Wine fridge cheese dryer.

[CountCurd]

I currently have 1 cave up and running and converting a full size into a cave. Here's the issue and I may have a solution , I would like to bounce it off the sounding boards though .

I live in florida where heat is an issue for air drying . My home is kept circulating well at 70 degrees year round . I was thinking it would be beneficial to take my wine fridge that has a fan for circulation and is temp controlled could be put up to 50 and let go to dry the cheese in a more controlled environment . I'm going to put a hygrometer in it and see what it reads but my guess would be low if anything . Would this dry too quickly? Any other solutions or remedies you could think of ? Thanks

-josh 

[DuntovXX]

Hi Josh,  I live on Merritt Island not far from you so I am familiar with issues related to our semi-tropical conditions.  You keep your home much cooler than mine and really shouldn't have an issue drying.  However, your mini fridge could work okay.  You just need to make sure it doesn't dry too fast or you will get an overly dry rind.  I dry mine on the counter covered with a cheese cloth.  You could put a small fan near it on the counter as an alternative.

John

[CountCurd]

This is my current setup in home with a 5.5 lb gouda in it . You didn't have any problems with it turning your cheese in cave or over heating and spoiling it ?

[DuntovXX]

How many days are you letting it dry on the counter?  If more than two or three days then I would say put it in a cooler between 60-65 F.

[smcaro@gmail.com]

Hi guys,

I also have a house in FL, Ponte Vedra Beach, but I currently live in Hong Kong, and have the most elevated creamery on earth, that I know of, a 60th floor apartment. Of course, heat is a problem, but certainly not humidity. If it comes down in my small wine fridge, I simply open the door for a couple of minutes and it claims up to 100%.

Anyway, on your question: I make cheese mainly from reconstituted powder milk. Those that need to air dry, I leave out on the dining table, on a mat and board, covered with a cloth. If it is really hot, I have a small portable fan which I also put under the cloth. If the temperature is too much for cheese, I have tried twi main solutions: the first is simply putting the cheese in my wine fridge. It dries a bit slower; the second is to put it in the normal fridge for 2 days, turning a few times and really caring about it every few hours, so that it doesn't´t dry out too much.

I then wax or vac pack my semi and hard cheeses, because I am able to only make very small batches. One gallon tops.

[awakephd]

FWIW, with one or two exceptions, once I am finished pressing a cheese, it goes into the cave. I do my brining in the cave, and I let the cheeses dry in the cave. The exceptions would be the camemberts and blues, which spend a few days at room temperature before going into the cave, and of course there is also the warm phase of the Emmentalers, to let the holes develop. Otherwise, the cave it is.

[John Berard]

FWIW, with one or two exceptions, once I am finished pressing a cheese, it goes into the cave. I do my brining in the cave, and I let the cheeses dry in the cave. The exceptions would be the camemberts and blues, which spend a few days at room temperature before going into the cave, and of course there is also the warm phase of the Emmentalers, to let the holes develop. Otherwise, the cave it is.

This is good advice.  Drying in the cave also minimizes any bad airborne molds getting on the cheese.