Tamara, I was experiencing cracks in my cheese also. I had leakage of a liquid also, but I was storing my cheese rounds on edge, so the liquid (whey) leaked out and then mold formed around the leak. The following is an answer I got from Jim Wallace at Cheesemaking.com. I hope this helps.
The whey leaking out of the cheese is the tip off for me. This is typical of late acid development caused by molding the curds with too much moisture. This moisture contains lactose, which the bacteria will continue to convert to lactic acid while the cheese is being pressed and continuing on the aging shelf. This is usually accompanied by leaking whey during aging. Unfortunately this will cause the cheese to become quite acidic and crumbly with aging.
The solution for this is to make sure that your curds become dry enough before molding and press. Proper ripening of the milk before adding rennet and maintaining the proper temperature can do this. Your final control is stirring the curds well and long enough so that are dry enough.
In the final stages of cheese making it is important to watch the temp and time of stirring. If the curds are "mushy" they are not ready to mold. They need to form individual curds and when squeezed in the hand they should be dry enough to separate with little effort.
The general test for this is to gather a small clump of curds in the hand and compress it. Then with a little thumb pressure, see if the mass breaks apart easily into separate curds. If it does the curd is ready to place in the mold and press.
Also cutting your cheese into the small pieces would cause it to dry out more quickly. Always make the largest cheese you can and then age it before cutting. When it is ripe you can cut the wheel and re-wax the portions for future.
... jim
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Admin Edit: Altered email address for security as it will be harvested by bots for spamming.Jim Wallace
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www.cheesemaking.comOffering Technical Help and Classes at New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
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