Obligatory reference to the excellent book:
The Science of Cheese by Michael H. Tunick.
This book is an in depth scientific introduction to, exactly, cheese. A great read, you can feel the passion the man has for his work!
It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
11–20 of 236 posts
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#12I'm now kind of upset at myself that I have thrown out perfectly good Cheddar in the past due to white spots.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#13How long until cheese makers start adding the crunchy crystals to give the appearance of quality without the actual quality?
This happens already, at least it does in the UK. Most cheaper brands of “extra mature” supermarket cheddar have added crystals. I don’t actually mind that much - I do think it is a genuinely slightly more enjoyable product with the crystals.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#14Costco sells the Coastal cheddar which has a lot of this kind of crystals.
The Kirkland blocks of sharp cheddar can also have these on the outside.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#15Cheese crystals are umami. Many of them are glutamate crystals. I am curious if the other amino crystals have a similar flavor profile.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#16I'm now kind of upset at myself that I have thrown out perfectly good Cheddar in the past due to white spots.
I actually did this yesterday to a block of cheese and now I regret it
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#17I’ve always loved the crunch in a good Gouda, and it’s really fun to read some details about tyrosine crystals that cause it.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#18How long until cheese makers start adding the crunchy crystals to give the appearance of quality without the actual quality?
This happens already, at least it does in the UK. Most cheaper brands of “extra mature” supermarket cheddar have added crystals. I don’t actually mind that much - I do think it is a genuinely slightly more enjoyable product with the crystals.
Is this something they disclose on the packaging? I'm curious how to identify this in the cheese I buy.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Aside from cheddar (or similar), the crystals are always inside the cheese, so the appearance is nearly the same as those without the crystals.
Sure, replace "appearance" with "impression" for a more accurate representation of my intent.
Fair enough! I just meant they’d have to stick it on the label or something, since you wouldn’t be to able to obviously tell the difference just by looking at it, that’s all.
Re: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
#20Tangential, but I recently noticed that natamycin, an antifungal agent, is being used in packages of shredded cheese as a preservative. I was a little taken aback on seeing it, given that antibiotic stewardship has been pushed so much in the last decade. I realize that natamycin is an antifungal and not an antibiotic, and that mechanisms of developing resistance are likely different between eukaryotes and prokaryotes…
"True, fungi cannot survive if its host's internal temperature is over 94 degrees," says Neuman. "Currently, there are no reasons for fungi to evolve to withstand higher temperatures. But what if that were to change? What if, for instance, the world were to get slightly warmer? Now there is reason to evolve."