Mold Spots

[Missy]

I made a cheddar on March 2 which has been fine aging up until this point, but today when I went to flip my cheeses, I could see black or brown mold underneath the wax on this cheese.  I just pitched it.  What causes this?  My other cheeses appear to be fine.  My cheese cave is a wine fridge.  Do I need to somehow sanitize it?  If the mold was all under the wax, is it possible that it oculd have spread to my other cheeses?  Yuck!  I feel so dirty.  LOL  What did I do wrong?

My fridge is set at 54 degrees and humidity is about 80-85 per cent.  Once i noticed it was 95% and I'm not sure how that happened!

[thegregger]

Missy:

Next time, don't be so quick to pitch the cheese.  When I discover mold, I can usually just cut away the offending areas, hit it hard with a salt/vinegar solution, and rewax.  If you have a hard pressed cheese, it's a good bet that the mold is just sitting on the surface of the cheese, just underneath the wax.

Also, this is another reason why I prefer to let my cheeses form a natural rind, rather than using wax.  Any air and moisture that gets trapped under the wax will invariably meet up with some mold looking for a new home.

Greg

[Cheese Head]

Missy, great response from Greg, my only 2 cents to add is let cheese dry a little more next time before waxing.

[wharris]

Agrees with Greg.  You would be surprised what a little TLC from a brine or vinegar solution will do for you.