Author Topic: mold on first cheddar  (Read 995 times)

lanna

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mold on first cheddar
« on: February 08, 2011, 04:45:16 PM »
Hi

I made my first cheddar a on 21 January. After drying it I cloth bound it with lard. Its aging in my storeroom in a plastic box at about 10C with wet paper towels in the box to keep humidity up - they are staying moist without me replacing them but its not collecting moisture on the roof of the box, so I'm hoping that means humidity is ok.

My concern is that it now has lots of green mold on it, including some furry bits - is this normal or should I clean it and try to rebind it?

Any help would be great
thanks


Thanks

zenith1

  • Guest
Re: mold on first cheddar
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2011, 08:16:28 PM »
Ianna- sounds like your humidity might be too high. Try just cracking the lid of your mini cave. The mold on the cloth can be brushed back with a small brush and a light touch to keep it in check.

JMB

  • Guest
Re: mold on first cheddar
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2011, 08:30:53 PM »
Yep--this is normal, at least it is the way that I do them. (Look at my CheeseForum pict.) I have 2000 of them aging in the cave where I work.  I turn mine once a week.  Once they get a nice mold coat I  rub all surfaces while turning and set them on their other side.  I don't rub them hard, sort of like you would if you were maybe putting on hand lotion or something.  Gota turn them once a week or they may start to grow unfavorable molds.  I use rough sawn cedar to keep the air circulating well. It is better to error on the bit dryer side of humidity than wet.  With the lard coat the cheese is pretty protected from drying out for the most part unless you get way to dry.  There is a nice temp and humidity unit for about $25 that I bought at the hardware store.  It tells you the high and low for both temp and humidity in the last 24 hrs. It is about the size of a cell phone or hand held calculator, has been a great investment.  How much do yours weigh, are they cheddars and how long do you intend to age them? 
JMB

lanna

  • Guest
Re: mold on first cheddar
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2011, 03:54:04 PM »
Thanks! I might try to reduce the humidity, brush off some of the mold and turn it more often....I've only turned it once, so might need to do it more.