Blue Mold Harvesting

[PurpleJeepXJ]

Years ago I posted a list of yeasts that could be harvested from commercial brewed beers. I kept up with it for a little while and then it grew out of control. Haven’t brewed beer in several years now but have been making cheese. The thought crossed my mind “can I harvest blue mold from commercial cheeses?”. I haven’t tried to make a blue cheese yet but would like to. All the sources I have found for specific “blue cheese molds” either are too expensive or much to large quantities of mold that I will probably never use up. Would it be possible to take a commercially made blue cheese and somehow propagate reusable mold from that? I have read that some people place a piece of blue cheese on a slice of bread and then let it grow. That seems like a good way to also gain some unwanted molds as well. I was thinking of taking half a container of blue cheese crumbles, about 2oz, blending that up with maybe some buttermilk and then mixing the solution in with the cheese at the normal mold addition based on whichever base recipe I choose. Is this possible? Will it be enough mold?

 

[passedpawn]

Sure, you can grow WAY more mold than you need with the "bread in the baggie" trick. Or, if you've already got the equipment, you can grow in petri dishes on agar agar with malt as a growth medium.

Here's some images from my experiments (and one of my blue cheeses ) I just copied these pics from another of my posts here at HBT.

 

[FromZwolle]

I was thinking of taking half a container of blue cheese crumbles, about 2oz, blending that up with maybe some buttermilk and then mixing the solution in with the cheese at the normal mold addition based on whichever base recipe I choose. Is this possible? Will it be enough mold?

this works great. i usually add with my cheese cultures, but it could really be added at any time. not sure i'd go with the crumbles, as i've never had a really tasty blue flavor from them. i always use the last bit from a really tasty stilton or roq wedge.

 

[mashpaddled]

My beer cellar has an aggressive blue mold culture. I don't worry about trying to harvest it because it finds my cheeses on its own.

 

[FromZwolle]

My beer cellar has an aggressive blue mold culture. I don't worry about trying to harvest it because it finds my cheeses on its own.

the blues and linens are d-bags that won't leave the party even after you've kicked them out twice already. you have to go nuclear to really get them out of anything not plastic.

 

[mashpaddled]

the blues and linens are d-bags that won't leave the party even after you've kicked them out twice already. you have to go nuclear to really get them out of anything not plastic.

Given that the shelves and racks are all wood I'm out of luck ever getting rid of the microbial occupants of a cool, slightly damp cellar.

 

[bracconiere]

@passedpawn looks more like gorganzola to me, lol


but yeah, if you get a decent HEPA filter, some petri dishes, agar. i've cleaned up koji mold with just about 3 transfers. same for wild shaggy mane mushroom cultures.

 

[FromZwolle]

Given that the shelves and racks are all wood I'm out of luck ever getting rid of the microbial occupants of a cool, slightly damp cellar.

heat gun might do the trick. would be a pain to get every nook, but might be worth it. might.

 

[ohioan55]

Given that the shelves and racks are all wood I'm out of luck ever getting rid of the microbial occupants of a cool, slightly damp cellar.

You could paint all the wood surfaces with anti-bacterial paint. It's designed to stop all bacteria and fungal activity. You'd have to check around and find who carries it in your area. Or maybe something like KILZ MOLD & MILDEW Primer would do the job.

 

[Moose_MI]

So I too have never made blue cheese but would like to. Just looked and that penicillium Roquefort stuff is kind of expensive. I saw a you tube where some guy bought some blue cheese from the store and scraped of pieces of the blue mold and used it in the milk.

$30 for the Roquefort isnt going to break me if that’s what I should do because I’m a beginner but throught I’d see what others thought

 

[FromZwolle]

So I too have never made blue cheese but would like to. Just looked and that penicillium Roquefort stuff is kind of expensive. I saw a you tube where some guy bought some blue cheese from the store and scraped of pieces of the blue mold and used it in the milk.

$30 for the Roquefort isnt going to break me if that’s what I should do because I’m a beginner but throught I’d see what others thought

perfectly fine. i've done this multiple times. make sure you pick one where the 'blue' flavor is to your liking (sharp/mild/etc.)

i've had the best results when i mix it in when salting the curds. it also works just dumped into the milk with your innoculation.

 

[eldernut]

I always start my blue cheese with a small chunk of commercial blue. Works everytime and saves me having to mailorder from specialist suppliers who charge an arm and a leg for a tiny bag of innoculant. It's my go-to technique for everything, I do the same when I make yoghurt. Just keep a bit aside for the next batch. I'm lazy I try and source everything I need locally.