Author Topic: Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping  (Read 3778 times)

Milk Maid

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Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping
« on: July 22, 2013, 10:58:43 PM »
Does anyone have an opinion on what is the best fat to use as a sealant when making a bandage wrapped cheese? I've heard that butter goes rancid but then also know there are some really nice BW cheddars out there claiming that's what they use.

Thank you all!

Milk Maid

linuxboy

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Re: Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2013, 11:05:57 PM »
Depends on fat quality, which includes source, treatment/handling, and extraction (eg temp and dry vs wet vs other method for lard). Generally, the saturated fats are going to fare better than others. Meaning animal source. Or coconut, or a moderately close second, palm.

If you hydrogenate the oil... eh, I am not a huge fan of hydrogenization for health reasons, but as an anti-rancidity measure, hydrogenization does a good job. And in this, if you don't eat the crisco, it should be OK.

Butter really depends on moisture and protein levels remaining (ie source and processing matters). It's kind of expensive as a coating, though.

Spellogue

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Re: Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2013, 03:53:51 AM »
I've had good results using lard, tallow, or rendered bacon fat.  The bacon fat on a farmhouse cheddar imparted a bit of flavor, quite tasty.  The beef tallow was the sturdiest coating of the three.  I've never tried butter or coconut oil.  There are a number of forum members that use coconut oil extensively.  I don't think there is a thread specific to that topic, but if you search 'coconut oil' you'll find comments regarding its use under other topics.

smilingcalico

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Re: Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2013, 03:08:18 AM »
Hey Milky ;)
I used butter on a lancashire I bandage wrapped and aged for 6 months.  I re-buttered after a month and just let it go after that.  No rancid flavors.  I think clarifying the butter is a good idea though.  I love the suggestion of bacon fat, I would totally give that a shot!  HMMM, could one throw bacon crumbles into a farmhouse cheddar make, then use the fat like so?  Sounds like something I'd like to try!

jwalker

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Re: Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2013, 12:34:33 PM »
Does anyone have an opinion on what is the best fat to use as a sealant when making a bandage wrapped cheese? I've heard that butter goes rancid but then also know there are some really nice BW cheddars out there claiming that's what they use.

Thank you all!

Milk Maid

I've never had butter go rancid , in my experiences , it does get a little moldy and eventually tastes kind of like a blue cheese , in a good way.

I think butter would be a good option , and yes , like Linuxboy said , it may be a little expensive.

That said , I have never bandaged a cheese , and probably never will , since I got that brush on coating , I use that , and then wax over it with softened wax , and it works great , never get mold under the wax anymore , and with the coating , the wax doesn't stick to the cheese and peels off easily.

Bandaged cheese looks a little messy to me , I'm not sure what the advantage would be , other than tradition , I'm guessing it was done back in the day when people didn't have access to coatings , and lard was probably cheaper and more abundant  than wax.




Spellogue

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Re: Butter v. Lard v. Crisco for Bandage Wrapping
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2013, 04:29:27 PM »
I normally skip the bandage and just coat with a cool semi-solidified fat.  If the barded cheese gets excessively moldy it's easy to scrape off the fat and re-bard it.  I don't see any advantage to having a cloth layer involved, other than perhaps keeping a thin fat in place.