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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => STANDARD METHODS - Aging Cheese => Topic started by: lynns on January 21, 2012, 05:17:31 PM

Title: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: lynns on January 21, 2012, 05:17:31 PM
hi - i am new to cheesemaking.  i have been making farmhouse cheddar, pressed, air dried, waxed, and aging in my root cellar.  yesterday i cut into 1 month old farmhouse cheddar.  good smell and taste, just starting to obtain the cheddar taste.  i removed all the wax to slice it and found mold on the inside of the wax and the cheese.  please help - what went wrong?  thanks.
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: zenith1 on January 21, 2012, 05:39:12 PM
Hi Lynns- it is very difficult to not wind up with some pinholes in your wax. Pinhole=route for contamination. When you wax your wheels do you apply more than 1 coat?If I where going that route I would use two coats in the minimum. I would say that is the route of your problem. Waxing can be done successfully with care. You can cut off the offending area/wipe your wheel down with  brine or white vinegar, air dry at RT and re-wax to continue aging if you wish.
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: lynns on January 21, 2012, 06:34:49 PM
thanks keith.  i guess i need to check all the wheels just to make sure.  i brushed 2 coats of wax to each.  maybe i should dip several times in lieu of brushing? 
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: zenith1 on January 21, 2012, 07:11:24 PM
sometimes works better, but really is a matter of personal choice. When I waxed in the past I dipped the wheel in the wax-usually two coats.
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: JeffHamm on January 22, 2012, 06:36:58 AM
Hi lynns,

I use a yellow/orange wax, which is relatively transparent.  If mould starts to form under the wax, I can see it.  This allows me to perform "key hole surgery", and cut a small hole in the wax, scrape the mould off, and rewax to seal the hole.  Often, if a small hole forms in the first layer even your second coat will seem to flow around the hole.  So, after the wax hardens a bit, scan the surface looking for holes.  If you see one, blob some wax in and make sure you plug it.  I've come to expect that I'll miss a few, and just keyhole until the mould stops showing up underneath.  I don't mind doing it.  I have a vac sealer, but still use wax as well.

- Jeff
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: linuxboy on January 22, 2012, 07:37:46 AM
Two ideas:

- Use wax with some natamycin in it to help with mold control if you want
- Dip. Brushing is not so effective because you never really achieve a solid coat. If you dip with 2 coats or so, that usually does the job.
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: Hande on January 22, 2012, 04:17:05 PM
And if you dip it in hot wax that kill rind "visitors".
When you brush, wax is maybe not hot enough when it goes to cheese.

Hande
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: lynns on January 22, 2012, 05:11:26 PM
thanks to everyone who responded - great info and very helpful.  lynns
Title: Re: Wax - Mold Underneath, Causes & Solutions
Post by: Boofer on January 22, 2012, 07:59:39 PM
Hi lynns and welcome to the forum.

In your profile your location is "usa". That's a pretty broad location.
Any chance you'd care to narrow it down a bit? Just curious where you hail from.  :)

-Boofer-