No matter what kind of cheese you have—a variety that is supposed to have mold or a variety that isn’t—never eat cheese that has a dark gray or black mold ... cheese in wax paper or foil ...

Cheese from Edam itself will be labelled Noord ... harder texture, is sold with a black wax coating.

Partly oven-dried examples may have a golden rind, which darkens to yellow for full-dried cheeses. Aged Goudas sometimes have a black wax coating.