Defects - General, Surface
This webpage is divided into the following topics:
Colour - Black
Description
- Black colour on surface of cheese.
Causes
- Contamination by airborne Mucor or pin mould due to high humidity. Not dangerous, but visually
unappealing. Wipe or brush off of cheese and rub rind with mixture of vinegar and salt. Lower aging humidity and ensure that
area is clean and cannot harbor mould.
Colour - Brown
Description
- Brown colour on surface of cheese.
Causes
- Contamination by airborne mould due to high humidity. Not dangerous, but visually
unappealing. Wipe or brush off of cheese and rub rind with mixture of vinegar and salt. Lower aging humidity and ensure that
area is clean and cannot harbor mould.
Colour - Pink
Description
- Pink colour on surface of cheese.
Causes
- More common in Penicillium candidum (white mould) cheese when aging area's humidity is too high, reduce humidity.
Cracks
Description
- Cracks in surface of cheese.
Causes
- If natural rind, aging environment's humidity is far too low
causing rapid drying and shrinkage of exterior of cheese resulting
in cracks as interior of cheese shrinks minimally.
- If making cheddared (tacked and milled) type cheese, curds may
have become too cold causing uneven texture. Ensure stacked curds
are kept warm. If straight out of press, to repair crack, seal the
cheese in 65C / 150F water for 1 minute.
Damp Smelly Bottom
Description
- Bottom of cheese is moist and smelly.
Causes
- Not turning the cheese frequently enough enabling moisture to
build and unwanted yeasts to grow.
Oily
Description
- Surface layer of cheese is oily.
Causes
- The cheese is too warm and fat is seeping out, store at cooler
temperature.