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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => ADJUNCT - Rennet Surface White Mold (Penicillium candidum) Ripened => Topic started by: driekus on January 06, 2010, 02:48:51 AM

Title: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 06, 2010, 02:48:51 AM
I have a question regarding the colour of the P. Candidum. Is it a bad sign that in the area where the mould (Candidum) is the heaviest that the colour has the faintest hint of pink? When I flipped the cheese and it moistened underneath the colour seemed to go away.
The cheese is about 7 days aging at 11C.
Any advice or am I reading into it too much. I think my main worry is contamination since we do get reddish mould in the bathroom on occasion.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: Tea on January 06, 2010, 03:13:32 AM
My last lot developed a pink mould after I wrapped them, and then a foul smell and then slip skin.  I threw them out.  Whether the pink mould was responsible or not I am unsure.

Interested in what others have to say.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 06, 2010, 03:36:57 AM
Im not 100% sure that it is a pink mould. It strikes me a little unusual that the colour is only where the Candidum fuzz is strongest. It doesnt seem logical for an organism to invade where there is the most competition.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 07, 2010, 03:09:56 AM
I know the picture is feint but I thought id upload a picture and see what people think. The mould seems to have spread but only where the P Candidum is the strongest, its very wierd. So I salted it very lightly (which explains why the photo shows the cheese as a little moist on the surface). You can see the feint reddish colour in the middle.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 08, 2010, 02:21:57 AM
I dabbed the pinkish spots with a little vinegar and this seems to have abated the pinkish spots on one of the cheeses and that seems to have dealt with them. I noticed the smell is a little funny (butyric acid). Do you think it is worth cutting my losses to limit the spread of the infection or should I let it keep going and see what happens?
Im just worried if this mould is aggressive and can transfer from a small area in the bathroom that I will have repititive infection worries (although my blue in same cave but in a separate sealed container shows no problems).
Please any advice would be appreciated
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: mtncheesemaker on January 08, 2010, 05:33:40 PM
Hi Driekus;
The pink is kind of hard to see in the photo. Is it an actual patch of pink or just a pinkish undertone? Is the pink intermixed in with the white mold or does it replace it? Is the pink actually "hairy" like a mold?
I'm of the school that likes to play things out to the bitter end, just to see what happens. Cheese goes through phases of different smells and taste, I think.
Do you have slip skin? I think you would by now if you are going to.
Good luck,
Pam
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 08, 2010, 05:51:46 PM
The pink was always with the white mold and always where the white mould growth was at its strongest (the longest hair like structures). It looks like it is at the base of the mold. The pinkish colour would be classified in that it is an undertone.
There does not appear to be any evidence of slip skin. I will wait a few more days and see what happens, the sprinkling of salt bought a bit of the whey to the surface, I have patted it dry yesterday and will see what that does. If I can get a better picture I will, my lack of experience in cheese making is the thing that led me to start worrying.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 10, 2010, 03:41:08 AM
Ok some more higher quality picture courtesy of my wife
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: mtncheesemaker on January 10, 2010, 05:25:01 PM
I'm stumped!
I would probably age it and taste it but that's just me.
Pam
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 10, 2010, 10:45:58 PM
I did some hunting around and by what I can tell it may be Serratia marcescens
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Serratia_marcescens (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Serratia_marcescens)
It seems likely that this is the mold that was on my bathroom and the literature seems to indicate that it can survive in milk and appears to be salt tolerant. It is pathogenic towards humans but only with immuno comprimised individuals.
I know without proper screening it is impossible to tell for sure, but I think I will toss it and cut my losses. I know that when I made the cheese I did have a similar mold in my bathroom. I have since cleaned it up and am militant cleaning it up, so I hope that this is enough to keep it at bay.
The only thing that surprised me is that my blue sitting in the same wine fridge, albeit it in a separate sealed container remained unaffected. Maybe the pH dropped quick enough to inhibit the formation.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: mtncheesemaker on January 11, 2010, 12:19:32 AM
I also read today that milk that is older than 3 days (don't know if you're using raw or store) is prone to yellow and pink molds. (From Margaret Morris' section on troubleshooting.)
Pam
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 11, 2010, 12:47:56 AM
Would that include milk that is pasteurized prior to usage. I used store bought milk and pasteurized it (yes I know it is second pasteurization).
I have sprayed everything down with ethanol and hopefully that will get rid of any residual mold. The plastic containers that were used to hold the cheese are being soaked in oxiclean, will bleach tomorrow and the spray with ethanol. Should kill everything :)

Next time I do this Im going to switch to a local organic non-homogenized milk (frightfully expensive but the milk tastes amazing). Its all a learning experience and I have managed one really good cheese (my feta) and the roquefort is unknown for the next month or so at least. Im also thinking of making a starter for my mesophilic culture to ensure that it is nice and active at the time I mix it into the cheese.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: michoutim on January 23, 2010, 02:01:38 AM
I think it is not a good idea to leave cheese in a bathroom...  Very often there will be if only a bit of mildew in there !

My view!
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: michoutim on January 23, 2010, 07:13:59 AM
Check that... Often found in bathrooms...
http://www.benton.ar.gov/utility_dept/water_purification/faq.htm (http://www.benton.ar.gov/utility_dept/water_purification/faq.htm)
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: driekus on January 23, 2010, 07:08:47 PM
I should probably have clarified that I did not age the cheeses in the bathroom. They were aged in a wine fridge in the loungeroom. I was concerned that the mold put out spores and considering that the same air space is shared in the apartment that transfer was occurring.
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: michoutim on January 24, 2010, 12:02:08 AM
Oh, I see... Sorry!  :)
Title: Re: Colour of Camozola P. Candidum
Post by: iratherfly on February 02, 2010, 08:45:10 AM
I sanitize the wine cooler once a month top to bottom. It shouldn't be a large effect on these cheeses because they age in an aging box with very little air convection.

Regardless, Camembert style cheeses are quite pesky. Unlike harder cheeses that age over months and rely on the starvation of some of the bacteria, continued by enzymes breaking down proteins later, these are an  accelerated platform for growing bacteria at super speed.  As such they are very hospitable to some bacteria growth and thus prone to contamination.
You should make these in lab conditions. Sanitize the aging box, draining platform and draining mats, your milk pot, ladles, curd knife, molds/hoops, thermometer, Hygrometer and pH meter (if you use them), the dish you use dilute to mix the CalCl and Rennet with water, even the measuring spoons and all surfaces of the kitchen - especially the one you intend to rest your instruments on during making of the cheese.

Cover the cheese with a second mat during its first overnight drain. Do not let cheese to bask in the whey which already drained from it. It should always drain on a platform that is elevated enough so no whey will touch the cheese after it has drained off. Wipe off the box's inside in the first 7-12 days from excess water at least once a day until there no more water beads collect in the box. Change the paper towels on the bottom of the box when they get soaked with the drained whey. Of course, when you do that, use clean wipes that did not touch anything else before (or use freshly sanitized cheese cloth). Do not wipe the box's outside and then continue using that wipe on the inside.

Less obvious, watch out for external unrelated contaminants: for example, putting it near a sink - water that ricochet back when someone washes dishes can end up in the cheese. It takes a couple of drops to destroy it (remember how little P.Candidum you put in it and it grows out to cover it?). Bread crumbs and other food leftovers or splatter of something else that cooks in the kitchen are extremely notorious for causing yeast contamination. In fact, if you are making bread at the same time you are making cheese, you don't even have to make it - as the dough rises it releases enough yeast into the kitchen air to potentially destroy your cheese.
Lastly - kind of obvious; wash your hands every time you are about to handle the cheese, check for clean break turn it, Etc.

Contamination risk is especially elevated during the making process and the following 36 hours. It reduces as the cheese and box dries out. It significantly reduces when the cheese is entirely covered with rind (day 12 on average). It reduces even more later when you wrap the cheese and switch to aging at lower temp.

I find that Star San works best. Some things such as wood draining mats and cheese cloth I boil in water for 10 minutes.