Harvesting mould from commercial salami
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:37 pmMould is traditionally used as a preservative on cheese and salami, but the mould must be the 'right' mould. There are thousands of mould strains and several of these produce poisonous or carcinogenic toxins when growing. They can also spoil the taste of the product. The chance of getting the right mould strain spontaneously when drying a salami is actually very small.
To make certain that the right mould is produced, one should inoculate. This is no more strange than adding yeast to a bread dough or homemade beer. There are mould cultures that can be bought from the Internet, but the cheapest and most natural method is to harvest the mould from a commercial salami. That gives a possibilty to select the culture from the whole array of available products. The mould is responsible for much of the aroma of the final product, so here is the opportunity to adapt one's product to one that is already on the market.
Method:
Choose a salami with live mould. Live mould looks white and chalky. You only need the skin. Maybe you can get the skin for free in your deli. You will need a patch the size of a stamp. Patches of skin can be stored refrigerated in a sealed jar for later use. They will keep for months.
Bring half a cup of bottled or otherwise unchlorinated water to a boil (to sterilize). Add one teaspoon sugar. Let cool to body temperature. Add the salami skin patch. Cover and let stand in room temperature for 6-12 hours. Discard the skin. Dilute the solution with sufficient unchlorinated water to fill an atomizer.
Immediately after stuffing, spray generously of the solution onto your salami (the solution should not be added to the stuffing!). Hang the salami to ferment according to the instructions in your recipe. The conditions for fermentation are also ideal for the mould growth, i.e. 20-27 C/68-80 F and 90+ % relative humidity (these conditions can be attained in different ways; I use a disconnected refrigerator with door closed and a hung up wet terry towel). Repeat spraying the solution onto your products a few times during fermentation. Avoid touching the skins. The sausages must hang freely or else the mould will not cover them totally.
After 2-3 days, depending on temperature, you should be able to see a diffuse greyish coating on the casings. This is the mould. Probably by now, the fermentation is ready too.
The salamis can now be moved to the drying chamber. The mould will be fully grown after about a week. Until then, avoid disturbing it. When full-grown, the mould is extremely resistant and the salamis can be touched with bare hands.
Note: If black or dark grey spots appear during the first days, brush them with a little distilled vinegar. These spots of unwanted mould strains tend to form around specks of dirt or dust and can be avoided by keeping good hygienic standards during stuffing.
To make certain that the right mould is produced, one should inoculate. This is no more strange than adding yeast to a bread dough or homemade beer. There are mould cultures that can be bought from the Internet, but the cheapest and most natural method is to harvest the mould from a commercial salami. That gives a possibilty to select the culture from the whole array of available products. The mould is responsible for much of the aroma of the final product, so here is the opportunity to adapt one's product to one that is already on the market.
Method:
Choose a salami with live mould. Live mould looks white and chalky. You only need the skin. Maybe you can get the skin for free in your deli. You will need a patch the size of a stamp. Patches of skin can be stored refrigerated in a sealed jar for later use. They will keep for months.
Bring half a cup of bottled or otherwise unchlorinated water to a boil (to sterilize). Add one teaspoon sugar. Let cool to body temperature. Add the salami skin patch. Cover and let stand in room temperature for 6-12 hours. Discard the skin. Dilute the solution with sufficient unchlorinated water to fill an atomizer.
Immediately after stuffing, spray generously of the solution onto your salami (the solution should not be added to the stuffing!). Hang the salami to ferment according to the instructions in your recipe. The conditions for fermentation are also ideal for the mould growth, i.e. 20-27 C/68-80 F and 90+ % relative humidity (these conditions can be attained in different ways; I use a disconnected refrigerator with door closed and a hung up wet terry towel). Repeat spraying the solution onto your products a few times during fermentation. Avoid touching the skins. The sausages must hang freely or else the mould will not cover them totally.
After 2-3 days, depending on temperature, you should be able to see a diffuse greyish coating on the casings. This is the mould. Probably by now, the fermentation is ready too.
The salamis can now be moved to the drying chamber. The mould will be fully grown after about a week. Until then, avoid disturbing it. When full-grown, the mould is extremely resistant and the salamis can be touched with bare hands.
Note: If black or dark grey spots appear during the first days, brush them with a little distilled vinegar. These spots of unwanted mould strains tend to form around specks of dirt or dust and can be avoided by keeping good hygienic standards during stuffing.