Bandage Wrapping Formed Cheese - Whey Weeping Out

[girlsrockmovie]

Well, after a bit of hiatus due to busy work schedule and such, I'm back to ruining perfectly fine gallons of milk. I've just done a Farmhouse Cheddar (decided to go back to basics a bit) and am bandaging rather than waxing the wheel. As per the instructions on Cheesemaking.com, I put the double muslin on and spread shortening all over and then pressed at 50 lbs overnight (after the normal pressing and such) to seal the bandage in. This morning, there was fluid coming through the shortening, and a little puddle of whey in the pan. Am I screwed? Is this normal when pressing again for bandaging? Should I unwrap, air-dry and then try again?

Also, what do y'all rest your bandaged cheeses on when aging? I can't figure out how to put it on something without the shortening smearing off everywhere whenever turning it over...wire rack? Cheese mat?

Thanks!

Arne

[DeejayDebi]

First I would have set the cheese out to dry for a few days.
Second I would have left it open in the cave for about a month.
Thrid a light coat of lard, then bandage the another light coat of lard. It shouldn't be seeping out of the bandages. Just enough to make it stick to the cheese.

[girlsrockmovie]

Thanks DDD! For some reason I wasn't notified of your response and now I'm three weeks into the aging. Wish I'd seen this soon enough to act on your good advice! Now I'm watching a garden of mold grow over the shortening and crossing my fingers for edible cheese on the inside.

[Tea]

I can't see why you couldn't scrape off all the shortening and bandages and wipe over with vinegar, salt the rind, and allow it to air for a couple of days before redoing the binding again.  I think that would be preferable than loosing a cheese.

[DeejayDebi]

It's only lard it should come off pretty easy. It's not really dry yet.

[Michelle]

Yes, agree iwth deejayDebi.  I can't understand why the instructions would tell you to press after wrapping the cheese.  Of course when you press, more whey is going to come out...

As with waxing, the cheese should have finished it's pressing and have dried out for a few days/week at the very least.

[linuxboy]

Ditto on what everyone else has said. Larding came about because many things were preserved in fat. For example, a classic is duck terrine or a pate where it's cooked and then sealed underneath fat. The fat keeps out oxygen and bacteria, so you could store the meat at room temp or in a cellar/other cool, dark place without using ice or a refrigerator.

Cheese was similar. Larding was to keep the cheeses more moist and prevent spoilage. Bandage was added for handling ease. It's not so pleasant to grab a slippery 10-lb wheel of cheese and getting your hands dirty.

There's no reason I can think of to press bandage into the cheese. The wheel should have already dried for a few days and formed a slight rind before you lard. I know some commercial places lard after 2-4 weeks of resting to give the rind a chance to form.

[girlsrockmovie]

Thanks everyone...I seem to be having trouble figuring out how to be notified of responses, but hopefully I've got it figured out now. Here it is a few weeks later, and I decided on Tea's recommendation to scrape everything off and vinegar and brine. There was some discoloration on the cheese under the lard, a little yellow a little red splotch here and there, so I was glad I got to it! None of the colors/mold had penetrated any further than the surface and I scraped it all off. I pulled a little circle out of the side and it actually tastes pretty ok! The texture seems a little odd, but perhaps some more time will help. As per Tea's suggestion (though a couple weeks late) I'm letting it air dry for a couple days after vinegaring and salting. I'm thinking about waxing it for the next couple weeks, having let it age for nearly a month with lard, just to be on safe side. I'm gonna be out of town for two weeks and so won't be able to monitor. Thanks again!