Havarti - Strong Odor At 1 Month Ripening

[Dairyaddict101]

Hoping someone can help with my troubled first time Havarti
-Made with whole milk + rennet (pretty standard recipe)
-Has been ripening for almost 1 month at 12 degrees C (54 F) in a wine cooler
-Had some green mold was developing on surface in weeks 2-3, but cleaning and brining fixed that
-Cheese turned golden in colour in 4th week, but also started to develop what is now a very strong odour...

Question for the Havarti experts:  Should I expect a strong odour to develop during last stage of ripening (maybe resulting from cheese being trapped in ripening container with little air circulation?), or is this likely a rancid spoiled cheese ...  thanks, any guidance would be much appreciated  

[DeejayDebi]

It might help if we knew about your recipe and ingredients.

[Dairyaddict101]

16L whole milk
1/2 tsp mesophilic culture
3/4 tsp calcium chloride
3/4 tsp liquid rennet
1/3 cup canning salt

sterilized equipment
sprinkled in culture
set for 30 mins at 32 C (90F)
add calcium chloride and rennet
clean break
remove 5 L whey, add 5L water - temp to 38C (100F)
curds into mold - pressed at light pressure for 20mins, medium pressure for 6 hours
placed into ripening container into wine cooler at 12C (54F) at 95 humidity

week 2-3 - some green mold started to develop on the surface - used brush with 18% brine to clean every 2 days
week 4 - mold gone, cheese started turning from white to golden/yellow colour and started to develop an odour (odour getting stronger each day it seems)

wondering if I should expect a noticeable strong odour near the end of ripening, or if the cheese is likely going bad (my guess is Havarti should not be a smelly cheese, but thought I would ask before tossing it).  Scheduled to take it out tomorrow - may just give it a taste and see what happens!

[Tomer1]

Looks like linens, seems like the brine washing (although very strong) encouraged it.
Does it sit beside any cheese with linens?

If you want to cut back on the linens I suggest you lower your humidity levels (were you putting a lid on that plastic box?) or perhaps wax\vaccum it.

[Cheese Head]

Welcome.

I suspect as said it is probably from some sort of contamination from brine or if too humid/moist from a yeast encouraged by your closed container. Cheese does need to breath, suggest vent box a little.

Also, keeping natural rinds clean is very very tough, most people oil, or vacuum bag or wax.

[Dairyaddict101]

Got it - thank you both for your helpful replies!
I have opened up the container to get the humidity down, and will wax the cheese

John - when you say that most people oil/wax/vacuum bag natural rind cheeses - do you mean right at the start of ripening, or after some time has passed?
Thanks very much!
Alex

[linuxboy]

Looks like linens, seems like the brine washing (although very strong) encouraged it.

Ditto, you have a lovely, rosy/peach color to it. Points to a bacteria such as b linens that is causing the aroma.

[Cheese Head]

DA, if you look through or search in the STANDARD METHODS - Aging Cheese Board you'll find several threads on oiling rinds.

Also, there's some summary info compiled in our Wiki: Oiling Rinds article and in our Wiki: Oil Types article. Need to update 1st one that normally don't oil until air drying phase completed, which can vary depending on cheese moisture, humidity, temp, see our Wiki: Air Drying article.

[Dairyaddict101]

Thanks cheese friends - this forum is awesome!  The aroma (if you can call it that..) fits any description of B linens I can find - will report back on how it turns out

[Dairyaddict101]

Update:
took humidity down -- outer part of cheese cracked and looked like it was melting (see photo)
decided to harvest the cheese to have a look at the inside to see what was going on....
... looks pretty good on the inside! (I guess a bit young after only one month), and smells fine (linens was only an issue on the surface it seems)
I suspect I need to press it harder and longer next time-- cheese seems very moist, even for a havarti