Brie/Camembert Becoming Extinct???

[Tirvine]

I will enjoy a good and properly ripened Brie or Camembert. However, I love some of our US "stinky" cheeses. Mt. Tam and Harbison are top of my list. Sadly, they are much more expensive than grocery store Brie. For a special occasion they are a wonderful treat. I hope they are not victim to the decline of the molds used for Brie and Camembert.

 

[luvmysuper]

Wensleydale?

No, never had it - but I'd like to.
Also never had Venezuelan Beaver Cheese, but I don't think I'd care to.

Regarding the Brie issue, I don't understand fully the concept of the mold degrading. I mean - theoretically, taking a small amount of existing mold, and giving it ample food supply should cause it to grow exponentially and be the exact same stuff.
I'm not sure about the whole "cloning" thing, but - like sourdough, I would think all you would need is a very tiny amount of "good" mold to be able to grow an unfettered supply of new mold - no?

 

[luvmysuper]

Further to my post above - The article says that the mold used can't reproduce, (which brings up a whole bunch of other questions about the mold "growing" in the cheese process) so the threat is that something toxic to the mold could wipe out the supply, assuming that all of the supply was somehow contaminated all at once.
It doesn't appear that the death of Brie and Camembert is just around the corner, but that research into alternative molds which would provide an alternative is ongoing.

 

[Chef455]

No, never had it - but I'd like to.
Also never had Venezuelan Beaver Cheese, but I don't think I'd care to.

Regarding the Brie issue, I don't understand fully the concept of the mold degrading. I mean - theoretically, taking a small amount of existing mold, and giving it ample food supply should cause it to grow exponentially and be the exact same stuff.
I'm not sure about the whole "cloning" thing, but - like sourdough, I would think all you would need is a very tiny amount of "good" mold to be able to grow an unfettered supply of new mold - no?

Basically cloning magnifies flaws in DNA. They want a consistent white bloomy rind. If left up to nature the bacteria would yield different colors, thickness and ultimately flavor. DNA is squirrely. When most people think of cloning think of an exact copy, like a Xerox if you will. Turns out Mother Nature does not care to be dictated to.

In your sourdough starter analogy you are feeding the critter and keeping it happy, but ultimately it is doing its own thing. In the case of the cheese bacteria they are trying to isolate it and reproduce it exactly. But that ultimately starts to break down and become flawed. Apparently diversity will still find a way.

Makes me happy. Life is too short nit to sample some diversity and accepting that many things are out of our control is paramount. But still, Mrs. Chef will be sad if the white bloomy rind goes wacky.

 

[timetofly]

Brie will certainly be hard to get in the very near future.

There was a huge explosion at the cheese plant in France. They said that "de brie" from the explosion was scattered everywhere.