I made a pepper jack last weekend, which seems to be very moist. The instructions say to air dry for 2 to 5 days, but as it is sitting on the table, it has started to mold. I took some cheese cloth and dipped it in brine and washed the mold off, and then put it in the cheese refrigerator. Was that the right thing to do? It is 6 days old and the outside has not dried yet. Should I just leave it in the cheese refrigerator at 52 degrees and see if it will dry in there?
You did the correct thing, wipe it down to remove the little critters. I am a little surprised that it molded up so quickly. Jack cheese is pretty moist, what is the temperature and humidity at the location that you were drying? You can continue to dry it in your cave but it will take longer if your humidity is correct in the cave. I would just leave it in your cave ,turning every day for a few weeks before progressing to however you are going finish age it(wax,vacuum pack).
I had it sitting on the kitchen table, and it is around 68 to 70 in here this week. We live in Georgia, and it is spring time, so the heat and air is off. I took it out of the cheese cave yesterday and sat it on the table and blew a fan on it. It dried out real quick. I made another one yesterday. I will keep a closer eye on it and turn the fan on if it takes too long to dry.
tnbquilt, it is odd to have surface mold during Air Drying a pressed cheese, was the mold on the bottom, did you have good air ventilation beneath the cheese, did you turn the cheese often enough?
There's some info on that in our Wiki: Air Drying (https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki/) article and in the Mats & Boards and the Turning Cheeses article.
Be careful in your cave/fridge, depending on fridge system, some are very low humidity resulting in surface cracks.
Cheers!
Another thing to look at was the actual make of the cheese, how much moisture was left in the wheel due to processing errors(incorrect temps/stirring/pressing). All could lead to a wheel with far too much moisture at the point when you started drying.
I made the recipe again and it is air drying better. I may not have done something right the first time, but I seem to have done better the second time. I vacuum sealed the first one, and put it in the cheese refrigerator.
It had mold all over it. Spots on top bottom and sides. I will keep a watch on it to see if it comes back.