I am making my first emmenthal. I am at the eye formation stage. The cheese has a wonderful aroma but it developed some surface mold and quite a few dark spots near the surface. I wiped the cheese with brine solution and the dark spots faded to a pale color but did not go away entirely. Attached is a photo before wiping with brine solution. I have to wipe it down every day or two as mold grows back. Is this a normal part of rind development? If not any idea what's going on and what to do about it? One thing I am wondering is if there is too much moisture in the cheese. The cheese is moderately firm but with give to it at room temperature when pressed. Thanks.
rose_gardens (Bob)
You might want to lightly scrap it to get it all off then wipe it with a brine solution with a bit a vinegar in it.
DeejayDebi - Thank you for the suggestion. I tried that and it looks really good. The dark spots were really near the surface so they scraped off without any difficulty.
Glad to help. Cheeses will often develop spots just keep up with them and there easy to clean up. Good luck!
I had the same problem with my emmenthal and yesterday I took the drastic step of shaving it because scrubbing it with vinegar or brine wasn't doing the trick. I used a cheap single blade disposable razor and shaved the surface of the entire wheel to remove the mold, brined it again for 30 mins and am hoping it takes care of the problem. While it was brining I also sterilized the storage container and rack it sits on.
That's a good point redbecca - if you don't clean the equipment it's sitting on it's gonna come right back. Sorry I should have thought to mention that before. Just a habit I guess - didn't even think about it.
I have found that the summer is the hardest time to make any Alpine cheese--it needs to be at 64-68 degrees to properly form the holes. I live in Arizona, so that is practically impossible. Good luck!
True and this has been a very hot summer everywhere I think.
Could I ask you for your recipe? I cant find any emmental recipes anywhere...