I was nervous because, as you may be able to see in the photograph, there were some faint spots of green mold developing beneath the layer of wax. That is not uncommon for cheese, and is usually removed with a vinegar or brine wash when it develops and then the wheel is allowed to continue aging as normal. But this was beneath the wax layer, where you can't get to without removing the wax first, so I was concerned that we did something wrong. This was our first, as I mentioned, and we didn't hit the heat targets all perfectly that first time around.
We cut a small wedge off, a part that has a fairly substantial mold patch, peeled away the wax, and cut off the mold. It had not penetrated very deeply, so we just skimmed off the very top layer. Inside, to my pleasure, it was a faint orangey-yellow color and had that characteristic sort of crackled texture that indicates cheddar. It smelled right for cheddar too. All that was left was to taste it. So we sliced it thin and took a bite.
It is still very young, so the flavor was not highly developed, but it was recognizably the flavor of cheddar, and not half bad either! Cheddar's not my favorite cheese, so others would likely know better than me, but it would seem that we did it. Our very first homemade hard cheese has turned out properly, tasting as it should!
We will cut a wedge off for now, but I think we will peel the rest, wash off the mold spots, and then rewax it back up to allow it to continue aging. I may even bring some up with me to Boston when I come back! It's not the best cheddar ever, especially since it's so young, but it's certainly not bad, and it proves that we can do this cheesemaking thing! I'm very proud of us. We're making a parmesan today, so in a few months we'll have even more to try.
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