Author Topic: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question  (Read 6186 times)

AnnDee

  • Guest
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #15 on: October 30, 2017, 04:24:48 PM »
Ann there is a pleated seal a meal bag out there that you can stuff a pretty big cheese in it.
I think we got them at Wal-Mart.

Thanks Harold, can you tell me what does it call or the brand? I can ask friends and family to get them for me...

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #16 on: October 30, 2017, 05:05:15 PM »
I believe he means these Ann.
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Offline H-K-J

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Southern Oregon
  • Posts: 1,776
  • Cheeses: 145
  • Act as if it were impossible to fail.
    • Cookin with uh dash dogs hair
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #17 on: October 30, 2017, 11:54:35 PM »
yup thats the ones
Never hit a man with glasses, use a baseball bat!
http://cocker-spanial-hair-in-my-food.blogspot.com/

AnnDee

  • Guest
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #18 on: October 31, 2017, 12:00:30 AM »
Yay!
Thanks Al and HKJ, I will try to seal my cheese in it and report back.

Offline awakephd

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: North Carolina
  • Posts: 2,351
  • Cheeses: 240
  • compounding the benefits of a free press
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #19 on: November 07, 2017, 01:23:21 AM »
Some time back I worked out a strategy for sealing a larger cheese using my 11.5" sealer and the continuous rolls of 11" bags:

1) Cut two 22" long sections of the roll.
2) Carefully slit along one side of each section, so that it can be unfolded into a 22" square.
3) Place one square on top of the other, being sure that the "corrugated" side of one is against the smooth side of the other.
4) Seal each corner to form an octagon, cutting off excess material as needed.

The attached .pdf file shows the idea. So, here's the key question: have I actually tried this? Answer: no! So this is theoretical rather than experiential. That applies also to the theoretical size of cheese that could be accommodated using this approach - I've shown an 18" diameter cheese in the attached file, but I doubt you could actually put one that large in the bag unless it is very "short." More realistically, I would expect to accommodate a cheese of 12-14" in diameter; I'm guessing that is large enough to cover a 10 lb. cheese, maybe enough for a 16 lb. cheese, but again ... in theory.

Andy, I can't download the picture properly. Please can you send it to me?

Ann, sorry that I didn't see this earlier. I looked back and realized that I had failed to scale the output, so the .pdf file only showed a little bit of the whole picture. Here is an updated version of the .pdf file - see if this works for you. If not, I'll try to generate it as a picture.
-- Andy

WayneT

  • Guest
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #20 on: November 21, 2017, 02:26:41 PM »
I just pulled a 2 lb vacuum packed Asiago that I had in my cave for 6 weeks.  It is delicious, better than the so called aged Asiago that I buy at the local grocery.  Before I packed it I did coat it with a cream wax and let that thoroughly dry and it left no after taste to the cheese.  I cut it into 4 quarters and re-vacuum packed 3 of them and put them back in the cave to ripen a little longer.

AnnDee

  • Guest
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #21 on: November 24, 2017, 12:42:19 AM »
Hi all,
I found a reuseable food grade vacuum seal bags! It comes in huge size, to be use for rice, beans, and so on. The bags has a valve of some sort on it that has to be closed to prevent air to get in the bag.
It came with a pump. I have vacuumed whole wheels of 10 gal each, and it still have plenty of space for bigger wheels. It has been a week and the bags is still fully vacuumed.
I am not sure with the "reuseable" part though, how one suppose to sanitise these bags?

waltweissman

  • Guest
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #22 on: November 29, 2017, 03:47:32 AM »
Has anyone heard of or suggested that one bag, but then open and re-bag every couple of weeks or once a month and let the cheese 'breathe' for a day in the 'cave'?

w

Offline awakephd

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: North Carolina
  • Posts: 2,351
  • Cheeses: 240
  • compounding the benefits of a free press
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #23 on: November 29, 2017, 02:30:56 PM »
Not quite what you are asking, but I have taken cheeses out of the vac-bag when they were too wet, dried them, let them breathe in the cave for a day or so, and re-bagged. I haven't tried to do a monthly schedule ... I'd be curious whether it would make a significant difference in taste. Of course, if the cheese picks up a good coat of mold during the breathing, it will add some taste! :)
-- Andy

waltweissman

  • Guest
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #24 on: November 29, 2017, 02:47:19 PM »
I would think that letting them out to play for a day or so every few weeks might also reduce ammonia build up.  What do you think?

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #25 on: November 29, 2017, 04:16:26 PM »
I have found that I have to air cheeses aged in vacuum bags and wax once they are opened as the taste is very sharp.  I have also opened vacuum bagged cheeses that have had the whey pulled out by the vacuum, dried them for a day or two and re-bagged.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2017, 10:19:06 PM by Al Lewis »
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Offline GortKlaatu

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Orosi Valley, Costa Rica
  • Posts: 631
  • Cheeses: 81
  • Goat milk?
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #26 on: November 29, 2017, 11:35:16 PM »
Me too Al
I've found that, for me, it's best if I only vac after I've done other types of rinds/aging and then only vac parts I have left over after I "crack" one open.  Then I try to use it as soon as I can.

Somewhere, some long time ago, milk decided to reach toward immortality… and to call itself cheese.

Offline awakephd

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: North Carolina
  • Posts: 2,351
  • Cheeses: 240
  • compounding the benefits of a free press
Re: Aging in Vacuum Bags Question
« Reply #27 on: December 01, 2017, 07:54:24 PM »
I would think that letting them out to play for a day or so every few weeks might also reduce ammonia build up.  What do you think?

The only cheeses that should be building up ammonia are the mold-ripened cheeses (brie, etc.). For these, you do not want to vac-bag at all; instead, wrap with breathable cheese paper.
-- Andy