Adding mother culture with propionic shermanii

[colby]

Having just read the mother culture topic numerous times I am still unclear on this combination.

I read that adding a MC and a DVI is not recommended.
My recipe has Flora Danica and Propionic Shermanii to make a Jarlsberg.


Can I make a mother culture with FD and add that to the milk, then sprinkle in the PS?

[Chetty]

There shouldn't be a problem adding a mother culture to the milk and then the DVI.  I personally am not one to use mother cultures as I dont want to add another variable to my make. 

[colby]

Thanks for your reply Chetty
I only ask because this is playing on my mind

If you combine a MC of a Meso and a direct set of a Thermo, you should consider the difference in the culture dynamics. The Meso MC will be much more active the instant that you add it to your milk. The Thermo DVI on the other hand will have to spend considerable time rehydrating, waking up, and becoming active. So, the proportions after 30-60 minutes will NOT be the same as what you started with. Say you start with a 50/50 theoretical mix. Because the Meso is going to grow so much faster, after an hour you may have an 80/20 Meso to Thermo ratio.

Now, that being said, Mesos are going to grow much faster at warm milk starter temperatures anyway. Thermos grow, but they aren't going to hit their optimum until a cheese is in the cooking phase at 100F or more. So from a practical standpoint, the beginning ratio with a blended MC/DVI may not be critical anyway.

[Bantams]

That discussion was implying that you're using two acidifying cultures. PS is not an acidifying culture - it only kicks into action during the aging process.  FD will be doing all the acidification so your culture time is based off only the FD. 
The thread was also talking about using a Meso + a Thermo.  They already have different ideal ripening temp ranges; add in the fact that the Meso mother culture is ready to go while the Thermo needs longer to activate, and you can see why the cheese would primarily develop the Meso strain.

You'll be just fine with the FD plus PS.

[colby]

Thanks Bantams

So much to learn with making cheese and I'm at the bottom of the mountain looking up.