Management of blue mold on a tomme (or other cheeses w/ mechanical openings).

[ArnaudForestier]

Hi all - wasn't sure where to put this.  Despite some early worries, I am now pretty pleased with the progress of my tommes, the first aged cheeses I've made.  The rinds all smell wonderful; the first being made on 2/4, the last on 2/11, and the smell of earth and mushroom is beginning to take hold. 

That said, the youngest wheel has a very small speck of blue mold developing in one of the mechanical openings.  I see it nowhere else on the wheel, and it isn't on any of the other wheels. 

I'd like to nip this in the bud.  I'm sorry to say, I've not seen a management tool for this problem, really - this isn't a massive takeover, just a small (maybe, 1/32" or so square) patch of blue, in one opening.  But I'd like to prevent a takeover, and also forestall a general problem with blue molds in my cave.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Many thanks.

Paul

[linuxboy]

remove it before it sporulates. Scrape off with a knife, rinse with vinegar or stronger cleaner, dab with towel to dry, and salt that one spot heavily. The next tomme you make, take the curd in the mold, put the cloth on, put on the follower, plunk the entire mold in hot water (110-120F), and press with your hand on the follower for a minute. Flip, repeat, flip, repeat, take out of the hot water.

That temp increase just on the outer edge will increase plasticity, light pressure on top will press cloth into the curds, giving you an even rind without wrinkles/openings.

Then press normal under its own weight (filled gallon jug works for me).

I am now pretty pleased with the progress of my tommes, the first aged cheeses I've made.  The rinds all smell wonderful; the first being made on 2/4, the last on 2/11, and the smell of earth and mushroom is beginning to take hold. 

Awesome, you're in the home stretch now. Let it grow, brush back every so often (about 1x/week), you'll get a great, rustic rind.

[ArnaudForestier]

Great, many thanks, Pav.  As I scraped, unfortunately I found it had penetrated by just a bit more than I would have thought, by the small size of the blue patch alone - so I made a somewhat conical hole in the cheese, penetrating the rind area by maybe 1/8" or so.  I hope that won't be too much of an issue? 

Grateful as well for the additional info on the technique re: plasticity.  Cheers,

Paul

Edit:  Just saw this, Pav:

Awesome, you're in the home stretch now. Let it grow, brush back every so often (about 1x/week), you'll get a great, rustic rind.

You don't know how gratifying this is, coming from you, Pav.  Thanks.  Sorry, I have not seen this, exactly (I know I'm being lazy, because I'm sure it's been covered ad nauseum), but presuming that when I do brush, it is first dipped in the morge?

[linuxboy]

Depends on the rind you want re: keep washing or not. Brushing at this point is to knock it back a little, not smear everything. Or you can keep washing to knock back growth. Outcome is rather similar... somewhat more smear-like with a continued wash. Main point was that once you have a good growth, cut back on the frequency of whatever you want to do.

Blue infestation is not a drastic fault. Remember we were talking about beauforts and how with the high press and high temp, you get that impenetrable rind? And how for a tomme it's not absolutely necessary. It's not absolutely necessary _provided_ that the rind is inoculated with all sorts of beneficial flora to crowd out the blue and fill in all those gaps and fissures. If growth is slow or you have a blue infestation, having an even rind helps. Because blue wisps on the surface are not a huge deal, but inside in the cracks they may cause undesirable flavor formation.

You can get a great rind without using a high PSI with that trick I just detailed, the high temp and moderate to high weight on the two sides. Kind of like pressing under whey, warms up the outer curd, causes it to lose more moisture, but also to plasticize more, and you wind up with a solid, even surface.

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Pav, great info.

Do you have any thoughts on the "injury" I created by having to penetrate the rind, to carve out the bit of blue I did see penetrating (the hole is small, but it's past the thin rind, into a bit of the paste itself)?  Right now, basically, it's been salted, and not much else there (also, I know this is picayune, but I splooged a bit of cider vinegar on more than just the hole ...dabbed it off, but bit did get an acid blast on just a bit more than the small blue area).  I presume a culture wash at this point wouldn't be indicated - just allow the "hole" to heal?

[linuxboy]

It should grow over on its own. If not, rag some wash solution over it. But don't let the liquid pool in there.

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Pav.