The desirable, or not so desirable white mold?

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 18:59

Reading and seeing pictures of peoples curing I notice that some people want and encourage the white powdery mold, and some do not? I would think the good white mold would just be good for everything curing.

However

I see a drying room with sausage and muscle hanging with white mold where someone has added a new item to the room/cabinet. And they have added a mold spray to this new item before hanging it next to the already moldy items. Does the mold not just spore onto the new item naturally?

Why is there need to spray once the white mold is established in the environment?

Post by **Bob K** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 19:16

Fingers wrote:I see a drying room with sausage and muscle hanging with white mold where someone has added a new item to the room/cabinet. And they have added a mold spray to this new item before hanging it next to the already moldy items. Does the mold not just spore onto the new item naturally?

Why is there need to spray once the white mold is established in the environment?

Yes the mold, once established in your drying area, will grow on whatever you add. Spraying it with a known mold culture will also give the growth a jump start and pretty much guarantees the taste profile from the same strain of mold, also choking out the indigenous molds and yeasts before they get established.

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 19:28

I thought the white mold came from the addition of the starter culture, within sausage anyhow. If this is so could you not use some of the same starter culture diluted and sprayed on whole muscle, or is this what is done?

Post by **Bob K** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 19:39

No mold is a Fungus and the starter culture is a bacteria strain. Mold is not contained in starter cultures as it is aerobic, some starter culture do contain yeast's however.

Not sure of what mold starters are available to you, the most common sold is a strain of Penicillium nalgiovense. Sold by Christian Hansen as Mold 600

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 19:57

Ah.. So if my sausage made with bessastart culture does not start to develop powdery white mold this is not a sign something is wrong. So long as other coloured molds don't develops that is.

If it does start to develop then this I guess is just by chance alone?

Post by **Bob K** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 20:01

Fingers wrote:Ah.. So if my sausage made with bessastart culture does not start to develop powdery white mold this is not a sign something is wrong. So long as other coloured molds don't develops that is.

If it does start to develop then this I guess is just by chance alone?

That's it!

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 20:21

Cheers Bob

I have read this might be also introduced by hanging a shop bought salami with white mold on it close to your batch?

Post by **Bob K** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 21:00

Sure. as long as its mold. Many times store bought are coated with corn starch,flour, etc, hard to tell.

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 21:08

Ahhhh yes... I am forgetting about those dammed marketing guys!

Might corn starch be listed in the ingredients, if so then its not mold.

In the UK they need to list everything now.

harleykids · Post by **harleykids** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 05:04

speaking of corn starch...for folks that are not keen on the "after taste" of the M600 mold, would rubbing corn starch on a de-cased salumi help to remove some of the mold smell and taste?

I understand that the M600 helps keep bad molds away and helps develop the old world flavor while drying, but for those of us who are not too keen on the after tast of the M600 lingering, would the corn starch coating help?

I assume one could remove the casing, sprinkle corn starch on the outside surface, and then brush it off after a few days time?

Has anyone actually tried this method? Does it reduce the mold flavor?

Most of the store bought salumi does not have the M600 flavor, in my opinion. So there must be a way to remove it for the most part, or they have a way to make their salumi in a commercial setting that does not have or retain any of the M600 flavor.

I can speculate on what they do, but does anyone know for a fact how they make their salumi without the M600 taste?

Post by **Bob K** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 13:29

The corn starch or rice flour are purely cosmetic. You can minimise or eliminate the mold growth by using Potassium Sorbate. http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php ... cts_id=744

Many times commercial salami is a fast fermented, semi dry pasteurized product. Speed and minimal shrinkage are where the profits are.
The basic process can be found here: http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... i-semi-dry

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 18:26

Well as it happens!!

The first batch of salami I made about 4 weeks ago without any nitrates, just salt, I will be probably binning as do not wish to take any chances with botulism. Lessons learned. I kept them hanging for experimental purposes and about 2 weeks ago rubbed them with a shop bought salami with white powder. Just checking today on them and there is defiantly new growth of the white powder

My other two batches I plan to eat, I have just given them the magic wonder rub.

Post by **redzed** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 08:03

Fingers, the ideal thing to do is to spray the sausage and the inside of your chamber with a mould starter. In doing that you will give the Penicillium nalgiovense an opportunity to establish itself and overtake other unwanted moulds. After a while you won't need to inoculate the sausages as there will be enough spores floating around in there to colonize and grow. You can also backslop, as I did here: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... ping+mould

But take a look here at 3:34. A good example where Le Véritable Saucisson d'Arles is dusted in flour before packaging for sale.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x86gi4 ... _lifestyle

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 09:10

Ah yes, given a brush and dusting for aesthetics. I guess the mold must still be present in abundance as rubbing my sausage with one has transferred the spores which have settled and are multiplying. Just have to work with what I have at hand here. A spray would be better as I would spray the immediate drying area in my garage. But for now I am happy to see the good white mold and not some other unwanted mold.

I will try doing what you did once my experimental sausage is fully white. So if I strip off the skin, soak it in warm water with a pinch of dextrose then use this water to spray with. How long did you leave them soaking before using the spray Redzed?

Interesting that month 2 they look nice and white, month 3 they go green! Pleased I seen this video as if that happened to mine I would be thinking that was bad. I might be tempted to give mine a brush and a dust once they are ready

Post by **Bob K** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 14:05

Wow three months and the old squeeze test for firmness. I just did that yesterday on salami I started on 12/12

Nice mixer also!