moldy/earthy scent on alpine style

[borisb2]

Hi there,

did a gruyere style cheese 4 weeks ago. I am aging it as usual in a plastic container (90-95 RH, 10 deg C), I am washing it with light brine and B-linens every other day. .. I did that cheese style a few times before successfully but this is the first cheese where I am noticing an earthy mildew/moldy scent that doesnt go away .. even after 1 month I dont pick up any smear rind smell yet. After every washing it just takes 1-2 days before the mildew/mold/mucor? comes back .. the cheese also had quite a few dark spots which I brushed off around the 3 weeks mark .. not sure if they will come back as well.

http://ambientfx.de/_files/IMG_5014.jpg
http://ambientfx.de/_files/IMG_5015.jpg

Is it potentially relevant that we moved houses and this is the first longer aging cheese doing in a different kitchen (kitchen is clean but on the older side - not sure if thats important) ?

Any pointers how to move forward?

Thanks so much

[B e n]

What temp are you keeping your fridge at? You need to keep the cheese wet (not damp, mold loves damp) to get B. Linnens smear to start. Great write-up on it here:  https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.0.html

[borisb2]

What temp are you keeping your fridge at? You need to keep the cheese wet (not damp, mold loves damp) to get B. Linnens smear to start. Great write-up on it here:  https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,10633.0.html

yes I was reading that in the meantime - very interesting article.

cheese cave is at 10 deg C - I am washing it now with a lighter brine (3%) + b-linens .. does the white stuff in the pic look more like mold or geo to you? it still has a slight earthy scent - lets give it a few days to see how it progresses after I scraped off most of the black dots

but earthy smell is a concern? .. worries it might affect the flavor in the end

[B e n]

The white is probably Geotrichum candidum, that is typical of washed type cheeses and is beneficial.