Blue Cheese is covered with Blue/Green mold. Is this good or bad?

[bmckee561]

I made up my blue last week and it has been in the cave inside a tupperware container with water in the bottom.  It is above the water on a drying mat and it is completely covered in a thick blue/green mold.  I have flipped it over a few times and I am wondering if I have missed something about the aging process.  Should it actually be covered in mold or should I have been washing or brushing it off to keep the surface mold under control?

I am fairly new to cheese and would appreciate any advice you can offer.

Salute!   

[linuxboy]

What style of blue? Cover is normal on a stilton, not a roquefort or gorg.

[bmckee561]

Just a standard Blue I suppose.  I used P. Roqueforti in the recipe and it was Cow's milk not Sheep's.  It is a one gallon batch that I used Meso-A culture and rennet in.  I am sorry I can not post the actual recipe as I am at work right now. 

I have read a few posts where people say it should be completely covered for a period of time then cleaned off and salted or wrapped.  I do not have a strong ammonia smell in the container at this time.

Salute!   

[linuxboy]

All I'm wondering is if the curds were salted or if it's salt-rubbed. The blue family is not widely diverse, but has about 5 distinct styles of make, so not sure what you mean by standard.

[bmckee561]

Sorry.  I added salt to the curd, it was not rubbed with salt.  I assume that rubbing would have inhibitted the growth on the exterior but allowed the interior to develop.

How long should one wait with total mold coverage (a few days, a few weeks, a few months)?

Appreciate you assisting here linuxboy.

Salute!   

[linuxboy]

Oh, then you did a Stilton type of cheese. Yep, it should grow over completely and often will have very scary looking molds.

It's up to you what you want to do. Do you like to use all that intensely flavored mold goodness? Are you going to vac seal the cheese after 2-3 months? What you do is a personal preference. What outcome do you want?

[bmckee561]

Oh, then you did a Stilton type of cheese. Yep, it should grow over completely and often will have very scary looking molds.

It's up to you what you want to do. Do you like to use all that intensely flavored mold goodness? (Yes Indeed)Are you going to vac seal the cheese after 2-3 months? (Yes I am)What you do is a personal preference. What outcome do you want? (Good Blue Cheese of course)

Should I salt the Blue at anytime or just let it go?  Once salted, will the mold continue to grow inside if O2 is provided?

Salute!   

[linuxboy]

You can salt either the outside to create a rindless blue, or the milled curds, not both. Yes, the mold will develop once salted.