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We have arrived and are looking forward to learning. First up the Vermont Pancake Breakfast (really good bacon!) followed by the keynote: Ignite Your Goals, by Gary O’Brion.<\/p>\n
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Next up for me: Affinage — Under the Microscope<\/strong><\/p>\n Ben Wolfe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Tufts Cheese is and (if we\u2019re careful) will always be a mystery of many influences and factors: some our making, some from our dairy animals, some from our environment. A long time ago(!?) Michael Chabon published a novel called The Mysteries of Pittsburgh<\/a> in which he explored sexual fluidity among a small group of friends and described how dynamic and disruptive this could be to the group. And in a weird totally unintentional way this first session at this particular ACS conference session could also be titled: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh<\/i>: what we know influences our cheese, what we know we don\u2019t know, and when we have to strip away the mystery because it\u2019s affecting our bottom line.<\/p>\n This session is the actually the culmination of many past ACS sessions<\/a> and others I\u2019ve attended<\/a> that have reported on the exploding new world of specific scientific research devoted to the mysteries of cheese. This research has proven what all cheese makers knew: coagulating milk then adding salt to the curds is an incredibly difficult and complex process, even if the endpoint is a \u201csimple\u201d fresh cheese, let alone a years-old washed rind Comt\u00e9 wheel.<\/p>\n In this session three people on the front-line of both the research (Dr. Wolfe) and the practical application of the expanding knowledgebase (Mr. Lekkas and Mr. Meredith) fill in some more of the blanks. Realistically most cheese makers will not be creating and funding full microbiology laboratories as JHF (producer and distributor) and NYD (distributor and producer). However, with an audience composed of members of the cheese industry the intention appeared to let us know what is possible and why it is important to understand some of the basic concepts behind this work, and how that might benefit all of us in the areas of cheese quality and safety.<\/p>\n First Dr. Wolfe presented an example of how, during his research into complex microbial communities, he has been able to apply his techniques to solve a question for a specific cheese problem: purple cheese rinds that smelled like fish. In order to solve this mystery he began by studying the complex microbiology of a \u201cnormal\u201d or \u201cbaseline\u201d standard of this cheese. Only after he understood this could he begin to move to studying the mysterious purple rinded cheese. Apparently this is a basic scientific technique based on Koch\u2019s Postulates<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the example he presented, among the many \u201cbaseline\u201d bacteria, yeast, and fungus on the purple cheese, he found a single additional bacteria called Proteus. Proteus had been (rarely) found on cheeses before there was never a reference of Proteus producing the purple color. However, after isolating the purple Proteus he found new genes that allowed the Proteus to metabolize certain amino acid in the cheese into indigo (yes, the blue dye!) and indirubin (another pigment). And when the cheesemaker eliminated the environment in which the Proteus thrived, the purple rind problem went away. The cheese maker, together with Dr. Wolfe, was also able to identify the source of the Proteus \u2013 the raw milk supply \u2013 and the single cow in the herd that was responsible for it, who was pulled off the milking line.<\/p>\n The next speaker was a microbiologist from the Jasper Hill Farm \u2013 Panos Lakkas \u2013 who described how he uses microbiology at Jasper Hill beginning with the tracking of pathogens out in the pastures, all the way through affinage and general sanitation on wood boards and work surfaces.<\/p>\n Lakkas began by encouraging all cheese makers (especially farmstead cheesemakers) to \u201cBuild an Index\u201d of what is normally happening on the farm and in the cheese room. He recommends keeping a low tech Diary of Barn Practices that will be helpful at times when you are troubleshooting major issues (what changed and when?). Following up on that a cheese maker could begin regular testing of the milk for various organisms of interest. For example at JHF they regularly test for S. aureas because they know that there is a threshold below which, if present, it cannot affect the quality of the cheese. Similarly they use an E. coli specific test as a measurement of their sanitary practices. Using this they have already managed to get their epcc levels below three for most makes.<\/p>\n Lekkas pointed out that today many of these tests are available as specialty plate films that can be exposed and then incubated in a relatively in expensive piece of equipment, so the price of regular testing has come way down.<\/p>\n JHF also regularly tests the LAB levels of the milk they are processing into raw milk cheese, and this has helped them enormously in avoiding over-acidification of curds because high-LAB milk will require fewer added cultures to achieve the desired pH curve for a cheese.<\/p>\n Lekkas also showed an example of an advanced use of microbiology for product development by isolating native bacteria and then, mixing some of those isolates depending on their characteristics. In this case his lab was attempting to make a cheese culture that would add high-Sulphur \u201ccooked cabbage\u201dodors and flavors to a cheese using a mix of previously isolated native bacteria.<\/p>\n For more information on the kinds of testing available for raw milk Lekkas referred us to the Cornell \u201cRaw Milk Testing\u201d<\/a> paper which summarizes it nicely.<\/p>\n The final speaker was Eric Meredith, a microbiologist working for Neals Yard Dairy, who wanted to give a straight-forward overview of the Scientific Method<\/a> because he felt that any investigation into cheese problems should ideally be framed in this way: Purpose\/Question, Research, Hypothesis, Test, Success or Failure, Conclusion, and Communication.<\/p>\n Meredith felt that of equal importance was for every cheese maker to document as many of the variables that they can through-out every cheese making day. Obvious measurements such as the temperature and humidity of the cheese room itself, all the way up to a regular plotting of the pH curve during a cheese make. Once documented, Meredith also thought it was important for the cheese maker to decide what the \u201cideal\u201d or \u201creference\u201d measurement should be, and then how much tolerance the cheese maker would allow in each value before identifying a \u201cfault\u201d in the cheese make that should be flagged as that cheese batch was aged through to potential sale.<\/p>\n Meredith acknowledged that it was a lot of data to collect, and that it took time, but he assured us that when a problem was so severe that it required a formal scientific investigation, the cheese maker would already be way ahead of isolating the possible cause, and then creating a solution that would result in better safer cheese on a more consistent basis.<\/p>\n Celebrating a Fermentation Renaissance<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeffrey Roberts, Cow Creek Creative Ventures Jeffrey Roberts has been a great friend to artisan cheese makers all over the US, and all over the world. His work to highlight the outstanding quality of our local cheeses have (literally) put many of us \u201con the map\u201d and helped us thrive in this industry. Recently, with the publication of his new book — Salted and Cured<\/a> — Roberts has lent his voice to the Renaissance of Fermented foods. And there is no better place to celebrate this renaissance than at an ACS conference in a Tasting session!<\/p>\n Thus I found myself seated next to Heather Donahue at a table in the Pittsburgh convention center staring at an artfully arranged tray of cheeses and meats, alongside an ice bucket of beers. Of course these were not just any cold cuts, cheese cubes, and brewski\u2019s. Roberts had invited a Pennsylvania brewer, as well as a Pennsylvania charcutiere to help him create three tastings mixing one of each into a greater sum, and then he invited a Certified Cheese Professional to help explain WHY these pairings worked, and help us make similar pairings for ourselves in the future.<\/p>\n
\nPanos Lekkas, Cellars at Jasper Hill and Jasper Hill Farm
\nEric Meredith, Neals Yard Dairy (and also Education chair of ACS)<\/p>\n
\nBill Covaleski, Victory Brewing
\nAir Miller, 17322 Meats
\nRory Stamp, ACS CCP<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/mainecheeseguild.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_20180726_1351411661612258603817571.jpg\")
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