Now, Pav, you mention using Leuconostoc in Epoisses, could you expand on that?
I have several rather different epoisses types going now but neither of them has
the Leuconostoc in it.....Could you please give us a general 'shopping list' of ingredients
for our beloved stinky?
The real deal, the raw milk Epoisses in France is characterized by the following LAB bacteria:
- Lactococcus lactis
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides
- Lactobacillus plantarum
I'm talking about the cheese, not the smear for the cheese. The way that bacterial succession plays out is that you use primarily L lactis for acidification, and Leuconostoc plays more of a role in contributing to body and flavor formation. The Lactobacillus grows during maturation and multiplies, contributing to flavor, and becoming about on par in number with Lactococcus.
You have picked an extremely difficult cheese. Its production, if you want to imitate it, is really tough due to the smear flora. You could get a passable imitation of the young cheese by using defined strains of L lactis and Leuconostoc. But the smear flora is composed of a complex blend of brevibacteriums and Arthrobacter (and others, but those tends to dominate). Those strains form really specific flavors as they work together.
I suggest trying to focus on the smear selection and wash process instead of culture. Because you can use a normal blue cheese culture approach (75% MM100, 25% MD, for example) and it will give you a passable result. But the smear is harder.
For the smear, you can try using a piece of existing rind from a real epoisses, or trying to recreate the blend. Using commercial culture, the options are Staph xylosum (MVA), a moderate b linens strain (just pick one in the middle, not too red), an Arthrobacter, and a Kluyveromyces for deacidification.
