OK, here we have:
Front left, Monterey Jack style cheese, made on 10/29/11
Front right, stirred curd cheddar style chees, made on 10/14/11, approximately 1/2 of it left, the other half eaten, detail pic below is a piece of this cheese
Center rear, stirred curd cheddar style cheese, made on 11/14/11 (slightly sloped from bad pressing angle).
The one that is partly eaten, well has a very sharp/tangy taste.
The other two, I have not tasted. All were made with raw milk. The monterey smells sweet/milky, the cheddar smells a little tangy, but not so tangy as the one I've tasted.
My issue is that they were waxed, but then started to develop some sort of mold inside the wax, not a lot, just a little. When I was flipping them, I could tell that there were air pockets between the wax and the cheese, which started to develop about 60-70 days into the aging process.
Last night I took the wax off, and did a brine wash on them. Now they're air drying.
I have been aging in my basement, in a cooler. The basement is in the low 50Fs and decently humid (haven't tested it).
What would you suggest in terms of a) salvaging these cheeses and b) not having this occur in the future?
I'm thinking I will probably not wax anymore, I've always had mixed sucess with it. Just air drying/letting natural rinds develop? Oiling? Cloth bandaging?
Thank you for any input/suggestions in advance
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