I’ve had several waxed cheeses that developed mold under the wax after 2-3 months. This is easily removed and the cheese is still good but I need to figure out why this is happening and how to prevent it. I usually let the cheese dry out at room temp for 3-5 days prior to waxing and the cheeses are very dry when waxed. One source I thought of was that I wasn’t getting the wax hot enough, I was simply melting it and then dipping the cheese. The last two batches I let the wax get as hot as it would on a double boiler (maybe 195F) before waxing which was probably 40-50 degrees more than before. Would washing the cheese prior to waxing help? I thought maybe if I washed the cheese with a vinegar/salt solution in the morning prior to waxing that would kill any spores that had landedon the cheese and give it time to dry out again before waxing.

Mark

That would make sense to me, but being new to the process, I have to rely on what I am reading.  There are many reads that indicate wiping with vinegar removes unwanted mold.  Salt also is an inhibitor.

I am planning to make a cheddar or Colby this weekend so I will keep this in mind prior to waxing.

New here too, but I have a half dozen under my belt. I have read recipes that suggest salting before wax.

Salt prevents bad mold and allows good mold to grow (if its properly applied) some of the mold can be dormant because the surface is dry and as soon as u wax it it softens and gets moist from the inner moisture equalizing. Thats why some of the cheeseries have the place sterile like an operating room. Also if their are only holes cracks in the wax it can also allow mold in, have come across before were theirs a tiny hole from a bubble or crevice that the wax did not get too.

as Neil said, “sterile like an operating room”,  everything should be sterilized