I found this in another post by Alpaserie
Alpkäserei
Traditional Washing -The hows, whys, whens, whats, and what not (by request)
« on: December 20, 2012, 04:38:04 PM »
The idea of a washed rind is to create a cheese surface that will not allow any mold, yeast, or pathogens to grow on its surface. By washing the outside of a cheese, we contribute to a series of chemical changes that over a period of weeks transform the rind into a protective shell that helps to preserve the inside of the wheel and protect it from harm of any sort.
You could liken the process of washing to that of putting on a coat. By adding this outer layer, we allow the cheese to stand up to a variety of conditions that it would not be able to if we left it naked.
So again, the principle here is to wrap the cheese in a protective coating.
Some people do this with a foreign substance, namely wax, or accomplish a similar thing with oil. But what we want here is to turn the cheese itself into a rind.
To do this, we rely on bacteria, namely b. linens, either natural to the environment around us or introduced from some outside source via culture powders, etc. These little bugs will consume the cheese and break down its solids to produce a sort of slimy goo. In German, this is called Schmier. We want to form this smear, and wipe it around and keep it growing. If done properly, a good smear will cover a mulitude of evil ranging from minor rind flaws to inconsistent rh.
If B. linens retards mold could this be why I am not getting any mold on my Stilton? I did have a light growth of b. linens on it
I have several b linens cheeses in their own container in my cave
Pete