Gruyere mold question

[TailPipe]

Hi all. I have a Gruyere about two weeks old. I went away for about a week and was not able to wash the rind. Quite a bit of mold developed. I was able to wash most off but some went a bit deeper. Should I just leave this and keep washing or try and scrape a bit deeper to remove the brown spots?

I know it is good to let mold eventually develop on the rind but I assume this should be later once the rind has developed and is firmer?

I've been at this for about three months but most experience is with soft or waxed cheeses. Haven't tried a natural rind yet. Any help on this would be great. The books are kind of brief if this part.

Worst case I can wax or vac pack but wanted to give the natural rind a go.

Pic below. This was after washing.
Thank you.

[feather]

It looks pretty good, pretty clean, I'd leave it be.

Here is my gruyere. I rubbed it with paprika.

[River Bottom Farm]

What kind of a rind do you want to end up with? What where you washing it with to start?

[TailPipe]

Good question. I'm open to suggestions. Do you mean a clean rind vs a rind with mold? I'm happy to give either a try with a little guidance and tips on what to look for. I was washing with a 4% brine - however it went about a week with no washing as I was away. I used a vinegar/salt solution to clean off the mold as there was about 4 different types and it smelled pretty musty - i wanted to get rid of as much as i could. I think left it in the cave on a rack outside of the ripening box to dry out and have since put it back in a ripening box and plan on washing about twice a week. Any suggestions welcome!
Thanks

[feather]

When you are cleaning off mold, washing it with brine, many of the molds leave a discoloration and possibly something more, roots to the mold, a possibility. The discoloration won't affect the cheese but if it is deeper, it might. I haven't found that to be a problem in natural rind cheese. A few discolorations won't ruin the cheese.

To wash I use a brine of salt and water, and vinegar (small proportion).

When I first began my cheese making journey, I had many cheeses aging in the cheese cave, the relative humidity was quite high (because of all the cheeses) and I ended up having to wash cheese almost every day, or every other day. As the number of cheeses were vac packed, the humidity level went down and the level of mold also went down until I could wash only once every 3-4 days, then once a week.

Being a little sensitive to the mold being grown, you might wash more often or less often and I find it has to do with the humidity levels in the cheese cave.

[TailPipe]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll look at it every day and wash twice a week or more of needed for the mold. There are stains left from the last bout of mold but I don't think infected. The rind is starting to harden a bit more now too.

[River Bottom Farm]

Sounds like you have it under control. If you want to suppress the mold and favor linens you can increase the amount of salt in the wash to near saturation (will cause salty tasting rind though)

Feather if you have problems with too much humidity again you can try this out: http://blog.cheesemaking.com/controlling-humidity-in-your-cheese-cave/

[feather]

RBF, thanks! Good article on controlling humidity with salt. I never would have thought of that.
Now I've been using ripening boxes, closed, or partially open, to get my rinds where I want them.

[TailPipe]

Washing has been going ok but now I have these Gray Brown spots that don't wash off with the brine wash. Any tips?

[River Bottom Farm]

If you want to get rid of them you can rubbwith dry salt (like sand paper) and a little vinegar

[TailPipe]

Should get rid of it? I'm not clear if I can leave it but continue to wash and it will be ok or if I should ensure I remove it. Thanks

[River Bottom Farm]

If it where mine (and this is personal preference) I would try to get rid of it and use a saltier wash to suppress the mold and favor linens. I don't think the mold you have going is dangerous but unless you like the smell it is giving off (and will therefore lend to the cheese) it is best to try and be rid of it.

[TailPipe]

I've done two washes with a saturated brine now. Haven't tried the direct salt rub yet. Still some persistent mold after the wash. It's also growing back very quickly after wash. Although maybe ok. I'll keep this up for another week or so and see how it looks. The mold left after washing is deep enough that a firm wash or scrub doesn't get it off but I'm reluctant to 'scrub'any harder.

[Thewitt]

You might try a light spray with vinegar after wiping to discourage mold growth.

[TailPipe]

Forgot to add that I also did that after washing. Sprayed vinegar and then dried with paper towel. Thanks for everyone's feedback!