Author Topic: wax ?  (Read 5556 times)

jwalker

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wax ?
« on: May 03, 2013, 02:10:30 PM »
I have been using bees wax or paraffin wax for my cheeses , the only problem I have with it is that it is hard to get off the cheese when I want to eat it.

Is there a way to make it not stick to the cheese so much , or should I just break down and buy proper cheese wax?

It's kind of expensive , but if it works all the better , then perhaps it's worth it?

Is there a way to make waxes more pliable and softer , I've heard you can add coconut oil to it while heating , have yet to try it tho.

Cheers , Jim.

KTownCheese

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2013, 03:35:02 PM »
I purchase all my wax from Glengarry cheese near me.  I usually use red cheese wax and I always save it once I am finished eating the cheese.  My wax has been throught at least two to three runs of cheese.  Although you may loose a bit each time, it is an investment.  Once taken off a cheese, I just heat till it melts and run it through a spare piece of cheese cloth.  this weeds out any "floaters" and gives you a clean wax to start from again.

Good luck!  I hope someone can chime in about adding the oil. Im curious as well.

WovenMeadows

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2013, 05:12:28 PM »
Where do you find beeswax cheaper than cheese wax? I've pretty much always gotten the cheese wax from New England Cheesemaking: http://www.cheesemaking.com/YellowCheeseWax.html
If you get 10 lbs, it's only $3.50 per pound - not sure though how that would be shipping to Canada. I first went with red wax, but found it occasionally left thin residues or stains or something on the cheese when removing it, kind of looking like mold spots. So switched to more natural/yellow wax. But for the most part the wax peels off nicely - tends to stick only if the surface of the cheese was a bit rough or creased from the cheesecloth during pressing.

jwalker

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2013, 12:47:41 PM »
Where do you find beeswax cheaper than cheese wax?

I keep my own bees , and always have the odd frame of honey that breaks in the extractor , or old burr comb that has to be removed , etc. , it adds up over time and I figure I should use it if I can.

I am going to try adding some coconut oil to some this weekend and will post the results.

Thanks , and cheers , Jim.

hoeklijn

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2013, 12:54:09 PM »
An other suggestion: Use coating instead of wax. Most Gouda type cheeses here in Europe are coated, the artisan as well as the factory cheeses.
And I am sure it's sold in the USA as well, because (after some discusion  ;) ) Boofer bought and tried it.
When the cheese is at room temperature for an hour, the coating is very easy to peel off.
I coat my Gouda's twice with yellow coating and I finish it with a transparent layer after putting a label on the second and still wet layer....

On the picture a coated and just cut Leiden...

Offline Boofer

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2013, 01:53:01 PM »
Boofer bought and tried it.
Yes I did...thanks Herman. Works great.  8)

I'm lined up to coat my Hispanico today after two weeks. Then I'll need to reorder my cream coating.

Here's an example of my experience.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

jwalker

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #6 on: May 05, 2013, 02:20:34 PM »
That looks great hoeklijn  , I think I'll try it.

Boofer , I looked at the thread , but didn't see any mention of where you got it.

I will search online , where do you get yours?

Thanks guys and cheers , Jim.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2013, 02:37:11 AM »
I've been really loving coating cheeses with coconut oil to keep moisture in and molds at bay.  it's natural and non-petroleum and although it may not perform all the ways cream coating can, it is a good option to consider.  I get pure organic coconut oil at the food coop and let it soften at warm room temp and then massage it on the cheese.  Haven't yet tried adding calming essential oils to sooth my cheeses.   ;D

Offline Boofer

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #8 on: May 06, 2013, 01:45:02 PM »
Boofer , I looked at the thread , but didn't see any mention of where you got it.

I will search online , where do you get yours?
Here you go.  :)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2013, 10:57:24 AM »
I've been really loving coating cheeses with coconut oil to keep moisture in and molds at bay.  it's natural and non-petroleum and although it may not perform all the ways cream coating can, it is a good option to consider.  I get pure organic coconut oil at the food coop and let it soften at warm room temp and then massage it on the cheese.  Haven't yet tried adding calming essential oils to sooth my cheeses.   ;D

There's some update photos of my coconut oil rinds in the Recreational cheese photo sharing thread in the Lounge and to me they look quite like they've been cream coated.  it's an easy rind management tool with no paraffin, easy application and easy/cheap to buy.

jwalker

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2013, 12:35:08 PM »
Well , I got some of that wax cream stuff , I love it !

I unwaxed three Goudas that kept getting mold under the wax , and re-coated them with the new coating.

I hope it works a well as it seems to apply , it adheres very well , and it looks nicer in my opinion as well.

Here is a photo of the three Goudas , the top one has Dill added to it.

Cheers , Jim.


hoeklijn

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #11 on: May 15, 2013, 04:06:51 PM »
Those are looking great! Normally I wait after brining for about 4 days before I coat them. They have to be dry at the bottom when I flip them after half a day...

jwalker

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2013, 12:16:41 PM »
Those are looking great! Normally I wait after brining for about 4 days before I coat them. They have to be dry at the bottom when I flip them after half a day...

Good to know hoeklijn , I will keep that in mind for future reference.

Cheers ,Jim.

meyerandray

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2013, 12:59:12 PM »
Hey Herman, do you have a European website that sells this coat?  I would love to try it, and have no idea what it would be called in italian, but I am sure I could find a dutch company willing to ship it to me if you could reference one?

As far as the beeswax which everyone seems to have abandoned, in my opinion you have made the right decision.  I opened up my first waxed cheese yesterday, it was a pepper jack, aged for 2.5 months, and the part that was in direct contact with the wax definitely has a sweet, beeswax flavor to it.  It isn't way too strong or overbearing, but it also doesn't go too well with the flavor of the cheese, and was not at all the result I hoped for. Not to mention it was a huge pain in the a** to get off of the cheese!

I would love to try this coating, which I was actually just reading about in G. Caldwells book, it sounds like a great alternative to wax.

Celine

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Re: wax ?
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2013, 03:02:31 PM »
Hey Herman, do you have a European website that sells this coat?  I would love to try it, and have no idea what it would be called in italian, but I am sure I could find a dutch company willing to ship it to me if you could reference one?

As far as the beeswax which everyone seems to have abandoned, in my opinion you have made the right decision.  I opened up my first waxed cheese yesterday, it was a pepper jack, aged for 2.5 months, and the part that was in direct contact with the wax definitely has a sweet, beeswax flavor to it.  It isn't way too strong or overbearing, but it also doesn't go too well with the flavor of the cheese, and was not at all the result I hoped for. Not to mention it was a huge pain in the a** to get off of the cheese!

I would love to try this coating, which I was actually just reading about in G. Caldwells book, it sounds like a great alternative to wax.

Celine

Celine,  I'm really loving coconut oil as a non-paraffin coating.  See the recreational cheese photo thread for pics of it.  I'm about to post one leaf adorned version but a few posts back on that thread I show a few different results on tommes and a Caerphilly.  -Kathrin