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So, I will admit that I'm not the most attentive when it comes to daily 'cheese maintenance', but these blooms popped up in under a week or so. What's the best way to get rid of them? Salt water wipe? Vinegar-water wipe? Too late, ditch it?

Thanks!

Never ditch a cheese, well almost never.
That mold is nothing to worry about. Wash with equal parts by weight: salt, white vinegar and water. Most molds have a low tolerance for acid and/or salt. Unless you are going for a natural rind your best thing to do is vac wrap para-coat or wax your cheese. A high moisture cheese like Jack is going to mold given a chance.

QuoteUnless you are going for a natural rind your best thing to do is vac wrap para-coat or wax your cheese. A high moisture cheese like Jack is going to mold given a chance.

So the recipe (from Artisan Cheesemaking by Mary Karlin) indicates to age for 2-4 weeks then vac wrap it for fridge storage until eaten.

Are you indicating that I can skip my mini-cave and just age it in a vac pack for the 2-4 weeks?

I gotta say, those white blobs of mold are spectacular!

My understanding here may be wrong (and wiser cheeses please correct me if it is), but I thought Paracoat was just a mold "inhibitor," meaning if it's applied *before* mold has had a chance to take hold, mold growth will be suppressed . . . but an "inhibitor" wouldn't necessarily stop a mold once its growth is established.

Anyway, natural rinds are way cooler than waxed or packed !

-Lance

Quote from: Lancer99 on February 13, 2020, 12:40:44 AM
Anyway, natural rinds are way cooler than waxed or packed !

I have to agree, however, they are a bit of a PITA :-) Gobae says that mould showed up in under a week and I believe it.  I find that for young cheeses I need to flip and watch carefully for the first couple of weeks (BTW, I think those black spots are mildew and I've only ever had them if I don't exchange the air properly.  Which leads me to believe that good air exchange will prevent mildew.  YMMV).

I think the biggest thing is that doing a natural rind is poorly described.  I've been piecing together advice mostly from old postings of luminaries like Linuxboy and Alp on this forum as well as the occasional sentence here or there wherever I can get it, but I've yet to see a good treatise on natural rinds.  I think the problem is that the pros mainly set up their caves and once it is established there is probably nothing to do.  You've got hundreds or thousands of cheeses hosting the flora and fauna that you want.  You've got the humidity and temperature dialed in.  You've got staff flipping the cheeses every day.  So when you ask a pro how to do a natural rind they basically say, "Do nothing and it will be perfect".  Gotta say your gorgonzola looked fantasic, so if you've got advice on this topic, I'm all ears :-)