New hard cheese maker-when is it dry enough to wax?

[QuackyDucks]

Hello. My dad and I made our first hard cheese 11 days ago.  Looking at the information here I think we didn't cook the curds long enough and ended up with a very moist cheese. It finally seems dry enough and we will be waxing it today. My question is, is it okay to leave at room temperature for that long? There are no cracks and the mold that grew on it I washed off with a brine. Also, the mold is intimidating and makes me want to throw the whole thing out and start over. Any thoughts? The picture is from last night, left is the mold that had grown, right is after a brine wash. Thank you for your input.

[Gregore]

That cheese looks fine , do not worry about the mold that showed up , it will not effect the cheese  as far a safety goes.

I suspect that  the curd was not too wet as the  cheese has not slumped , that is usually what happens to a cheese when the curds are wet .

What's cheese did you make ? Knowing what cheese you created will help us give you advice on the next stage .

[Al Lewis]

That cheese looks fine , do not worry about the mold that showed up , it will not effect the cheese  as far a safety goes. I suspect that  the curd was not too wet as the  cheese has not slumped , that is usually what happens to a cheese when the curds are wet . What's cheese did you make ? Knowing what cheese you created will help us give you advice on the next stage .

Exactly as Gregore said the cheeses don't have "elephants foot" so your curds weren't too wet. As someone who has waxed a lot of cheese, sometimes unsuccessfully, I would suggest your future cheese being larger in diameter than height.  They tend to drain better that way, are easier to wax and store, and the shape lends itself to determining the right time to wax.  With tall cheeses like yours you risk having too much moisture in the center and not knowing it.  The outside may feel dry but could be hiding a moist sponge inside that will leech out whey after waxing.  Two of the bottom three cheeses in this photo had that problem and had to be dried and re-waxed. Check them often after you wax them.  If the wax feels like it has loosened then remove it, dry the cheese, and re-wax.  I've done both shapes and have come to prefer the flatter cheeses for waxing.  BTW if I made a cheese and it didn't pick up some sort of mold on the outside, I would worry.  Use a brush and some vinegar, white wine, or brine, and remove it completely prior to waxing.

[john H]

Good advice Al.

John

[Frodage3]

Hi QuackyDucks,
Welcome to the forum and to the hobby. Lucky that you and your dad can share it! I gave you your first cheese for your efforts. Keep it up!
Jim.

[Danbo]

A cheese from me too!

[AnnDee]

Hi QuackyDucks, welcome to the forum!

Al, that is one neat cave you got there. I am ashamed of myself now.

[Al Lewis]

Unfortunately I cleaned it out Saturday in preparation for cheese making and found the compressor is running but not getting cold.  Just looked at a 16 cu ft upright at Home Depot I'll probably buy to replace this small one.  Also looking at a 14.4 cu ft at Lowes.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Maytag-15-7-cu-ft-Frost-Free-Upright-Freezer-in-White-MZF34X16DW/205737103

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frigidaire-14-4-cu-ft-Upright-Freezer-White/50273655

Which one you like?

[Danbo]

Why use a freezer instead of a fridge Al?

[Al Lewis]

Fridges over here all have freezers in them.  It would be difficult to regulate both compartments properly.  With a single compartment freezer I can simply install a Johnsons Control external thermostat and it's done.

[Danbo]

Ahhh... That's why...

I also have a small freezer with an external temperature controller. I think that the temperature swing is pretty high compared to a normal fridge - but I don't think it's a problem...

[QuackyDucks]

Thank you for all the great advice. You all have definitely put our minds at ease as far as the mold situation. Sunday was cheese waxing day, and it went well. The cheese is now in the cave aging.
So a little bit more about the cheese and why I thought it was too moist. We made a farmhouse cheddar following the first hard cheese recipe in Home cheesemaking by Ricki Carol. Out of the press the cheese looked really great with nice straight sides, but the next day it had slumped and looked like a elephant foot as Gregore said. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture. The cheese dried for almost two weeks and with flipping twice a day it eventually evened out so it doesn't look like an elephant foot anymore. Attached is a picture of the waxed cheese. We picked clear wax to hopefully be able to see any mold growth underneath.
So next steps... Flipping the cheese weekly to check for pin holes of whey leaking out, check for mold growth, check to make sure the wax is still stuck to the cheese. Anything else? We are planning on opening it as soon as a month because we are really excited to try our first hard cheese. What would you all recommend as a next cheese to tackle? Another farmhouse cheddar with a different mold?

Also that cheese cave is fantastic. What size cheeses are those larger ones?

[Danbo]

Nice coat!

[AnnDee]

Nice looking cheese QuackyDucks!
Maybe now you can make a longer aging cheese like Havarti, Tomme or even Gouda? Have fun making cheese!

Al, both looks nice but maybe I will take the bigger one (Maytag) because it's...you know, bigger
More space for cheese!

[Al Lewis]

Beautiful cheese!  Great wax job!  AC4U!

Ann I'm ordering the 14.4 from Home Depot.  It will only cost me $360.00 with free delivery and they'll take my old one away.