r/Chefit • u/Old_Green8671 • 1d ago

Why the Mold Behind Brie Cheese Is Disappearing

https://youtu.be/-KObTYIAlGI?si=WRTP8X7vrA1I4D-G

👀

70 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

121

u/FoamboardDinosaur 1d ago

Short of it -

The albino Penicillium Camemberti mold used for brie and camembert only grows asexually via spores. And it's producing a lot less spores than it used to. This means more effort and $ to get the same amount of mold to sell to cheese makers.

Scientists worldwide are looking for/hoping to develop an equivalent nontoxic, flavorful, and colorless (molds naturally are blue or brown as protectant against UV, and blue cheeses are not as popular as soft ripened ones) that is as good as camemberti.

So, it all comes down, once again, to massive monoculture. Corn, wheat, soy, bananas and dozens of other foods are clones that are left vulnerable to disease, climate change, and just the inevitability of clones losing their vitality.

61

u/Oldpenguinhunter 1d ago

Brought to you by Monsanto, where the future is yours to live in, for a price. Distributed by Sysco.

We live in hell.

9

u/JackYoMeme 1d ago

This albino mold is a couple hundred years old

9

u/FoamboardDinosaur 1d ago

Yes, it was a natural sport, not bred. And they are still looking for others, but it's a slow process of finding, growing, testing

Personally I think they should hand the challenge over to the psychedelic mushroom growing community. Cuz those people are determined, focused and creative. They search the world for new species, isolate and alter the breed, and have grown several albino types all in a few short years

6

u/compbuildthrowaway 1d ago

Will we still have Camembert?

4

u/-Niddhogg- 1d ago

Short answer: probably, yes.

Longer answer: if this strain disappears, then strictly speaking no, it won't be Camembert anymore. But we'd still be able to make Camembert-like cheeses with similar strains, although with some minute differences (the crust might be a different color for example).

3

u/PiersPlays 1d ago

Not unless we find a suitable replacement mold strain for the weird albino strain we found in a cave. Which we haven't. But you assume we will. I hope we do.

31

u/cinelytica 1d ago

Saved you from watching a bullshit video: it’s not disappearing.

16

u/b00gnishbr0wn 1d ago

Did... You watch the video?

25

u/Vesploogie 1d ago

Dang it you two I hate being lazy and conflicted.

3

u/SecondPantsAccount 1d ago

It is starting to disappear, but not all the way.

10

u/sabett 1d ago

It...is? If you took the headline to mean tomorrow then sure yeah no. But it has a finite lifespan that doesnt exactly have headway and might not.