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It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)
- karaterobot 1y ago> Generally speaking, calcium lactate will be found on the outside of a cheese (usually a cheddar), and tyrosine or leucine crystals will be on the inside. Calcium lactate can also form on the inside of cheese, but tyrosine and leucine crystals cannot. ... Cannot form on the outside, presumably.
- borski 1y agoCorrect.
- geetee 1y agoHow long until cheese makers start adding the crunchy crystals to give the appearance of quality without the actual quality?
- borski 1y agoAside from cheddar (or similar), the crystals are always inside the cheese, so the appearance is nearly the same as those without the crystals.
- IneffablePigeon 1y agoThis 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.
- geetee 1y agoIs this something they disclose on the packaging? I'm curious how to identify this in the cheese I buy.
- _qg83 1y agoThere are also fake ways of accelerating aging to create this effect, like the Old Amsterdam cheeses you’ll find in the Netherlands. That particular brand has a lot of fake qualities to it that creates these effects.
- facile3232 1y agoIs "fake" really the right word here if people get the flavor, nutrition, and texture they want? I don't really give a damn if they figured out a way to bypass aging to achieve this.
- zidad 1y agoFake as in, they're not allowed to call it "old cheese" because it's a protected term for cheese of a minimum age. But it might even be preferred by some because the texture is still a bit softer. I like it, but as with a good single malt, I wouldn't pay the same price if it's artificially aged.
- SyzygyRhythm 1y agoThe article says that the crystals don't affect the taste or scent. The crystals are a signal that you have a good cheese, but not the cause of a good cheese. Adding them to a bad cheese won't make it a good cheese, so in that sense I'd call it a fake. There is some gray area in that they affect the texture, which is a part of the whole experience. But that's again mostly signaling--we like the crunch because we associate it with good cheeses, not because there's anything inherently better about it. There are some interesting philosophical questions here. If you put a fake label on some wine, and people perceive it as higher quality than it is, is it really fake? On one hand, obviously yes. And yet there was a real effect on the perceived quality.
- borski 1y agoVisited Gouda in the Netherlands and learned this. Best cheese I’ve ever had.
- jajko 1y agoOld aged gouda is the best cheese I ever laid on my tongue. We live in Switzerland next to French border, so there is no end to universe of fine aged original Gruyeres, Beaufort or even Cheddar (but that one probably worse than what one can get in UK), plus all AOC Italian ones. Simply hard cheeses with grain, there are hundreds to choose from. I love them all, but that gouda taste is something else to me and my wife. French shops just around the border luckily import some of it, I never saw it in Switzerland shops. One way to upmark any cheese for us to put ie black truffles or wild black garlic in it. Talking about gouda, gotta get me some slices before kids munch it all again.
- borski 1y agoSame, tbh. I love cheese. But that aged Gouda is absolutely memorable. I can literally taste it now haha
- goosejuice 1y agoL'amuse will blow the mind. One of the best cheeses out there and I've had hundreds. Chällerhocker is another great one in your neck of the woods.
- genewitch 1y agoI've had most Dutch cheeses, and my personal favorite is smeerkaas, in the little gold cups.
- goosejuice 1y agoMeant to say specifically Wilde Weide. L'amuse sells good cheese in general though. https://boerderijdeeenzaamheid.nl/ https://boerderijdeeenzaamheid.nl/
- clmul 1y ago
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- shrubble 1y agoCostco sells the Coastal cheddar which has a lot of this kind of crystals.
- stevenwoo 1y agoThe Kirkland blocks of sharp cheddar can also have these on the outside.
- xattt 1y agoTangential, 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. However, I’m still somewhat concerned what long-term low-level exposure will mean.
- hart_russell 1y ago"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."
- ronyeh 1y agoThanks for reminding me to rewatch it before the new season comes out (soon).
- mmastrac 1y agoWhen you're re-watching the first episode of the first season, look out for the bearded guy in the map room with Merle Dandridge that's upset because everyone died, that's me. :) I got a call to be an extra and figured what the heck, was totally worth it. Got to very briefly meet Craig Mazin too.
- ronyeh 1y agoCongrats! I love that the producers worked so closely with the game’s creators. It really shows.
- fhdkweig 1y agoFungi can grow inside the body. A man who was used to injecting heroin decided to try magic mushrooms. So, he expected the high to be better if he injected them too. https://www.livescience.com/magic-mushroom-injection-case-report.html https://www.livescience.com/magic-mushroom-injection-case-re... https://www.vice.com/en/article/man-injects-magic-mushrooms-they-grow-in-his-blood/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/man-injects-magic-mushrooms-...
- niemandhier 1y agoObligatory 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!
- stevenwoo 1y agoI'm now kind of upset at myself that I have thrown out perfectly good Cheddar in the past due to white spots.
- sphars 1y agoI actually did this yesterday to a block of cheese and now I regret it
- tacitusarc 1y agoNo, that is most likely mold. Not all white spots are positive, especially if they are on old cheese in the fridge (as per the article).
- stevenwoo 1y agoIt does give a method of testing at home at the end, though, with hard being crystal and soft being mold.
- GuB-42 1y agoEven if it is mold, just remove it off the surface. It doesn't penetrate far on hard cheeses like Gouda. Also the reason why I don't buy pre-grated cheese, it doesn't age well. It also tends to be lower quality to begin with.
- coldpie 1y agoFor firm & hard cheeses, the bad molds very rarely penetrate the surface. If you get some questionable looking mold on the outer surface, you can cut off the outer couple of mm and enjoy the remainder just fine. For rustic/home made cheeses, handling the "bad" mold on the outer surface is a normal part of the aging process before it makes it to the customer anyway. https://cheesemaking.com/blogs/learn/how-to-bandaging-cheddar-for-aging https://cheesemaking.com/blogs/learn/how-to-bandaging-chedda...
- zahlman 1y agoThe USDA says to cut off at least an inch and be careful not to cut through mold: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/molds-food-are-they-dangerous https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and...
- dekhn 1y agoCheese crystals are umami. Many of them are glutamate crystals. I am curious if the other amino crystals have a similar flavor profile.
- jsbg 1y agoIn the sense that they contribute to umami taste, yes. But most commonly the nucleotides inosinate (from meat and fish) and guanylate (from dried mushrooms) are the other molecules that provide umami flavors.
- facile3232 1y agoAlso MSG, obviously.
- sophacles 1y agoThe G in MSG is glutamate, so not an "also"... as its been covered by OP.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- facile3232 1y agoAh, I found the phrasing quite confusing.
- dekhn 1y agoI'm pretty sure the MSG disassociates into the sodium ion and the glutamate, since it's soluble in water. I only use the term MSG to refer to the additive when it's in the salt form in a dry jar. Side note: it's really funny if you think about it, umami is basically just the taste of amino acids and nucleic acids, which presumably makes sense since the body uses them so much (beyond just making protein and DNA/RNA).
- rbrownmh 1y ago
- WillPostForFood 1y agoI’ve always loved the crunch in a good Gouda, and it’s really fun to read some details about tyrosine crystals that cause it.
- jinushaun 1y agoLike adding acid to fake sourdough…
- joss82 1y ago[flagged]
- Frederation 1y agoYou missed a spot.. "The moral of the story? If you see white on your cheese, don’t just throw it away."..
- joss82 1y agoYou missed the joke ;)
- 7speter 1y agoWas proud I planned out buying a couple of pounds of cheddar from the supermarket and keeping it in our spare fridge for a year and had aged cheddar for Thanksgiving baked mac and cheese last November.
- floren 1y agoIf you're ever in Pullman, Washington, stop in at the WSU dairy store and get a few cans of Cougar Gold cheddar. Cheese in a can sounds weird, but it's delicious, made by the students, and it ages really well -- I've got some cans in my fridge which are coming up on a decade old now. It's kind of a waste to use an aged can for mac and cheese, but I used part of a younger can for mac & cheese and it came out beautifully.
- psunavy03 1y agoAs a Penn State grad I feel like WSU and PSU need to have a creamery-off for charity or something.
- globular-toast 1y agoWhenever I keep mild or medium cheddar too long it goes "mature" before long, but it doesn't taste good. French cheese, on the other hand, matures (affines) quite nicely at home.
- talkingtab 1y agoIt seems wrong to me that most of what people now call cheese is not at all like what I think of as "real cheese". I have ended up making cheese and it is both fascinating, productive and tasty. While there are many "recipes" for cheeses, they are mainly focused on preparing the cheese for aging. These are often techniques, like washing the curd (gouda) or cheddaring (cheddar). The aging part takes more work. I converted a 7.5 CU refrigerator using an Inkbird temp controller. That works surprisingly well. Currently I'm attempting to improve the humidity control with a humidity version of the Inkbird. But highly recommended. I have everything I made (even the failures) with the exception of one of the first attempts.
- anamexis 1y agoWhat do you think of as "real cheese"?
- talkingtab 1y agoIn Europe, and at gourmet cheese stores, you get a slice from a wheel. It is alive, in the sense that it has not been "treated" to increase shelf life. A wheel of cheese is like a little biome or green house or garden in a bottle. The rind of the cheese is the wall. It allows the cheese to breathe, but in a way that preserves the life inside it. Once the wheel is cut, the bottle is broken, and while the cheese can be kept for a time, it will start to degrade. The humidity (~80-85 %) is important so the cheese does not dry out and it does not become a nice home for unwanted mold, bacteria and fungus. The temp of ~55 F is also important so that the little things can live but don't start over growing. If it comes from a wheel where it was aged, almost any cheese is good - depending on your particular taste. The aged ones with crystals are great, especially Dutch ones, but "local" cheese is almost always wonderful. I was in Colby, Wisconsin a couple of times and I found the local Colby cheese to be good. Many locally made cheese are good, but again if they are bagged in plastic then they do not compare with the "real" thing.
- anamexis 1y agoWhile I don't doubt that getting fresh cheese cut from the wheel is optimal, cheese bagged in plastic hasn't been "treated" to increase shelf life besides being put in plastic - which presumably also preserves the cheese at its existing humidity. It's not like the act of putting cheese in plastic instantaneously alters it.
- Tade0 1y agoI spent a couple of months in Switzerland for a project and supermarkets there often have this booth that me and my friends referred to as the "Kingdom of Cheese". The Kingdom of Cheese is a climate-controlled enclave with just cheese - the person there is happy to help you decide because they know you'll be back eventually as indeed the products there have those crystals.
- EA-3167 1y agoBack eventually? I'd personally set up a little tent in the foyer and live there year 'round, like an increasingly portly mouse.
- throwaway889900 1y agoAt that point just call it Redwall Abbey!
- Tade0 1y agoI would do the same, but that is a particularly expensive diet.
- derelicta 1y agoOh my! I do miss these kingdoms of cheese myself! No offence to the British but they don't know what good cheese is :p
- ndsipa_pomu 1y agoThat's fighting talk round my way! I submit to you that you've not tried the good British cheeses such as a Baron Bigod (Norfolk Brie), a nettle covered Cornish Yarg, the well-named Stinking Bishop, the rolled-in-ashes Kidderton Ash, Yoredale, Yarlington, Stilton, Beauvale, Gorwydd Caerphilly, Driftwood, Pevensey Blue, Witheridge in Hay, Ailsa Craig ...
- neuroticnews25 1y agoThis comment reminds me of Monty Python cheese shop sketch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A
- NikkiA 1y agoThis thread makes me realise I must be the only person on earth that detests the taste of the crystals.
- crossroadsguy 1y agoAnd that I am the person who discards it trying not to hold with bare fingers whenever anything starts growing on any food item including cheese (which is a rare usage thing for me anyway; or maybe in my region; we use different kinds of cheese though, mostly consumed fresh).