Hi,
I made my first Tomme about 2 weeks ago. Following this recipe: http://www.cheesemaking.com/TommeSavoie.html (http://www.cheesemaking.com/TommeSavoie.html)
I am a little concerned at the mould that has been growing on it. The recipe did state that i would see a "wild mould growth" but I think this might be a little too much.
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
Pete
A few more pictures!
Also, being relatively new to Cheesemaking.
1: What is it that makes such wild mould grown on this cheese in my cave but my Brie's etc never get such wild growth, they stay nice and white like they should. I also have some blues in there that dont have Black and coloured mould on them.
2: How do I know what moulds are bad and what are good? ie: could I poison myself playing with a cheese like this?
Cheers
If it was in my "cave" I would clean it with salt saturated with vinegar using either my hand or a cotton pad or some cheesecloth. Then I would double check the humidity - may be a bit high. I would plan on cleaning it every other day until it seemed a bit more in control. You may not want to eat the rind but the cheese should be good after it ages! One of my better caerphilly makes had a significant amount of mould growing at first.
Thanks for the reply.
When you say salt saturated with Vinegar, do you have a little more instructions on ratios to make this solution?
Also, should I rub it right back and remove as much mould as I can?
I sprinkle some salt directly on the moldy cheese, dip a clean cloth in some vinegar, and start to scrub. I don't know if that is the "correct" way, but it seems to work for me. :)
For the Brie, do you add PC? I think I've read that the PC will out-compete the other molds.
As Scasnerskay has said, don't eat the wild molds (you probably wouldn't like the taste if you did); but as long as the rind is well knit, the paste underneath will be fine, and will have benefitted from the flavors induced by the mold.
Yeah there is PC in the Brie.
That actually makes sense. My mentor of sorts said that PC will beat blue which is why its hard to make a white mould blue cheese.
If I wash all the mould off and manage it better can you safely eat the rind? Or would you not recommend eating it at all?
The rind will taste like mold. Don't bother. But yes, I'll echo what others have told me. Brush more or less daily, and if it's critical vinegar and salt. I've had to throw some cheeses away. But usually mold reaches a point where it really stops growing fast. If more and more mold grows, you have to lower the humidity. Try cracking the lid of the ripening box, if you age it in one.
Thanks for all the tips.
I really had to scrape off most of the mould as it had set in pretty well and just the cheese cloth wasn't cutting it.
I believe that it was too high moisture that has caused this.
A couple of questions.
1: I scrubbed as much off as I could without damaging the cheese. Surely there is going to be left over mould. Wont that just grow back?
2: I probably need to really manage this rind daily now and keep on top of it?
3: How does that look? (Photo Attached)
Also,
I tried the baby brother last night, this rind was hard as I let it dry out but the cheese was delicious so I am really hoping the big wheel pulls through.
Cheers
Possibly you scrubbed off more than you needed to. Yes the mold will return. You may not need to clean it every day though. It seems for me that the rind stabilizes after a couple of weeks, and then just using a dry brush to brush them off is enough. I don't like to leave mine real wet after early cleaning, so I pat them dry with a clean paper towel. I imagine there are many ways of rind management and there are many postings on it here.
I have not yet made a cheese that doesn't have mold on it. It's not something you can avoid, doing natural rinds. The easiest way to prevent it is brush it daily for quite a while, nothing serious, just so it doesn't fuzz, and it will stop growing nearly as quickly. If it keeps on growing after being aged for a few weeks, lower humidity. There are ways, such as washed rinds and rubbing with oil, that can prevent as much mold growth, but you almost always get mold, whatever cheese it is. Don't freak out about it, though. :)
Thanks for the replies.
I pretty much collated all the information I had and started scrubbing. I think I am happy with where it is at. I didn't really take that much off the cheese, just once I started I found it hard to decide which parts to leave and which parts to keen
I will keep you posted on progress.
Thanks for all your help.
Just making sure you know that scrubbing it with vinegar and salt or even salt and water every day is unsustainable, as it can damage the rind. A clean, dry brush will do the job better.
Thanks stinky. I know you cannot keep doing it for ever but I was going to give it one more Vinegar / Salt treatment tonight then let it do its thing in a less humid environment.
Would you advise just leaving it?
It actually looks, feels and smells pretty good.
Yes. Don't try to keep
any mold from going on, just don't stand by and watch. A useful indicator:
- If the humidity is too high, then mold will grow uncontrollably.
- If the humidity's too low, the cheese cracks.
It'll take some time to find the balance, but once you're there, have at it.
Here is the result of my first Tomme attempt. After thinking all was lost its come out really well.
Very happy with the result.
That is really really nice! :-) How does it taste?
A cheese for that...
:-) Danbo
Mm, it looks yummy. :)
Good work salvaging that cheese! Looks delicious!
A great looking result worth a cheese. Looks like your "cheese CPR" was successful. One thing I thought about while reading your post is there is you can beat back "wild" and volunteer molds by using a "protection" wash with a b. linens solution. I started using one after reading Alp's treatise on washing alpine cheeses and have used it on tommes, alpines, caerphillys, and others. You do get a bit of the red mold flavor (which I love) but you end up with a beautiful yellow-orange rind devoid of what I call "sunspots". If I don't want the wash I let it go and do what you did and scrape the surface mold off.
Good save. Wow, that's a pretty young Tomme. About 4 weeks? ???
Along with linens to protect the rind, you can blend a little Geo to reduce the stickiness of the linens.
Edit: Removed faulty link. :(
-Boofer-
Quote from: Boofer on January 31, 2015, 12:55:17 AM
Along with linens to protect the rind, you can blend a little Geo to reduce the stickiness of the linens. Here's an example (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=13759.15;last_msg=105239).
-Boofer-
Boofer, I'm having a problem with the link. Not sure it's on my end but very interested as I haven't used geo as a "wash".
Thanks for the Cheeses.
Yeah it taste's great. Possibly very slightly bitter but overall I am very happy with it.
I have the rest vac packed and will keep trying it as it ages some more.
Will try some of the suggestions here. On my next one.
Boofer- link not working for me either
Most molds can just be managed with brushing. A natural rind is a beauty to behold to many of us and it needs to go through this adolescent "spotty" stage first. Humidity is important like others have stated. If you want to avoid mold you could experiment with rubbing a coat of coconut oil on it. You'll need to monitor it for a while and add more where the layer things out. If you see any mold on the coconut oil just add more or massage it into the layer. Works great.