I have worked in and with cheese, mostly eating, loving and selling it.
now I have an affinage about the size of a walk in cooler, with multiple types of cheese aging.
I have been struggling with temp and humidity levels. They have been around 50 F and 71 % humidity. in the last week i noticed some of the gouda have little black spots on the rind. i wash the rind with Vinegar water and allowed the to dry. NO luck.
looking to any advice on temp or how to get rind of the black spots. please
thanks!!!
a photograph might help
That makes sense, Thanks.
Its my first time posting.
Perhaps try a brine wash?
I'm only a beginner, so maybe ignore my suggestion, but there are plenty of folks here with in depth knowledge.
I'm sure you will get a useful reply pretty soon.
Welcome to the Cheese Forum, by the way.
As no one seems to have picked up on your question I'll chip in a little more.
You could use the forum search bar, there is a wealth of info and you could come across what you need.
I ran a quick search and, from what I read, it seems a salt/vinegar solution rubbed into the offending area should sort things out.
Suggestions also mention gently paring away any persistent patches, using a wash and then allowing the rind to 'heal'.
I'm no authority so I can't back this up from my own knowledge, but it seems reasonable as a course of action.
Good luck with your cheese.
If you get results, good or bad, you could post another picture with comments.
The info on this forum is a useful resource created by the likes of ourselves, so if you can add your experience it is of benefit to all.
BTW I solve my 'controlled humidity' thing by using vacuum packing as part of the process.
I would like to manage a cheese cave but at the moment my circumstances won't allow this.
I might try a hybrid system, using fridge and vac pack in summer and open shelving or 'box cave' at cooler times of the year.
I think the approach could vary considerably, from one maker to another, mostly dependent on the climate in one's own locale.
I got a bit busy :-) But I think it's almost certainly fine. It's really hard to say what it is. It doesn't look like mildew, though, which usually isn't quite so dark. It might be aspergillus niger (the same black mold that grows on onions). Some people are very allergic to it, but if you aren't it should be OK, I think. I agree with Pickles that you could give it a wash (3% brine solution is my normal way). But it's been quite a while... how is it going so far?