Hi AL,
maybe try this instead of
Once the PC grows I pet it down aand flip them every day for a week. Then I wrap them in cheese paper and keep them in the cave to soften. Once soft I box them and move them to the cold fridge.
1. Let the PC grow in the 10-12 DegC environment.
2. Once the PC grows - and I haven't found a good way to describe how much - about nice ripe peach outside fuzziness - Move them to the colder environment.
3. I normally leave them in their maturing containers at this stage and I don't wrap them.
4. Wipe them out and flip the cheeses every 2nd day until desired softness is attained. Again I don't wrap them unless I'm giving them to someone.
Now being in the colder environment will increase your aging to desired softness time but, it dramatically reduces the chance of Skin Slip with is normally caused by the accellerated, over-production of Ammonia.
A bit of what 'Skin Slip" is.... This is cause by the resolubilsation process going too fast - the process that makes the cheese go gooey. After the surface Lactate (Lactic acid) has been consumed by the molds, making Carbon Dioxide and water , the lactate moves from the core out. Then the molds go to work on the proteins and start producing ammonia which moves from the outside in. Since it is an alkaline it raises the pH. As the pH raises the protiens are moved further away from their isoelectic point and go from water hating to water loving (hydrophilic) and bind water to themselves, basically casein going back into solution - hence the cheese goes gooey. It is sooo cool and one of the most complicated ripening process - washed rinds do something simular.
There are a few other reactions occuring like the buffering action of the Calcium Phosphate and the production of ammonia outstrips this buffering capability. So its this ammonia production and buffering process we are attemting to control with the lowering of the aging temperature.
I hope that sort of makes sence.
-- Mal