Vegan red smear ripened cheese starter culture – Brevibacterium linens | for vegan Muenster

Vegan red smear starter (Brevibacterium linens, combined with Debaryomyces hansenii yeasts) characteristic of smear ripened cheeses such as muenster and epoisses. This vegan cheese starter culture can be used for both cheeses made from milk and vegan cheeses made from, for example, almonds or cashews, because it is produced on a non-dairy medium. It is used to give a red-orange colored rind, as well as a powerful taste, to washed or smeared rind cheeses of the Munster, Epoisses, Maroilles, Raclette type.

Content vegan red smear

• 3 grams of vegan red smear bacterium for 5 liter plant-based milk
• Lactose-free, gluten-free and GMO-free. Suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets.
• Contents: starter cultures, maltodextrine
• Produced in France

Why a vegan cheese culture

To get a good fermentation (acidification and flavor formation) you need a starter culture. However, most starter cultures available are not vegan. The vegan starter cultures of Startercultures.eu are. The use of vegan yogurt or vinegar as a starter culture, for example, also has disadvantages because these bacteria are not specifically intended for cheese. The vegan cheese starter cultures from startercultures.eu are.

Also for regular cheese

The fact that our starters are vegan doesn’t mean that can only be used for vegan cheese. They are perfectly suitable for regular cheeses as well.

Micro organisms

Brevibacterium linens bacteria and Debaryomyces hansenii yeasts.

Storage instructions vegan red smear

Beyond 24 months of storage in the freezer, 6 months in the refrigerator

Usage

Two applications are possible:

1. Inoculate in the plant based-milk before adding rennet

2. Washing: dilute the culture tube in 200 ml sterile water with 2 g fine salt, let rehydrate for 12 to 24 hours then dip and rub the cheeses with the solution manually (“washing”), with a brush or with a clean cloth pad (“rubbing”). Store this washing solution at the same temperature as the cheeses, for a maximum of 2 to 3 days. Repeat the treatments on the cheeses every 2 to 3 days to properly activate the red cultures and bring color and aromas to the cheeses. For less colored, milder and drier cheeses, repeat the treatments only every 4 to 5 days. Make sure to maintain good surface humidity to favor the development of color and taste thanks to Brevibacterium.

Online on demand workshop ‘how to make vegan cheese at home’ (subtitled) 

During this English subtitled workshop you will learn the theory and practice of making vegan cheeses at home, with a focus on vegan camembert and vegan blue cheese . Foodwriter ‘Meneer Wateetons’, author of several books on fermentation and alternative food preparation techniques,  will teach you all about fermentation, curing salts, food safety, pH, starter cultures, molds and drying conditions. Click here for more info.