Moldy tasting feta + moldy feta - help!

[fjernsyn]

I've followed the Fias Co Farm recipe for feta (which has you drain for 24 hours, then dry salt and let sit at room temperature for 3 days before putting in a very low % brine) three times now. Only change was NOT using lipase. Attempts were as follows:

1. Pink mold on day 2 of room temperature salting. Discarded cheese. Figured it was because I didn't sanitize the plastic tub first (dur).

2. No mold, in brine in the fridge for 10 days at this point. I sanitized the tub this time, and kind of sloshed the salty whey that had been expelled from the cheese around the bin in hopes of killing any potential molds. Stayed solid in the brine, looks good. Crumbly. Kind of a moldy flavor though. A more experienced cheesemaker tasted it and said it tasted like cheese, but then she thinks feta doesn't generally have any flavor, so she was pleased that this tasted like something. It's not really an offensive flavor; my boyfriend likes it, and I don't dislike it. It just doesn't have that fresh salty flavor I was hoping for. Does this sound normal? If I did want a cleaner flavor, would a shorter room temperature period be the thing to alter? Or something else? I also wouldn't mind if it were a touch creamier, though I don't want to lose this nice crumbliness. Which part of the process would I alter to change that?

3. Accidentally left it out for 4 days and a little bit of white and some green mold grew on a few of the pieces. It rinsed off easily so I did and brined it (separate container from batch #2). Do you think this is safe to eat?

Thank you!

[Oberhasli]

I use a different recipe (Margaret Morris'), but I do let the cheese drain for 12 hours or so and then put it in a brine.  Does your cheese get slimey at all in the weak brine solution? 

I would try putting it directly into the brine after draining it.  As for the cheese that had the mold, I would hope brining it would put an end to the mold.  I would try it and see. 

Bonnie

[mtncheesemaker]

I use the Fiasco recipe also, very successfully. Maybe your room temp is too warm this time of year. I have been hardening up my cheese in the fridge this summer as my kitchen seems too warm to leave the cheese at for 3 days or so. I would scrap off any mold and put it in the brine. I think the brine will kill off any further mold.
Whatt brine solution are you using?

[fjernsyn]

Bonnie - The cheese doesn't get slimy at all. I think this is because of the long out-of-fridge time, so it gets acidic enough that it doesn't melt? Or something along those lines?

Pam - I'll bet you're right about the room temperature. When I made both of those it was quite hot for this part of the country. I'll try the fridge method next. How do you find your cheese tastes? Do you use the lipase?

I am using the brine in the recipe: 1/2 cup kosher salt per half gallon of water.

[mtncheesemaker]

I don't use lipase. I use raw goat milk. I don't use lipase in anything, find it funky to my taste.
I like the taste of my feta, don't know how to describe it. It's salty, but it's supposed to be. I don't eat hunks of it alone, mostly eat it on salads.