Author Topic: Cheese cave  (Read 1630 times)

Pavla

  • Guest
Cheese cave
« on: October 21, 2017, 07:16:30 PM »
I want to ask which fridge is best to convert to cheese cave ?

Thanks

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: Cheese cave
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2017, 04:45:06 PM »
To be quite honest i would not use a fridge.  I use upright freezers.  Only one temperature zone to control and they are cheaper to buy.  I picked up my latest at Home Depot.  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigidaire-13-83-cu-ft-Frost-Free-Upright-Freezer-in-White-FFFU14F2QW/205555907  It's a 13.8 cu ft and works a charm. Much more room then I would get with a fridge. Having lived there for 9 years, wife's from London, I'm sure you could find the equivalent in the UK. I use a Johnson Controls thermostat.
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: Cheese cave
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2017, 04:53:07 PM »
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Offline H-K-J

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: South East Idaho
  • Posts: 1,776
  • Cheeses: 145
  • Act as if it were impossible to fail.
    • Cookin with uh dash dogs hair
Re: Cheese cave
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2017, 02:39:49 AM »
lets see the first 2 years I made cheese I used a cooler and ice bottles,
I still think my blues worked out better just because I would check them twice a day to make sure the temp was still good.
Never hit a man with glasses, use a baseball bat!
http://cocker-spanial-hair-in-my-food.blogspot.com/

Offline Al Lewis

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Port Orchard Washington
  • Posts: 3,285
  • Cheeses: 179
    • Lou's Food & Drink
Re: Cheese cave
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2017, 01:21:34 PM »
lets see the first 2 years I made cheese I used a cooler and ice bottles,
I still think my blues worked out better just because I would check them twice a day to make sure the temp was still good.
  I remember that.  You made some great cheeses using that method! ;D
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

Pavla

  • Guest
Re: Cheese cave
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2017, 07:13:26 PM »
Thanks for the help

Cheese Kettle Pty Ltd

  • Guest
Re: Cheese cave
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2017, 11:58:55 PM »
Hi guys,

I thought I will share my experience using a wine fridge for the last couple of years.

I choose large 200 bottle Liebherr model. In my opinion there are three main benefits of using wine fridge.  Is cheap (I paid $80 –second hand), there is no need for a temperature controller hence most wine fridges works between 8-15C. Lastly most wine fridges do have glass doors which is handy for soft cheeses inspection (open the doors only if required) and cheeses do look amazing when you passing by!
I also fitted electronically controlled humidifier to get the humidity under control.

 However there is a major setback. I got my fridge second-hand and I haven’t spotted forced air circulation fan fitted at the top of the fridge when ordering online. Fan couldn’t be switch off as would affect performance of cooling aggregate.

My soft cheeses were speciality affected with a camemberts ahead of the pack. Excess air flow dry off quickly surface of the cheeses and hence preventing any (desired) moulds from growth.

Unfortunately the above caused me to move towards more professional setup.

At the end of the day If you are on budget and want to get quick fix I would explore wine fridge selection. Please make sure to pick a brand/model without any fan forced circulation.

All the best
Lukasz