I’m new to this forum, but I’ve been making cheese (Cheddar, Gouda, Colby and Jack, 2-3 lb rounds, from raw goat milk) for 3 years now.  The cheese tastes better with each year of practice, but I continue to have trouble with mold forming under the wax.  Sometimes it stays on the surface of the cheese; occasionally it penetrates more deeply.  Using cream wax between the cheese and cheese wax seemed to reduce penetration (except when I’d let the cheese crack before waxing) but did nothing to reduce surface mold.  Most of the cheese is still usable, but some gets wasted and the cleanup process is unpleasant.  I would appreciate advice.
  I clean the pot and utensils thoroughly with detergent and then boil them before use.  I suspect that the mold is getting in later.  I’d like to know more about how to age cheese cleanly.
  I let the cheese form a rind for 5-7 days (roughly) before waxing.  During this time it’s on a cheese mat on a metal rack in a screened-in box on a wooden shelf in the pantry.  Then I dip it in cheese wax.  I’ve aged waxed cheese in the fridge (poor flavor—I think too cold and dry), in a wire screen box in the pantry (better), and in a wooden box with a screen front in our root cellar/wellhouse (best cheese flavor, but lots of surface mold).  Neither the pantry nor the root cellar is hospital clean.  I could put the cheeses in between two metal pans forming a small metal box; this would be a sterile surface, but there wouldn’t be much air circulating around them, and when I opened the pans to turn them there still might be mold spores getting in.  Is is safe to assume that small amounts of airborne mold won’t penetrate a solid coating of cheese wax, if the cheeses are sitting on a clean surface? How important is air circulation, and how frequent must it be?
  Thanks for taking time to read this.
Joanna

Hi! welcome aboard!
I have had the same problem however its always blue mold and edible and just add it to a cheese melt i pour over nachos. The best way (and i sometimes forget) is to cover and wipe the surface with salt, I use sea salt, bad mold does not like salt, good mold does. I also suspect that my wax is also responsible for some contamination because I do recycle and have forgotten to heat it up to sterilize, normally I just heat it up to the point were its runs thick for easy coating.
The flavor of the cheese is normaly determined by the ingredients, the milk and the culture. The Dif temps usually give u a dif type of cheese.
Air circulation is very important, it prevents the cheese from depreciating depending on the type and rot setting in. If its coated in wax then it does not matter.

Hi Joanna, welcome.  I’ve been making cheese less time than you have, so I’m hesitant to give advice but here goes:  The idea of sterilizing the wax is a good one, as that may well be the source of your mold.  Also, rubbing the finished cheese with salt (and I just use regular non-iodized pickling salt) would be a really great preventive measure.  Actually, I’m surprised it takes 5 to 7 days for your cheese to dry enough to wax.  One to 2 days usually is sufficient for me.  It may be that the mold is from the air during the extended drying time.  If so, rubbing with salt should clean it up prior to waxing.

Don’t wait for the next dilemma to pipe up.  We’d all welcome your input.

hi Joanna

It is all related to cheese type all what u have to make sure is that the surface of the wheel should i sdry, then the wax should be hot enough to kill any surface (invisible) mold.

When there is no air then there will be no mold.

i think u have a problem with ur waxing process, or with ur wax itself..

i never had my waxed cheese with mold under the wax. even i am aging it for a full year

The mold is, of course, caused by bacteria. Bacteria can be aerobic or anaerobic (thriving only with oxygen, or able to grow without oxygen). Waxed cheeses generally rob the bacteria of external oxygen allowing the anaerobic bacteria to work at a pace determined by the acidity and temperature of the cheese. It is these bacteria that “age” the cheese and give it its distinctive texture and flavor.

I agree that you are likely trapping oxygen under your wax and allowing aerobic bacteria to work. You can prevent this several ways. First always work with sterilized equipment and clean hands (you know this, of course.) Age the cheese for several days to begin rind formation. Make sure the rind is dry before waxing and I suggest rubbing it with salt several times. You can also use a salt/vinegar mix. Be sure your wax is hot. When waxing, make sure you don’t have any microscopic holes (this has always been my problem with mold under wax). I often wax twice and instead of simply dipping, I’ll use a brush to “paint” some wax on making sure I fill any small holes.

Rick Robinson - 03 November 2008 11:37 AM

The mold is, of course, caused by bacteria. Bacteria can be aerobic or anaerobic (thriving only with oxygen, or able to grow without oxygen). Waxed cheeses generally rob the bacteria of external oxygen allowing the anaerobic bacteria to work at a pace determined by the acidity and temperature of the cheese. It is these bacteria that “age” the cheese and give it its distinctive texture and flavor.

I agree that you are likely trapping oxygen under your wax and allowing aerobic bacteria to work. You can prevent this several ways. First always work with sterilized equipment and clean hands (you know this, of course.) Age the cheese for several days to begin rind formation. Make sure the rind is dry before waxing and I suggest rubbing it with salt several times. You can also use a salt/vinegar mix. Be sure your wax is hot. When waxing, make sure you don’t have any microscopic holes (this has always been my problem with mold under wax). I often wax twice and instead of simply dipping, I’ll use a brush to “paint” some wax on making sure I fill any small holes.

I have a comment here, Mold is not a bacteria, it is fungi
and it is different than good bacteria (starters)

Just checking to see if you were reading

I had been researching anaerobic bacteria and its contribution to cheese textures and flavors and was dying to work it into a post. So, my first paragraph is true. And, you are right that I screwed up representing that as a primary link to mould under a rind, although I think there is still a secondary relationship in that an active bacterial environment can impact mould growth.