Hi, I've recently begun finding this odd mold growing on some of my cheeses. Below is a picture from a blue cheese with a natural rind where the mold has really taken hold. I brushed it back about a week ago. I have also found this mold on a few of my bloomy rind cheeses. Is the cheese still edible, or should I give it to the chickens?
It might be trichothesium roseum, which is a highly desirable mould on a natural rind cheese. I know very little about it, unfortunately. Here's a link: https://alchetron.com/Trichothecium-roseum Scroll down to "Growth and Physiology" for a pic. It looks pretty similar to me. Apparently it is proteolytic so it will soften the paste a bit.
That would be great if so, but I don't think it could be because it's growing in the fridge at about 38/40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is colder than that mold grows. Here's more information: the milk is goat milk (raw and always less than 2 days old at time of make), the cheeses I've found the mold on are about a month or 4 weeks aged out, have been wrapped in cheese wrap in a cool fridge for about 3 weeks, and the odd thing is I have found it growing on top of the PC mold on my bloomy cheeses. It seems to start pinkish, and get purple as it grows older, and the mold is sorta powdery. I took the plunge and ate a few pieces of a camembert with the mold on it, no discernible taste or smell, and I didn't get sick or die...yet. :o
Keep us posted :-) Although, you can refrain from messages from the dead if you want ;-)