Microbe guide: Chrysosporium sulfureum

If you’ve ever spotted yellow fluff on the surface of a cheese rind, you were probably looking at the mold Chrysosporium sulfureum. Considered a typical fungal species on the rinds of many classic French cheeses including Tomme de Savoie and Saint-Nectaire, this cave-loving fungus is widespread, but enigmatic. Here’s a summary of the little that we do know about this cheese fungus.

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Can good viruses keep bad bacteria out of fermented foods?

Food scientists have developed a diverse toolkit to help food producers keep pathogens out of fermented foods, including pasteurization, raw ingredient and end-product testing, and the addition of natural preservatives. Over the past decade, a new technology using viruses that attack pathogenic bacteria (bacteriophages), has emerged on the market as a potential addition to this food safety toolkit. Here we explain the science of using good viruses to kill bad bacteria in fermented foods.

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Profile: Jeremy Ogusky – Culturing Fermentation Culture in Boston

Across the globe, local communities are forming fermentation communities – groups that meet to teach each other techniques and build a sense of community over delicious microbial foods. Over the past five years, a local potter in Boston, Massachusetts, has helped organize and educate a rapidly growing fermentation community. In this guest post, Maria Ordovas, explores how a fermentation culture is being formed in Boston. [click to view the full story]

A new mold species discovered on salami

Our world is full of organisms that scientists have yet to discover and officially describe as a species. You may have heard in the news about a new species of amphibian discovered in a remote rainforest or new species of fish discovered at the bottom of the sea. But you don’t have to travel to far flung places to find new species. Sometimes they are right under our noses…. growing on salami.

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Profile: Susan O’Regan-Reidy from Seacrest Foods

It can be a long and winding road as a fermented food moves from producer to consumer. In the middle of that trip are food distributors who have to ensure that these living foods have a pleasant journey. When I taught a food microbiology course at Boston University’s Gastronomy Program last spring, I met Susan O’Regan-Reidy, a microbe-loving sales representative from Seacrest Foods. Susan has the unique perspective of seeing products like cheeses, salamis and other fermented foods move from producers all the way to the hands of consumers. I asked Susan to share her perspective in this Profile for MicrobialFoods.org.

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Profile: Hosta Hill – farmers, fermenters, and mold tamers

In an unassuming basement tucked in the hills of the Berkshires, Maddie Elling and Abraham (Abe) Hunrichs rot vegetables and grow mold. As “partners in business and partners in life,” their company Hosta Hill is providing farmers’ markets and stores in Massachusetts with some of the finest vegetable ferments and tempeh in the region. In this Profile, I’ll share what I learned at Hosta Hill about taming tempeh molds, the challenges of artisan fermentation production, and the joys of growing raw materials for fermentation.

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Microbe Guide: A visual guide to salami microbiology

Ever wonder what makes your salami fuzzy, crusty, and tart? Our Visual Guide to Salami Microbiology provides an overview of everything you need to know about microbes in and on your favorite artisan salami. Print it out. Hang it up.  Marvel at the microbiological wonders growing on your salami! Download our Visual Guide to Salame Microbiology here. [click to view the full story]

Profile: Nicholas Bokulich – Using new technology to understand traditional foods

During his PhD research in the Mills Lab at the University of California Davis, Nicholas (Nick) Bokulich completely transformed how we view the microbial diversity of many fermented foods in the US. From wine to cheese to sake, Nick’s research opened up new dimensions of the microbial diversity of these traditional foods. In this Profile, Nick talks about improvements in DNA-sequencing technology, terroir, and the future of food microbiology.

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Microbe Guide: Yarrowia lipolytica

From biofuels to fish food to gold nanoparticles, Yarrowia lipolytica is all the rage these days as a powerful workhorse for biotechnology. But this yeast also has important roles in the flavor development and appearance of some traditional fermented foods. Here’s all you need to know about this versatile and beautiful yeast. [click to view the full story]

Microbe Guide: Zygosaccharomyces rouxii

If Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the king of wine and beer, then Zygosaccharomyces rouxii is the king of soy sauce. The production of soy sauce is a multi-stage fermentation with many different microbes involved. But the production of the essence of soy sauce, that caramel-like odor that is the heart of any high-quality soy sauce, has been mastered by the yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii.

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