Does that star-shaped mold look like blue mold up close? Have you rubbed the surface of the cheese with coarse salt wet with a little vinegar to physically kind of "sand" the surface, then do your brine wash? I would also take the cheese out of the box and resterilize the box and mats.
I have totally had similar experiences and have found from advice received here that getting a handle on these intruders earlier is better.
I just looked over the recipe from 200 Cheeses; did you air dry the cheese for 24 hours at room temp? The only growth from your inoculations ought to be the B. linens, which IMHO ought to be showing up pretty well by now.
Best of luck!
Pam
I did air dry at room temp for 24 hours following the brining, then into the minicave for a week before beginning my washing.
So can I conclude from your comments that what I'm seeing shouldn't be there and that the surface should be somewhat smooth with no dark spots at all and no stars, grey dips, etc.? I don't know what blue mold looks like and I don't know what b. linens should look like. Anyone have any pictures so I can identify clearly what I have now and what I should have?
I'm thinking there might not be any photos available of a straight b. linens rind without having some geo, yeast, or something else in the mix.
Unless I hear otherwise, it looks like I'll be scrubbing the wrinkly skin away along with the dark spots, stars, and grey dips. And yes, I'll also be sterilizing the box, rack, and mat. Finally, I didn't want to, but I'll be dosing the brine wash with b. linens to make sure it overtakes anything else that has a yen for setting up house.
I've dealt with rind invaders before so I know what to do if I'm doing something that is not washed-rind, smear-ripened, or mold-ripened like a Gouda, Jarlsberg, or Edam. My problem is that I don't know what I should leave alone and what I should remove with the b. linens in the cheese. I don't want to remove stuff if it's supposed to be there. Ahh, ignorance is
not bliss!
-Boofer-