Waxing - After Removing Surface Mould

[rwingett]

I've made a Gouda cheese that I had intended to wax, however it is now showing signs of mold. Is it OK to wax a cheese after mold has started to form? If I cleaned off the mold, would it be advisable to wax, or not? Not sure how to proceed here.

[zenith1]

Scrub it off with a piece of cheese cloth dipped in brine or salt/vinegar solution ,let it dry good and go ahead and wax.

[rwingett]

OK, that sounds good. But the amount of mold on my cheese alarms me. I don't know how thoroughly I'll be able to clean it off. Will it matter if mold grows rampant inside the wax? It doesn't sound like an attractive proposition.

The first couple of hard cheeses I made, I waxed right away. They seem to be aging away nicely. Now I've made one with a natural rind and the gouda, which was supposed to air dry at 50 degrees for three weeks before I waxed it. I'm concerned about the amount of mold on them both. I had been wiping them off every few days with a cheese cloth dipped in just salt water. Maybe the vinegar will help out, but I fear for their long term health.

[zenith1]

If scrubbing does not remove all the mold you will have to cut that piece off(I know it hurts) and then proceed from there.

[tananaBrian]

I'm a newb so do your research, but someone here told me that if you dip the cheese into 200 F wax when you wax, that it'll kill the mold.  Maybe after cleaning, you can hot-wax to give the cheese a bit more insurance?  Anyone else on this topic?

Brian