personally use P. Candidum on my salami to prevent unwanted molds to grow there.

I have to say that my salami never tasted "off" to me.

- Helen

darius

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2011, 07:52:50 PM »
Thanks. I know curing meats require different RH than cheese, but I may have to use just one "cave" for the nonce anyway.

Helen

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2011, 08:26:29 PM »
Well... My cheeses are aging in containers in the wine fridge to up RH while my cured meats are aging in the wine fridge itself.

That way, I don't have to deal with the different RHs. Or at least, don't have to deal too much :)

- Helen

Tomer1

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2011, 01:01:43 AM »
Both cheese and salami have a very sjmmiler salt content of about 2% and
at fermentation\mold growing stage both share the same high moistore level.

The salami surface mold degrades lactic acid (usually found in sousage from the acidification process carried out by LAB converting dextrose or sucrose to lactic acid, lactic acid is found plentyful on cheese so I dont see why they wouldnt want to come by for a visit).

I have no idea why some type of peneciliums are commonly isolated in cheeses and others in cured\fermented meats.

brewjack

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2012, 11:18:29 PM »
Bump. 
This is a topic of some interest to me, currently I'm using my salami curing chamber to house my cheese.  But I was worried about contamination, so my cheese is in tupper ware containers, which is certainly not ideal, as the humidity in my salami chamber is far more predictable then the tupper-ware.

Also, what about cheese's that have rind's where mold isn't a main component, like chedder or gouda or parm.  It seems that that they would do fine.  Yes?

Any input would be great.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Cross-contamination between cheese and salami? Different cultures?
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2012, 08:27:04 PM »
Sorry I thought I had answered this post but I guess not. One thing that does sometimes transfer beside the molds are smells. I don't mind a bit of salami in my cheeses though. I have put salami and peperonis in my cheeses many times. I have been curious to try the p.Cad on my salamis as the standard mold makes me itch and the p.cad doesn't for some reason. Maybe next year. My salamis are about done for the summer.