Shalloy, my cams are never
completely covered in white -- especially around the edges/corners. However, the geo seems to form a complete undercovering, and that too helps with the ripening.
I am a disciple of Mal when it comes to this style of cheese -- following his Malembert make has given me out-of-this-world results. However, I have done one thing differently than Mal for the last two makes -- once I move the cheese to the cold fridge, rather than continuing to use ripening containers, I have used the special cheese ripening paper (I got mine from artisangeek.com).
The primary reason I did this the first time was to save space -- since the cold fridge is the primary refrigerator for the house, my wife insists on putting groceries in it.
As discussed in another thread, with the cheeses wrapped in the paper, I have been able to stack them when space was tight, spreading them out when space was available. (Often I arrange them with one cheese propped up on the next -- still saves space, but lets air circulate better.)
Having done this twice now, I can say that I think I like this method better: 1) I think the cheese ripens a bit faster -- 5 weeks rather than 6; 2) the cheese does not require as much attention (to wipe out the moisture from the ripening container, air out the ammonia, etc.); this has meant that I have been able to leave the cheese for a week of vacation, with no harm; 3) in connection with #2, the ammonia seems to be controlled better -- perhaps simply because I don't always remember to attend to the cheese at the right time when it is in the ripening container!
All that said, I don't think the
cheese has turned out any better in taste or texture -- whether using the ripening containers or the paper, "Malemberts" have been consistently delicious, and it is ridiculously hard not to eat a whole wheel at one sitting.