Hi all!
First post after being on this site on and off for the last six months gleaning TONS of great info while I set up my cheese cave.
I have a quick question and I've trawled this forum and the wider internet for answers but I keep coming up short. It has to do with my very first semi-hard cheese. Here are the specifics of what I've made:
Alpine Tomme: Recipe from Mary Karlin's wonderful book.
Milk Used: Two gallons raw whole from Organic Pastures
http://www.organicpastures.com/.
Aging So Far: Five days at 38°; 10 days (so far) at 50-55° and RH 85%
My cheese, while not the prettiest, looks to be setting up real nice. Rind is forming. I used a salt brine solution to remove a couple dark mold spots after the the first few days in the cave. I've been flipping it daily. Around three days ago I decided I'd brush it for the first time using a standard nail brush from Walgreens. Next morning I got up and there were patches of bright fluorescent/neon yellow on one side. Next day it was on the other side. I used another damp cloth with a salt brine and really gave the thing a good scrub. The yellow has subsided a bit but it's still there.
I've attached pics. The yellow in person actually looks much more vivid, close to a highlighter pen yellow.
Can any of you experts tell me what the yellow stuff is and whether I should be concerned and, if so, what steps I might take to remove it?
Thanks for any info!