B.Linens - is it there?

[Walrus]

Hey guys,
it's my first time using b.linens and I can't recognize, if there is any b.linens on my cheese or not.

I made raclette and tilsit, both were inoculated when I was adding cultures (raclette had 1/16 ts BL for 10l raw milk and tilsit had 1/32 ts BL for 10l raw milk)

I used lysozyme for raclette to combat late blowing (0,2 g lysozyme for 10l)

Raclette was made on 25.7. (about 5 weeks old) and is currently ripening in a box in a cheesecave
Tilsit was made on 15.8. (about 2 weeks old) and is currently ripening in a box in a cheesecave

Both cheeses were washed with b.linens wash two times.

I attach photos of both cheeses before washing. Raclette is much more yellowish that it was on the start, but I see no rich orange mould which I saw on many tutorials.

Can you recognize any b.linens from the photos, or is my culture faulty?

[bansidhe]

My cheeses with B Linens look like that typically.  Once I got a really nice red coat but usually it just looks reddish orange like yours.

[Aris]

You need to wash it more often like every other day until B. linens become established to inhibit the molds. It looks like you will also need to brush it.

[Bantams]

I agree, needs more washing.  The inoculation isn't the important step - it's the washing with brine every day or every other day. 

[Walrus]

I wash it regularly every 3 days, but only with washing brine without b. linens

[Bantams]

Washing every other day will make all the difference. 

[Walrus]

Ok, I will try washnig more frequently. I brushed and washed today and they are clean as new.

Will try to keep you updated

[mikekchar]

B. linens needs a high pH (usually 5.8 or higher), moisture and salt (one of the very few bacteria that requires salt).

When you are washing, make sure that you are using a light brine.  Typically 3 or 5% is the strength.  Higher than that inhibits yeasts.  You need the yeasts because that's the principle way that the rind will get to a high pH.  The more yeast you have growing on the rind the faster b. linens will show up.  Keeping the temp up can help quite a lot too.  Even 15 or 16 C can be quite good.

Washing each side every other day, and pulling up a bit of paste into a schmear is the classic way to do alpines.  Using a very soft brush and really scrubbing the rind so that you get a beige paste is what you want to do.  Here is *the thread* for alpine rinds: https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.0.html  Alpkäserei is a pro who makes alpine style cheeses and is *very* experienced with that style.  On the third page you can see him washing his cheeses.  There is also a good picture of what a schmear should look like near the bottom (posted by Al Lewis).  At first, you'll just be pulling up beige paste and over time it will get darker and darker (red, pink, orange, brown and beige are all possibilities though).  You will be able to tell by the smell :-)

I've found recently that the sides of my cheeses are drying out faster than the faces and I think it's important to start washing before that happens.  The schmear holds the moisture in, but if you let it dry out, it's really hard to get the schmear going.  The result is that I have good b. linens growth on the faces, but not the sides.  YMMV.

[Walrus]

Thanks, that is very helpful. I think that my main problem is, after reading your advice, that I always wash the cheese clean after the "wash" so there is no beige schmear left and then I pat it dry with kichten towels. I will improve that.

[bansidhe]

Yeah, that link is extremely informative!  Thank You for directing us to it mikekchar

[mikekchar]

Just keep in mind that there is more than one road to Rome.  The key to b. linens is pH.  You basically can't stop it if the pH is high enough, the humidity is high enough and you have good air exchange (Something Aris said recently reminded me that this is also important).  So the other way to go is to grow geotrichum (or other yeasts, or even blue mold) on the rind.  Let it get a head of steam up and wash it off.  That's why you see seemingly conflicting advice about it: wash every day or wash every 3 weeks.  It achieves the same thing in different ways.  Of course washing frequently gives a different rind than washing sparingly.  But for an Alpine cheese, the frequent wash is the normal way to go.  If you are doing a reblochon, then it's more about balancing geo and b. linens (and getting b. linens going after you have established a good geo base).  Or at least that's my feeling.

I should also point out that luminary iratherfly has a very good reblochon thread, but while I learned a lot about b. linens from it I've never had any success with following his advice exactly.  I've always wondered what I'm missing...

[Walrus]

Ok, so it's 4th day of everyday washing - there is no mould growth - I simply brush it with soft handbrust dipped in brine till there is some sort of cheese paste - smear i presume - then I rub it all over the cheese and return it to a ripening box still wet.

I dont think there is any coloration yet, but the cheese is definitely geting more tacky every day.

Will keep you updated

[Walrus]

OK, all is saved.

After 10 days of washing (every other day), I have a nice coloration and smell on my raclette. Tilsit is not there yet, but heading the right way.

[bansidhe]

Nice!  My Tilsit looks similar.  At least I *think* it'll be a Tilsit.  You say "Tilsit" is not there yet.  What is it you are looking for when Tilsit is there?

[Walrus]

"Not there yet" means the b.linens is not fully developed, but starting to color a bit. I plan to mature it for another month or two, so it should be nice and yellow in the end.