Natural Rind

[jerryg]

Started aging my 1st tomme with a natural rind.
Any value placing in the aging box some rind from a store-bought cheese that I want to emulate? Any interchange of desirable microbes?
thanks
 

[john H]

Maybe someone with more experience could chime in here but I would think that dissolving some of the rind in a brine and washing the cheese or spraying the cheese would work better.
John

[sprocket]

Started aging my 1st tomme with a natural rind.
Any value placing in the aging box some rind from a store-bought cheese that I want to emulate? Any interchange of desirable microbes?
thanks

It would probably be more helpful to wash the cheese with a morge, as opposed to letting it sit next to another piece of cheese.  Was the milk you'd use raw milk or pasteurized?  If it was raw milk, you've probably got plenty of bacteria and yeasts already present and waiting to take over.  If pasteurized, you're starting from a blank slate and you will probably have to introduce the microbes you want to see.

I'm somewhat reluctant to recommend using previously cut cheese, as you do risk introducing some potentially less favourable organisms (ie. pathogens) that were present in the environment when it was cut, and packaged, and otherwise handled.  The risk is low, but still there.

Danisco Choozit has several ripening blends that you could start a morge with, and then continue washing the cheese 2-3x weekly, until rind growth was at the stage you wanted.

[Kern]

I am washing a Tomme made about ten days ago with a 3% salt solution containing Geo, Mycodore, KL-71 and B. linens.  The Geo is starting to take hold.  I have been washing daily for the past 5 days and the cheese sits in a ripening box at about 92% RH at 55F.  This cheese was made with raw milk and contains Lysozyme, which should not have an effect on the rind yeasts/molds.  We shall see.  I'll post on this thread when some kind of results begin to appear.

[sprocket]

I am washing a Tomme made about ten days ago with a 3% salt solution containing Geo, Mycodore, KL-71 and B. linens.  The Geo is starting to take hold.  I have been washing daily for the past 5 days and the cheese sits in a ripening box at about 92% RH at 55F.  This cheese was made with raw milk and contains Lysozyme, which should not have an effect on the rind yeasts/molds.  We shall see.  I'll post on this thread when some kind of results begin to appear.

That sounds like an excellent combination for rind development - an affineur I'd spoken with when visiting France used a very similar combination on their Tomme de Pyrenees, which were very nice cheeses.  Looking forward to some pictures!

[jerryg]

Mine is made with raw milk. I think I'll just let it do it's thing as is and see what develops.
thanks

[sprocket]

Mine is made with raw milk. I think I'll just let it do it's thing as is and see what develops.
thanks

My advice might be to start washing it a couple times per week for a couple weeks - this would help to seal up the rind, as well as distribute the organisms that will eventually colonize the rind.  I usually use a  3% brine solution.  Once you get some good growth showing, you can back off and let it do its thing, just flipping or dry brushing/rubbing with your hand.

[Stinky]

Since it's your first, I'd rather suggest just taking a clean brush and brushing back any mold every few days.

[Kern]

I am washing a Tomme made about ten days ago with a 3% salt solution containing Geo, Mycodore, KL-71 and B. linens.  The Geo is starting to take hold.  I have been washing daily for the past 5 days and the cheese sits in a ripening box at about 92% RH at 55F.  This cheese was made with raw milk and contains Lysozyme, which should not have an effect on the rind yeasts/molds.  We shall see.  I'll post on this thread when some kind of results begin to appear.

The rind was just starting to get tacky this morning so I'll flip the cheese tomorrow but not wash it again for a couple of days.  Will post a photo when something interesting shows up.