Hi there
I'm quite new to cheesemaking, but am hooked! I recently made 2 gouda wheels (one with cumin seed, one plain) which have been drying for almost 3 weeks. The plain wheel had a rumpty/bumpy surface due to bulk of the muslin in the press (silly me!) which of course led to ruts in the surface which grew blue mould. I thought I had kept the mould quite well cleaned off with brine but I have just dug a portion of blue mould out of the plain wheel, about 1cm down into the cheese.
My question is, now that I've picked the mould out, what can I do to encourage a rind to form over this freshly-picked open area, or would I be okay to just wax it as I had planned in a few days' time (assuming no more mould has formed)? In fact, is it even likely to be safe to eat even though I've got rid of the visible mould from inside the cheese?
Many thanks for your help :-)
Regards
Chrissie (New Zealand)