Waxing - Immediate Hairline Cracks & Fluid Leakage

[megdcl]

Can anyone help me understand why hairline cracks appeared in the wax on the edges of my cheese that slightly oozed immediately after waxing.. even during? I don't think this is a good thing.. my cheese had formed a nice, even rind and felt dry all over.. I don't think it was too moist to wax. What's my problem? What should I do??

[megdcl]

The only thing I could figure was that the wax didn't harden enough before subsequent layers were added, and thus the first layers maybe swelled and started seeping through.. I left the cheese in a cool place for a short time (until the wax was perfectly hard) and then re-waxed over the cracks and it looks fine now. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope it's got nothing to do with the cheese.

[cheezwhizz]

   What kind of cheese is it?    How long did you let it dry before waxing ?         Did you use cheese wax or just regular wax ?

[tananaBrian]

What temperature was the melted wax (if you know)?  I wonder if the cheese may have melted a bit from wax that was too hot.  I read somewhere (being a newb who has never waxed a cheese yet) that the wax should be heated to around 145 F ...hot enough to kill microorganisms on the surface of the cheese, but not so hot that it melts the cheese.

Brian

[zenith1]

megdcl :
In waxing a wheel if your going have an area that is lightly coated with wax, it will be around the edges of the wheel. If there was moisture leaking from the wax even as you waxed the wheel it was still too moist to wax.
Brian:
to insure that you have killed any possible contaminants you must heat the wax to over 200F.

[megdcl]

   What kind of cheese is it?    How long did you let it dry before waxing ?         Did you use cheese wax or just regular wax ?

It's just a hard cheese: http://creativeliving.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=304

It was a smallish round, maybe two pounds, and I let it air dry until it formed a nice, hardened rind; 3 or 4 days. I used wax mainly from melted candles (with a small amount beeswax.. have used it before with success).

What temperature was the melted wax (if you know)?  I wonder if the cheese may have melted a bit from wax that was too hot.  I read somewhere (being a newb who has never waxed a cheese yet) that the wax should be heated to around 145 F ...hot enough to kill microorganisms on the surface of the cheese, but not so hot that it melts the cheese.

Brian

I don't know what temperature it was, but I don't think it was too hot. Not hot enough to burn me (as I got some on my fingers, as usual).

megdcl :
In waxing a wheel if your going have an area that is lightly coated with wax, it will be around the edges of the wheel. If there was moisture leaking from the wax even as you waxed the wheel it was still too moist to wax.

I really don't think the cheese was too moist. There was absolutely no moisture on any surface of the cheese.. I took care to make sure it was completely dry to the touch and had formed a nice rind. It was (if anything) more ready for the wax than my other cheeses I'd waxed without a problem. And the very little bit that oozed didn't feel (or smell like) melted cheese.. it was smooth and thin, more like (what I'm guessing) the first coats of wax.

Looks great now, though.. hoping this doesn't come back to haunt me .

Thanks for all the input!

[zenith1]

While the rind may feel acceptably dry, if your process is off in the make or pressing you still can have an excess of whey in the cheese leading to this problem.

[megdcl]

While the rind may feel acceptably dry, if your process is off in the make or pressing you still can have an excess of whey in the cheese leading to this problem.

Well, if this is the case, how does it affect the cheese? Is there anything I should do? On the other hand, the goo didn't resemble whey, either. I'm just talking a very, very little liquid.. it wouldn't have even dripped, but I was able to wipe some on my finger to examine.

This cheese was pressed very well, I think.. it pressed for three days (turned every day) and, like I said before, is a relatively small round. It didn't have any surface cracks or anything, or any reason at all indicating it would be problematic.

Don't you think it's more likely the wax somehow?