Aging Italian Cheeses In A Poorly Temp & RH Controlled Cellar

[advancewithcourage]

Hello,
My 100% Italian mother-in-law insists that they used to age their cheeses in an unheated above ground room in their home in Italy. She said she doubts it ever reached high humidity levels. What does humidity do for the cheeese? Has anyone made cheese like this?

Last summer I went to a historic village and their was a cheesemaker there who did the same thing. Made the cheese and stored it in a cellar. She had no hydrometer and was not concerned about exact humidity.

I am trying to understand the role of humidity in the aging process and what happens if it is not high enough. Can anyone help? Thanks. I am new to the world of hard cheeses, although I have been making chevre for years.

[linuxboy]

Humidity levels are all about the rate of moisture loss for hard cheeses, and rate of mold growth for cheeses with any sort of rind, including bloomy, washed, and other complex variations. The biggest aspect of most cheeses WRT humidity, IMHO, is that they don't lose too much moisture. If they do, you get a dry cheese or rind cracking.

Moisture levels in the cheese help to break up proteins and help with all sorts of other reactions that give cheese its flavor. More moist cheese matures faster. But other than that, so long as your rind stays in place so that molds don't infect the insides of the cheese, it should be ok. There's all sorts of ways to make tasty cheese

I tend to advocate controlled and exact environments to try and eliminate variables that make for poor quality. So I like to have the ability to control humidity. Sometimes it's necessary, like for bloomy rinds, you want it at a high level.

[DeejayDebi]

Cellars are below ground and tend to be cool - especially if they do not open to the outside. When a cellar has a dirt floor it holds more moisture. When I was a kid all the cellars in my family had dirt floors. It was best for storing fruits and vegetables. Dad decide to pour cement in te cellar one year and had to dig a tunnel (root cellar) in the side wall to store food in because the cement ruined cellar for food storage. Ask your MIL if her cellar had a dirt floor - probably did or a rock foundation which will do the same thing.