Heat phase, tallegio

[smilingcalico]

What is the purpose of the heat phase of a washed rind cheese?  Example, milk is innoculated with cultures and B. Linens.  After make, cheese is kept in a hot room for several hours prior to being stored in a cold room.  Clearly this will more quickly acidify the cheese, but why not just leave it out longer at a cooler temp?  Does it help the environment for the B. Linens in some way?

[linuxboy]

Yes, it facilitates yeast or geo growth to give it that rapid surface deacidification.

[smilingcalico]

So the geo or yeast likes the acidity to grow, but then neutralizes the surface? That's kind of self limiting, no? Is there any possible complication of having a high pH exterior and low pH interior?

[linuxboy]

So the geo or yeast likes the acidity to grow,

To a point.

but then neutralizes the surface?

It starts right away.

That's kind of self limiting, no?

It would be if acidity kept developing and did not taper off.

Is there any possible complication of having a high pH exterior and low pH interior?

Sure, excess proteolysis, contamination/food safety, etc. And pH is not drastically low inside.

[smilingcalico]

Thanks as usual LB.  Any idea how this practice of the heat phase came to be?  How did these mavericks come to decide to do it this way?

[linuxboy]

My best guess, putting myself into their shoes, is that this is a leftover variant from pecorino steaming. When pecorinos are steamed, it is done to ensure acidification. My guess is that someone was tired, made an evening batch of cheese in the fall because there was farm work, and woke up to an overacidified cheese. What the hell... let's age it out anyway. Turns out, it's tasty. Then the refinements came in to dial in this cheese specifically, preserving the warm period.

That area north of Milano is well suited to it because winter humidity is so high.

[smilingcalico]

LB, your educated guesses are damn educated.  Is there anything you don't know?

[smilingcalico]

So I tried to find more about pecorino steaming, no luck. Is this literally steaming, or a hot room with high humidity, or even allowing the curds to sit a while in the whey?

[linuxboy]

it is literal steaming (cheese on racks on top, steam source on bottom), and this is done more in the middle, in Tuscany (for pecorino toscano). It's a 60-90 min rest with steam coming from the bottom to keep the cheese very warm and help it drain.

Here's one example

http://www.caseificiopaleni.com/cicloproduttivo.asp

it's called stufatura

[smilingcalico]

Thanks LB.