Hello everyone,
I've never (well, now I'm remembering, one time only) made a true Tomme de Savoie, if that means a purely natural rind that is mold-centric, is unwashed, and merely patted down or brushed according to the rind assertiveness, thickness desired, etc.
Outside of this one time, all my tommes have been set up with MA 4001, usually PLA, perhaps some MVA. I have some mycodore but find Glengarry's Mycoderm too costly.
I'll be reserving the above for a Pyrénées-style tomme. Coquard does sell two peniciliums specific to tomme and I hope to get ahold of these. Or culture up a "cave" with a wedge of good tomme crayeuse or true Savoie-rinded cheese. Either way, mould heaven, a few weeks then pank down, etc., and not a washed regimen.
My question goes to cascading, rind preparation, pH, etc. Firstly I should say I'm not averse to a ton of stuff showing up, including any arthrobacter, linens, staph, geo, etc. I just want them to be subordinate in a vicious slugfest with an eventually dominant mold spp. So that said, does anyone know if these moulds, presume these penicilliums, need the typical cascade of something like the PLA?
Interestingly, under a listing specifically for Tomme ("Dry Rind"), it seems pretty close to PLA: B. linens, DH, Klu. marxianus. Missing is obviously the Geo and arthrobacter. Their "Pyrénées" culture is B. linens, DH, B. casei, Geo.
Long way around to query - MA 4001 in the vat (as I won't be using raw milk this time, will be prematuring with LBC 81 and MD 89), PLA in the vat, peniciliums in the vat (can you do this, or do you need to mist them only, something like that), probably holding at 88-90% RH and 52F. Moderate O2 exchange only.
Will the PLA set the stage nicely for a mould cheese like this?
I'm not an expert but I think to get the cacade you are looking for you would probably want to use pla in the make like you are thinking or wash with it for say a week then stop the pla wash and switch to pen and other molds. This would ensure the pla gets a chance to take hold before the mold out competes it. It will be a bit of a balancing act to get molds to take over but you should be able to make it happen by adjusting humidity along the way.
Quote from: River Bottom Farm on February 04, 2019, 05:51:05 PM
I'm not an expert but I think to get the cacade you are looking for you would probably want to use pla in the make like you are thinking or wash with it for say a week then stop the pla wash and switch to pen and other molds. This would ensure the pla gets a chance to take hold before the mold out competes it. It will be a bit of a balancing act to get molds to take over but you should be able to make it happen by adjusting humidity along the way.
Great strategy - thanks once again, River bottom. It triggers me to perhaps setup up a bit of a fight - in the zone where the PLA species and molds are both on pretty fair terms. Linens will be struggling, of course, but that's OK with me - would love to see some arthro and linens mottling on a wheel with white and grey as the main thing. Maybe 90% RH or so - the DH and Myco can still hang in there with the molds, but have to fight for it. Geo and the molds are in a robust range, with linens sort of starting to wake up. And leave the thing along once growth starts to take place. I really want to get a thick, mushroomy, very rustic, mottled rind.
I often add PLA to the make, but find that it is more productive to wash for a couple of weeks and then leave it alone. Not that I feel like I am particularly in control of anything.... But the cheese sure tastes good!
Thanks Susan, good datapoint. Been so long for me I don't have the best memory of the "nature" of PLA (or anything). I do know I want to produce a definite Savoie-style, so not even sure I'll be going in to PLA. With the Mycodore, maybe reserving those for the Pyrenees style, which I also love.
"Leaving alone". Hah! It is extraordinarily hard for me not to constantly mess with my cheeses, so kudos to your for your patience. With the cheese, if I can inoculate the cave well enough, I think I'll shoot for mold(s) and favor them, and see what else happens. Going to be tough as I'd love to add in a ton of other stuff in both the vat and a morge. Which only means....findd a place to put some Abondance. ;D
Aaannnnd he's back in the game!!
Ha! Thanks, Susan. Just a bit slower and most definitely not wiser. ;D
I've been make atomme d'savoie like cheese for years, just put it in the cave and let it do it's own thing, start to pat it down after5-6 weeks. It's a lovely cheese and compares well to an authentic one. It has never occurred to me to add PLA , I may have added DH at some point, I have to look at my notes
I make Tomme on regular basis, I will baby the cheese until the rind is dry enough then I leave them alone. Sometime every blue moon I will brush them, if I have time. Trust you milk, let it show you what it got.