CHEESEWIRE
news and views from the cheese counter
Blue mould pioneers turn their hands to developing white varietals By Patrick McGuigan
After discovering how to breed blue cheese moulds, scientists have now turned their attention to getting white moulds in the mood for procreation in a bid to create new strains that could “revolutionise” brie-style cheeses. Penicillium moulds were long thought to reproduce asexually, but Paul Dyer, professor of fungal biology at the University of Nottingham, has discovered a way to naturally breed different strains of Penicillium roqueforti to create completely new blue mould varieties that produce unique flavours, textures and colours in cheese. The process, which has
been licensed by bio-tech start-up Myconeos, is now also being used to develop new strains of the white mould Penicillium camemberti, backed by a £285,000 grant from the Government-funded Innovate UK scheme. Scientists are currently hunting for wild strains of the white mould in dairies that they can cross-breed to create a range of new ripening cultures. “This could revolutionise the taste, texture and even colour of brie and camembertstyle cheeses,” said Dr Jacek Obuchowicz, CEO of Myconeos. “The market for these styles of cheeses is four or five times the size of the blue cheese market, so there is huge potential for growth.”
Myconeos is hoping to develop new strains of Penicillium camemberti
Myconeos is keen to hear from British artisan cheesemakers who are happy for swabs to be taken from their dairies, which could then be bred to create novel strains of Penicillium camemberti. A similar programme was used to develop new types of blue moulds, which led to trials with artisan cheesemakers Moyden’s Hand Made Cheese in Shropshire and Highland Fine Cheeses in Ross-shire. This led to the creation of four new blue mould varieties last year under the Mycoforti brand, including Classic, Mild, Intense and Artisan, which each provide different flavour and texture characteristics in cheese. They are distributed by JKM Foods. A bespoke blue mould was also developed for Moyden’s by isolating a wild strain of blue mould from a hay bale at a Shropshire farm. “We’d like to work with smaller cheesemakers on similar projects with Penicillium camemberti,” said Obuchowicz. “Commercialised strains can lose their vigour, but wild strains are often more active. They could bring interesting new properties.” myconeos.com
Norfolk-based Mrs Temple’s Cheese celebrated its 20th anniversary last month. Dr Catherine Temple, who runs the business in Wighton with husband Stephen, makes cheeses including Binham Blue and Gurney’s Gold, using milk from a herd of Brown Swiss cows.
The Prince of Wales visited Lynher Dairies, which makes Cornish Yarg, last month to unveil a plaque commemorating 30 years of cheese making.
Pevensey Blue
Made by former Neal’s Yard Dairy shop manager Martin Tkalez and his wife Hazel in East Sussex, this new blue is similar to Gorgonzola. Made with pasteurised cow’s milk from Court Lodge Organic Farm and aged for 11 weeks, it’s sweet, milky and chocolatey with a soft texture that becomes progressively gooey with age.
Salted caramel with miso There’s a triangle of sweet, salty and savoury flavours to Pevensey Blue that gives it great structure and length. A dab of salted caramel with miso turbocharges the experience, picking up on the cheese’s three foundations. Made by Craic Foods in Northern Ireland from double cream, miso and treacle, it’s a remarkable spread and condiment that is buttery and sweet with an umami undertow. Orange wine Paleokerisio from Domaine Glinavos is a highly unusual orange, semi-sparkling wine from Ioannina, Greece, that is a great foil for blue cheeses. Made from the indigenous grapes Debina and Vlahiko, the wine is macerated on its skins and then bottled before fermentation has finished resulting in a demi-sec, lightly sparkling wine that is full of tangy, spicy and citrus peel notes. The bubbles bring freshness to the creamy cheese, while it also brings out interesting fruity notes.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Rollright maker King Stone Dairy in Gloucestershire has launched a new cider-washed cheese called Yarlington in collaboration with Herefordshire cider maker Oliver’s and content creator Sam Wilkin. The soft cheese is washed in cider made with Yarlington Mill apples.
THREE WAYS WITH...
Scientists in Italy have discovered four genes that are responsible for making Gorgonzola taste soapy to some people. One in five people are said to experience detergent-like flavours when they taste the cheese with researchers pinpointing four genes (SYT9, PDE4B, AVL9, HTR1B) as being responsible. SYT9 is closely related to a gene that also makes coriander taste soapy to some people.
Pickled walnuts Brighton restaurant Plateau serves Pevensey Blue with pickled walnuts on its menu. The yielding texture of the nuts matches up nicely with the soft texture of the cheese, while their acidity and spice contrasts with the gentle, milky flavour. There’s also a pleasing contrast in colour between the cheese and the dark walnuts. Vol.23 Issue 3 | April 2022
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