Vacuum Plastic Sealing - Large Cheeses

[wharris]

You can have my baby girl Lucey,  she is a pain in my butt..

And she sneaks and licks up all the whey when i press my cheddar.

[DeejayDebi]

Oh she's a real beauty. I would love to have her. She has a very loving smile you are a lucky man Wayne!

[FarmerJd]

Wayne is there anyway to make a bigger bag by cutting and sealing the edges together? I know the little canals are what make it work, and they would obviously be obstructed by the seal, but I was wondering if it still might seal up ok. I really would love to be able to seal a whole 8 or 12 inch cheese somehow with a good rind already developed. Probably impossible but worth a thought.

[DeejayDebi]

Yes you can do that. I have done it many times. When you come to the ends of the bag double seal to make sure they don't leak.

I've used this method for curing whole packer briskets in a salt water brine without leaks.

[wharris]

Wayne is there anyway to make a bigger bag by cutting and sealing the edges together?

I've been wondering about that.  I'm not sure how to seal a long edge.  An iron perhaps?

[FarmerJd]

Yea that has been my problem. Surely there is a way to make a long seam.

[DeejayDebi]

For really long sections you have to seal it multiple times. Just keep moving it along until it's all sealed. Make sure each seal overlaps the next. Try not to get any sections bunched up. Keep it as smooth as you can. I put the sealer machine near the edge of the counter top and open a drawer to help hold it steady. I used to have some pictures but all I can find is the meat rolls I made for Xmas a few years ago.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Check out the impulse sealers on E-Bay. I just bought a 12" model so I can seal away from my Foodsaver. I want to make "rounded" vac bags and trim the excess so that the bags conform better to the shape of my wheels.

There is a link to a 16" sealer on E-Bay just $52

or a 20" Sealer

By working from both ends of the bag material, you can seal almost twice the width of the sealer.

[DeejayDebi]

You can do that with the Food Saver too. On the last seal you vacuum.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I do rounded bags (sort of) on the Foodsaver now, but the impulse sealer is much easier to maneuver and more versatile.

[DeejayDebi]

They are pretty kewl.

[wharris]

I do rounded bags (sort of) on the Foodsaver now, but the impulse sealer is much easier to maneuver and more versatile.

I would love to see how you did that.

[FarmerJd]

me too.

[DeejayDebi]

I would imagine he sealed as normal then just sealed all around the cheese to make it round.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Actually, rounding after you seal doesn't work because there is just too much bunched up plastic. I start with an 11" vac bag, sealed on one end for my 7-1/2" wheels. Before I put the cheese in, I use a 9-1/2" plastic lid as a template to draw a circle on the bag. I do multiple seals along the drawing line to make a sealed circle on 3 sides. You have to insert the cheese wheel before you start sealing up the open end. Then I seal up about 1/2 of the remaining open end. You have to leave a pretty good sized opening for the FoodSaver to draw a vacuum. After I vacuum, I finish sealing the open end as close as possible to the cheese.

This makes a really nice presentation but is a pain in the butt if you do it with the FoodSaver. THAT'S why I bought the 12" impulse sealer. I should have it in the next day or so, and will post pictures of my technique.