We get this question in the shop almost every week: “It’s got mold on it—is it still good?” We’re talking about the white, velvety coating on a saucisson from the Ardèche, a saucisse sèche from the Basque Country, or wild boar salami. The short answer: Yes, it’s good. And the coating is the reason why.
What the white fuzz is
The French call it la fleur, the bloom. It’s a noble mold that forms on the surface of the sausage during curing, related to the kind that makes Camembert white. In artisanal charcuterie, it appears naturally: freshly stuffed sausages hang for weeks in a cool, damp curing room, and the cultures that have lived in the air and on the beams there for generations colonize the casing. At Charcuterie Millas in the Monts de Lacaune, it’s the mountain air of the Tarn; at Teyssier, the air of the Ardèche; at Maison Mayté, the air of the Basque Country. Every region has its own bloom, and you can taste it.
Why it’s a sign of quality
The bloom works for the sausage. It forms a protective layer around the casing, leaving no room for unwanted bacteria. It ensures that the sausage dries evenly, rather than becoming hard on the outside and raw on the inside. And it contributes to the aroma: the slightly nutty, mushroomy note that sets a good saucisson apart from any ordinary salami comes largely from it.
Industrially produced sausage usually doesn’t have this coating. There, the casing is treated with preservatives, or the sausage is dried so quickly that no bloom can form. So if you have a saucisson without fuzz in your hand, it’s not necessarily a better sausage, but usually one that was made differently.
Eat it or wipe it off?
Either way is fine. The bloom is completely edible; in France, it’s simply eaten. If you don’t like the taste or want to slice the sausage more neatly, wipe it with a dry or slightly damp cloth. If the sausage has a natural casing, you can also remove it. This is easiest with a thin saucisson sec if you make a lengthwise cut in the casing with a knife.
How to keep the saucisson fresh
An air-dried saucisson should not be kept in plastic or in the refrigerator—at least not sliced and wrapped in plastic. It’s best hung in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, in the pantry or on a hook in the kitchen, away from the stove. This way, it continues to dry slowly and becomes firmer and more flavorful week by week. Once sliced, wrap it in a cloth or baking paper, not plastic wrap, otherwise it will sweat.
When something really is wrong
A good bloom is white, sometimes turning gray or grayish-green, dry and velvety, and it smells of cellar and mushrooms, not unpleasant. A greenish haze is normal on a sausage that is still soft and moist; Teyssier in the Ardèche even writes that it is ideal for long-term storage. If you don’t like it, hang the sausage in a drier, more ventilated place and brush it with a dry brush after two or three days. Caution is only warranted if the coating turns black, pink, or orange, if it becomes slimy or moist, or if the sausage smells sharply of ammonia. This almost exclusively happens if it has been stored in conditions that are too warm or airtight. Then the rule always applies: throw it away.
Just as a sausage is made in a family business, we have written down the story of Charcuterie Millas, which also inspired us to write this text.
Our Saucissons
All air-dried, all with bloom. What’s out of stock will be back; the replenishment rhythms of the houses vary.
Source: Charcuterie Millas, “Pourquoi la fleur blanche sur le saucisson est un signe de qualité”, charcuterie-millas.fr.
