dirty socks & smelly arm pits (b linens)

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dirty socks & smelly arm pits (b linens)

Postby Owly on Tue Dec 19, 2017 11:06 am

Now there's a title that should get people's attention ;-)

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH

A shocking proposal:

Bacterium Linens ..... in the wild. That's what I'm hunting.

I've read that bacterium linens is the same bacteria that makes your socks smell bad, and your pits stink. It grows in the moist salty sweaty environment found in those places, and it also grows on wash rind cheeses, and gives them their distinct odors and flavors.

I'm making cheeses, a new endeavor for me. My latest batch was split between feta and brie, and innoculated with my long running kefir supply, which supposedly has geotrichum candidum, and to which I've added some rind from brie.... as a side culture. It'll go into the "cave" tonight.

I'd like to try some washed rind cheese, of no particular specific type, using a moderately salty brine wash, for a moderate flavor. My plan is to wipe my sweaty arm pits with the brine soaked cloth, and use the same cloth to wash the rind of the cheeses.

Is this absolutely insane? I don't think so. I'm not so squeamish that I haven't done cunnilingus or licked drops of sweat from my lover's body in the heat of passion, and you know something? It never made me sick. I even know of a beer innoculated from vaginal yeast. Are you sick and disgusted yet ;-)

B linens is present in the environment as a wild bacteria, and naturally thrives in warm moist environments. The arm pit of a person such as myself who bathes frequently and doesn't douse himself with chemicals is not an unsanitary environment any more than my jar of kombucha, or the kefir jars I virtually never wash, but just add milk and grains, and continue. I see little reason NOT to try this, and no more danger than simply wiping with a moist slightly salty cloth.

When you are done puking, think about this and give me some well considered thoughts and comments not based on our inherently squeamish tendencies. The word "pathogens" will no doubt come to mind, but obviously pathogens are everywhere, and while they may be on our skin, they also constantly enter our bodies via our mouths and cuts on our skin, nor are they microbes that generally will turn a cheese "toxic". The geotrichium and pennicilium in the cheese culture will also suppress many if not all of those. The traditional washed rind cheeses are exposed to the same things during their aging. They are not kept in a sterile cave with hepa filters and handled by sterile robotic arms.

Owly
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Re: dirty socks & smelly arm pits (b linens)

Postby Christopher Weeks on Wed Dec 20, 2017 8:19 am

I'm not at all grossed out by this. (Though I do hope you use no deodorant...) Let us know how it works out!

https://www.wired.com/2013/12/hungry-th ... and-sweat/

Also, I'm all excited about this recent blog Sandor posted: https://www.wildfermentation.com/aged-almond-cheese/ and just bought three lbs of raw almonds to try it with. Maybe I'll do something like that with one of the wheels to compare and contrast. :-)
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Re: dirty socks & smelly arm pits (b linens)

Postby Owly on Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:35 am

Christopher Weeks wrote:I'm not at all grossed out by this. (Though I do hope you use no deodorant...) Let us know how it works out!

https://www.wired.com/2013/12/hungry-th ... and-sweat/

Also, I'm all excited about this recent blog Sandor posted: https://www.wildfermentation.com/aged-almond-cheese/ and just bought three lbs of raw almonds to try it with. Maybe I'll do something like that with one of the wheels to compare and contrast. :-)


Christopher:
On another forum someone already sent me a link to a Utube of a project making cheeses innoculated with microbes collected from various parts of people's bodies..... nose, arm pits, toes, navel..... In response to a similar post there.
There truly is nothing new under the sun ;-)

I've always refused to use chemicals on my body other than soap, I not only find them offensive to the nose, but I don't trust them to be safe. I bath virtually every day, nor do I find natural human scent offensive when a person bathes frequently. I seem to be the exception in this respect. I once shared a bunkhouse on a ranch with a man who was horrified at the frequency with which I showered...... sometimes as much as twice in 24 hours. He sternly lectured me on the importance of the natural oils on your skin to protect you from illness, and I don't recall him ever bathing, though he perfumed himself liberally to mask the BO. I'm rarely sick with anything, not even the annual flu or colds, and virtually impervious to infection, though I often have open cuts and abrasions from my work, which I rarely bandage.

Please keep us posted on the Almond cheese........... That's an exciting project. I recently began making yogurt from oat & chia milk that I make myself. Unfortunately kefir ferments it rather than souring it. I personally prefer kefir to yogurt for many reasons.

Owly
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Re: dirty socks & smelly arm pits (b linens)

Postby Owly on Thu Dec 21, 2017 4:45 pm

Too cold today to do much outdoors, so I'm making my "pit cheese". I began with a variation on the Taleggio recipe found here:
https://www.cheesemaking.com/Taleggio.html

I wanted a fairly soft moist cheese, the idea being I want my ripened cheese to be fairly runny. I innoculated with kefir, I made the cheese with one gallon of whole store bought milk from Costco. I also added calcium chloride for curd strength, and a bit of lipase, and used 1ml of vegetable rennet... The cheese was put in a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" round mold, and was more than the mold could hold initially. I've flipped it twice so far. It's sitting in a highly modified countertop convection oven I use for drying and kilning malt. (controls removed and precision digital temp control and contactor installed, and elements hooked in series to reduce heat intensity, fan and rotisserie on their own individual switches. I have a screen drum I built for the grain). It is maintaining 80F and will be reduced overnight, after which it will be removed and salted, then stored in my makeshift "cheese cave" at about 50F. After a few days, I'll do my "pit wash". I'll probably do salted whey instead of salted water. Taking the salt whey dampened cloth and wiping my arm pits before wiping the cheese. Ripening time is 4-6 weeks.

H.W.
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Re: dirty socks & smelly arm pits (b linens)

Postby Owly on Sat Dec 23, 2017 1:15 pm

Sat Dec 23

Did my first "pit wash" today. Brine was one T salt in 1Q whey. Poured a small amount in a bowl, and dampened a paper towel in it, then wiped my arm pits, and redampened the towel and wiped the cheese agressively. The cheese has been salted and sitting in my "cheese cave" for about 12 hours prior to washing. I'll repeat in a couple of days.

H.W.
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