Author Topic: Ack! My cheese has a pustule.  (Read 1326 times)

Jessica_H

  • Guest
Ack! My cheese has a pustule.
« on: January 10, 2011, 09:06:42 AM »
In all the reading I've done I haven't heard of my latest problem. It's with my Colby which really has been riddled with problems: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,5839.0.html

The clean break was no good. The curd say an hour rather than 30 min. I introduced wine. The curd never really knit to form a good rind. Etc

So I've been drying it at about 70% humidity and 52 degrees. The cracks have gotten deeper but nothing new has formed. I turned it twice a day for the fist 4 days and it's turned once a day since then and it's 8 days old today.

I went to turn it tonight and there's a crack between curds in the center on the top that was oozing liquid. I thought a drip had fallen on it from the roof of the wine cave. But it didn't. It doesnt smell bad. Maybe yeasty? Really it smells like wine and cheese :). I squished the liquid out and turned the cheese so now there's pressure on the one new crack. I also noticed that for the first time my humidity fluctuated and it was at 55%.

I have a Gouda and a Parm both drying outside the cave at 55% without trouble...

Any ideas on what's happening?  Is it salvageable?

Jessica_H

  • Guest
Re: Ack! My cheese has a pustule.
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2011, 06:28:39 PM »
Here's a picture of my poor cheese.  The pustule was in the middle of the circle.  But then below you can see other pictures of the cracking.


"bottom" of the cheese with the pustule.  It was facing up when I found the leaking


Bigger version of the same image without the circle on it


side cracks


top cracks

tananaBrian

  • Guest
Re: Ack! My cheese has a pustule.
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2011, 05:48:57 AM »
 ???  Ack is right!  :o  The word "pustule" should never be used in the same sentence as a food!  (Sorry, I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't ...for some reason, moisture is coming out of your cheese ...maybe if it has a hard exterior, the 'leak' spots are all that is open for that?)

Brian


KosherBaker

  • Guest
Re: Ack! My cheese has a pustule.
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2011, 04:54:08 AM »
I once had something that looked similar to your cheese, sans the wine, and my problem was that I did not press the cheese enough and it was left to be too moist on the inside. Since moisture accelerates the bacteria activity, sometimes through the roof, my solution was to eat it before it got even more sour or downright bitter.
Sorry I forgot what kind of cheese press you have, but that might be something to shake your index finger at. :)