Mouldy Cheddar

[AnnDee]

I left this one for 10 days, I had someone attend to it but came back home to a mouldy cheddar.
I washed it with salt water and vinegar but it still left with yellow spots and some tiny vein of blue. I originally plan to bandage it but I'm not sure anymore. Should I vacuum seal instead?

[Gregore]

Hopefully a cheddar head responds soon , as I have never made cheddar myself , but it looks fine to me after your wipeing and I would think you could continue along your normal path.

[wattlebloke]

haha! that looks really beautiful Ann, before you cleaned it, I mean 
How about you continue with the wiping from time to time; leave the bandaging for another one where you're sure you're not trapping any moulds? It mayn't be the cheese you thought you were going to make, but that's the fun of it all!
AC4U !

[Andrew Marshallsay]

If it's been thoroughly cleaned and it looks like it has, it would probably be alright to bandage. The thing with blue mould is that it doesn't grow in the absence of oxygen.

[AnnDee]

haha! that looks really beautiful Ann, before you cleaned it, I mean 
How about you continue with the wiping from time to time; leave the bandaging for another one where you're sure you're not trapping any moulds? It mayn't be the cheese you thought you were going to make, but that's the fun of it all!
AC4U !

Thank you for the cheese
What do you know, I thought I had it all planned out with the cloth bound cheddar...then the mouldy party came to town. 

[AnnDee]

If it's been thoroughly cleaned and it looks like it has, it would probably be alright to bandage. The thing with blue mould is that it doesn't grow in the absence of oxygen.

I will let it dry and observe it for a couple of days, then I think I might go ahead and bandage it or even wax it. The thought of maintaining its rind for a year terrifies me, I have very limited amount of patience.

[JeffHamm]

Cheddars are mouldy rind cheeses.   They remove the rind before sale, that's all.  If you can keep the humidity properly, all you need to do is brush it when it gets a bit fuzzy looking.  Eventually, the rind will get quite rustic looking.  I've aged out 1 kg cheddar types without waxing, vac.sealing, or binding for a year and they haven't dried out.  You should be fine with any path you choose, but don't worry if your cheddars get mouldy - it's part of the process. 

- Jeff

[AnnDee]

Ah...of course...
In desperation I have vacuum sealed it but I have been wanting to take it out and let it be au naturel, so thank you for the reassurance, Jeff!

[OzzieCheese]

Hi.. Not really a Cheddar head but I have a few on the go..  You managed to clean it up rather well though, I would Vacuum bag it as Bandaging and Waxing will hide the 'Little blue vein' and I would want to keep an eye on that, especially if you plan a long aging - give it a go.  Nothing wrong with a little blue in your cheese.

-- Mal
 

[AnnDee]

Thanks Mal for that. It is still vacuum sealed at the moment as I have gone for another trip, I was planning to let it go au naturel but...I saw a teeny tiny crack therefore I decided letting it go naked will invite the mold inside the cheese (I prefer it on the rind only).
And yes, I agree with you, a little blue is ok with me too.