I have three nice rounds aging in my cave and they are beginning to form a couple of specks of green mould on the surface. Unfortunately, I did not own the proper mold so to achieve a flat surface. A couple of days ago, I performed my first wash, but noticed that because of the tiny craters, the moulds are below the surface and very hard to remove. Should the finished product be free of all moulds, or are some acceptable? And if the former, how can I remove the moulds in the craters?
Thanks
Very, very difficult. Two ways around it
1) Get the surface even, as I detail in my tomme thread
2) Inoculate with a beneficial culture to outcompete the blue, such as with a classic PLA
once you have blue, even if you gouge them out, it's tough to get rid of everything. Blue is incredibly resilient. About the only thing ou can do that works is spray with natamycin, but even that is only good for 3-4 weeks.
Another great thing to do is just let it grow. There seems to be a huge amount of fear on this site of that dreaded blue mold. Or any mold for that matter (except what is purposely added). If you have a well pressed rind, it'll do what it's supposed to, protect the cheese inside from the mold outside. Though your rind may have some surface defects, as long as there are no cracks, you can still let it go. Additionally, exterior mold can contribute positive flavor, yes, even the blues.
I have had those craters, pits, and other imperfections to the rind in various cheeses. I have had good luck in gently teasing the bits of errant mold free from those confined spaces using a new, clean toothpick with a little straight vinegar. After the mold is removed I then wash with the 3% brine, dry, and return the cheese to the cave.
Early on, I did leave some mold on an early alpine. The paste was pretty hard...like a parmesan...but the white and black mold managed to eat its way deeper into the paste. So, if you can, I would suggest you closely monitor your cheese and try to remove the mold at the earliest moment.
I would also agree with linuxboy...my meager experience with Tomme rinds tells me to get a good intentional community growing on the rind and they won't let anyone else in. That is excellent! :)
-Boofer-
Thank you all for the great responses. Just a folow-up or two.
1. linuxboy, I do not know what classic PLA is, is there another name for it or perhaps the definition of the acronym.
2. is natamycin a mould inhibitor, and if so, can it have adverse effects on my induced moulds
3. Smilingcalico, is there a way of knowing or differentiating between good or bad moulds by sight. If these specks do not represent a toxic threat in the event of accidental ingestion, and remains on the exterior of the rind, I guess I can be okay with it. I am just concerned when it penetrates the exterior layer and there are traces on the inside of my cheese.
4. Boofer, does the use of vinegar alter the taste of the cheese at all, I realize you are using a few drops only, and the rind should protect the interior, just wondering.
5. Also, based on the definition of PLA, I should know what "intentional communities" are, if you have any personal experiances with any others, please let me know.
Thanks again
can it have adverse effects on my induced moulds
Its an antifungal agent,kills or more correctly retards all molds from growing.
QuotePLA
It's a Danisco culture blend, often used to innoculate cheeses when you want a specific rind finish. It's the product code for it.
Quote"intentional communities"
These are, just as they sound, communities of mold, bacteria, and yeasts, in any combination, that you intentionally introduce. Like for bloomy rinds, you add PC. Same thing here, but different blend.
Quoteis there a way of knowing or differentiating between good or bad moulds by sight
No. But, 99.9% of the molds out there are harmless. And the chances of your cheese actually growing a harmful mold are astronomically small. If worried, cut off the rind before eating, and let the molds do their thing during aging.
I haven't found that the tiny amount of vinegar used affects the cheese in any way except, of course, for stunting or killing the unwanted mold. At any rate, I followed the vinegar treatment with the saline wash.
Yeah, what linuxboy said about "intentional communities".... There are the molds, yeasts, and bacteria that you, as a cheese artisan, innoculate your milk with, and then there are those in the wild that attempt to establish themselves in your milk without your consent or knowledge. We as cheese makers try to overpower/overpopulate the interlopers (those in the wild) and steer the rind in the direction that we want.
-Boofer-
Thanks,
Would one spray the surface or innoculate the milk with PLA?
Either/both. Individual preference. Some will do both to ensure good coverage. Some will do one for process ease. It all has to work together as a system that makes sense with your processes and techniques.
LB answered well for me. I would simply add to use your nose. If your cheese scares you by scent alone, don't eat it (of course some like a funky stinky cheese). I am a raw milk cheese maker. There will always be molds, yeasts, and bacteria that I have not introduced. What I do as a raw milk cheesemaker is to introduce known cultures in sufficient quantity to hopefully out compete the unknowns. This is where the majority of the cheese's flavor and aroma will come from. The others will add what is better described as nuance.
Sometimes it's hard to say what a cheese is going to do. I "inherited" a cheese cave full of reject cheese. I was hesitant to even bother with these 20 pound wheels that had cracks on the flat surfaces that ran edge to edge. I even measured the depth of the cracks, some not quite 1/2 an inch! When I finally cut into them I was shocked to find the cheese inside was perfect! Recently I cut into a great looking young cheese (exactly 2 months old) to find a vein of blue. This was interesting because the rind had formed well, and this particular cheese had a beautiful orange b.linens glow, and a healthy 5 o'clock GC shadow. It was the last cheese I would have suspected to have a been compromised.
The last thing I'll say is that a Tome was designed to age well and travel well. They weren't babied. Sure, they got flipped, but washing, not so much. They didn't have PLA way back when, they had molds, etc. blowing in the breeze, landing on the cheese, and calling it home. What's really interesting is that millennia have passed and we still have the same types of molds floating around, landing on cheese, and calling it home. When it comes to innoculating milk with LAB, by all means do so. When it comes to rind, GO NATURAL!
Thanks Smilingcalico, I like the basis of your explanation, as it incorporates the origin of cheese making methodology from a time when there were not many standard nor sophisticated procedures to the craft, and primary motivation was basic need for a food product that lasted and as you stated, it traveled well.
I have always incorporated primarily science, then art, in my cheese making procedures, since I realized that knowledge and application of chemistry and biology are of paramount importance as far as safety, consistency and time saving methods are concerned. Now, based on your words, I will allow some more leeway to the artistic side by allowing some of the natural occurrences and even unplanned events to flourish so to speak. BTW – if you have any recommendations about any literature on cheese making from the days of Yore or before, feel free to pass them on, I am fascinated by the subject.
Thanks again