Brie Problem - no P candidum growth

[TailPipe]

Hello - this is my second attempt at brie/camembert type cheese. The first time around was a success. I made three camemberts that turned out great using smaller camembert molds.

This time around i used a half-brie mold and made it all in one big wheel. Things have not turned out the same. The only change i made was subbing in Flora Danica instead of a regular mesophilic culture (Meso II). I added both P. candidum and G. candidum. I have been ripening for about 10 days now. I have it at 7C in a ripening box - flipping 1 to 2 times daily and wiping the inner lid. This worked like a charm for the camembert. It's been in the cave for 10 days (i only had to ripen cams for two weeks and then wrapped and popped in the fridge). I am nowhere close to that with this round.

I see pretty much no P. candidum growth - there are signs of Geotrichum on the sides but it's quite brittle and a bit flaky almost. The cheese is starting to smell a bit different as well (not the expected smell).

Soooo the questions are 1) what did i do wrong, 2) can i save the cheese? Can i mist or sprinkle additional PC on it at this stage or do something else to save it?

Thanks! Pics attached. Any help would be much appreciated

[TailPipe]

Just wanted to follow up. Some of the dry/flaky rind came off and underneath it has a smooth creamy texture but firm. So it might slowly be working, albeit just underneath the little parts the have mold. I am going to attempt to make a brine with P candidum and spray it and see what happens in a couple days. Since it's been 10 days i don't want to leave this without some kind of intervention too long. But happy for feedback (even if this is a terrible idea)

Still learning....

[Andrew Marshallsay]

It looks to me as though it is starting to bloom. I store mine at 13 C until I get a good coverage and then move them to 7 C so I would suggest that the low temperature may be a factor.
Just in case you don't have any luck, I had some Camemberts last year which did not bloom, so I converted them to washed rind cheese. That worked well.

[Lloyd]

I'd agree. 7C seems to cool.  I do my at 10C (and don't reduce after I have coverage), and was recently advised by a pro to start at 13C (but I can't as I only have the one cave, and so need to have multiple batches at different stages all at the same temperature).