Harvesting mould from commercial salami

[grisell]

Mould 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.

[moldy meat]

does anyone have any insight as to how to store this mold solution? or for how long it is good for safe use?

MM

[grisell]

I don't know. I make a new solution for every batch.

[moldy meat]

I don't know. I make a new solution for every batch.

thanks, i found a blog where the guy mentions storing his solution in the fridge, but nothing specific as to how long it is good for.

MM

[banditfox]

I assume you are wanting to harvest Bactoferm 600 from commercial sausages. I have read some texts, (see Olympia Provisions) that mention a lot of commercial sausage people will dust their sausages with flour to give them the 'appearance' of mold.

That being the case, the sausages I have gotten from 'Volpi' foods appear to be the real-deal, but 'caveat emptor'.

[wheels]

Good advice. I believe that the better quality salami from Aldi was used by many. HTH.

Phil

[ferincr]

Hi all!!!
I just joined this forums because I found this thread and have a question...
I been making salami for some time but I can't get any supplies here (apart from the meat and spices) so I have to order from the US any additives and casings.

Last time I ordered some Mold 600 knowing that it might be death by the time it got to me (4 weeks without any type of refrigeration). Anyway... I prepared some of it just because I paid for it but since I was sure that it would not do it I also harvested some from a Spanish fuet I bought at the supermarket. The results were an unbelievable thick velvety coat with amazing perfume and mushroomy flavor for the meat.

I re-harvest from that batch and sprayed to the next batch and again got a thick full cover but this time does not seems to have the same intense perfume or flavor so here comes the question... Does the mold quality deteriorates with each "generation" or there is another explanation?

Thanks for any input on this...
Fernando

[wheels]

Welcome. Personally, I don't know the answer, but logic dictates that the mould will change over time and also with the change in type of product it reacts with/on. Hopefully, others will be able to add more.

Phil

[ferincr]

Thanks Phil!!!
I' ll be around these forums quite a lot since I love meat and charcuterie.
I'm a meat eater from Argentina but I moved to Costa Rica over 20 years ago (not the best environment for this "hobby") so I'm fighting with the elements (and lack of supplies) all the time.
I'll be reading in search of tips from more experienced people.
This one right here was very valuable since this is the first time I managed a perfect mold coating.
Fernando

[Davea]

Apologies for rehashing an old post.
However, here goes-
Before using mould from a commercial salami on my cured salami/whole muscle and risk spoilage, is it possible to test the mold on something else?
I wouldn't what to test it on though

[NCPaul]

I don't believe you will have spoilage if the salt, cure and fermentation are correct.