Thanks. I have wondered the same thing...if I am overworking the curds during the cooking process. I tried not to stir as much as I did when making the cheddar. It seems the curds start out large and by the end they are much smaller but firmer as they should be. I'll give that a try next time.
Lesson learned. My wheel has been on the counter drying since 6:00 p.m Saturday, so thats 3 days. It was beginning to take on the yellowish color on the outside. Being the impatient person I am, one end was kind of ugly from the press so I decided to cut off about an inch and that would give me an idea about the knit and even take a taste from the small end. It's very moist, it taste like cheese but not much flavor yet, except from the peppers.
The mistake was then I decided it needed to be waxed. Well..I started with the small end I cut off to see how it would go. Guess what....WAX WON'T STICK TO THE WET END OF A WHEEL OF CHEESE!!! So I mixed up some brine solution, washed the two ends and going to let it dry another day or two. Any thoughts on how long it can sit like this at room temperature?
? Oh well...guess I know what it looks like on the inside now...ha.