Cheese Cave - Humidity Too Low With Bowls Of Water, How Increase?

[mcfly]

Hey all,
I noticed a small crack in my cheddar cheese and was told that my cheese cave wasn't humid enough? I tried adding a few bowls of water but I cant get it more than 75% ? So, I can try wrapping it in damp cheesecloth which should keep it moist but I wont be able to test the humidity so its going to be a little guess work with the dampness of the cheesecloth. Does anybody have any tips? Also, if it is too moist, what will happen to the cheese? The signs or being too humid?

Many thanks!

[Alex]

Too much humidity can cause unwanted mold contamination. Don't wrap the cheese in damp cheese cloth. I don't know the meaning of a few bowls of water. To get a good humid environment, you have to create as much surface area as you can, to get maximum evaporation. One solution can be, hanging a towel kind cloth, dipped in a shallow tray with water. I have a fridge big enough to put in an ultrasonic cold mist humidifier activated through a timer.

[sominus]

In my grand dreams of building the ultimate temperature/humidty controlled cave, I want to put a humidistat and humidifer in to the side of the fridge...  This is probably overkill, but that's the name of the game isn't it?

[mcfly]

Many thanks!
I'm new to cheesemaking so Ill probably go down the wet cloth route until I become more involved. I was told Perlite rock was also good for creating humid environments.
Thanks again.

[jtwlo]

aging container would probably do the trick. it's just a tupperware container with a lid that allows for breathing. it's used when you need to keep the humidity up on a particular cheese.