Cool, thanks for the tips. I've been getting cheese for years vac'd in 5-lb blocks from my favorite farmer dude, brought some with me when I moved, and he's shipped me some also. It usually takes about 8 or 9 months before I start tasting the plastic with that, so start slicing off the edges. Guess I'm just paranoid 'cause they're MY cheeses - have to protect my little babies, you know! And since it will be extremely rare for me to be able to actually hold onto one of my own for longer than that, I guess I'm okay there. *snicker snort*
Good to know about the rind softening, too, I wouldn't have been able to predict that. Not sure it would bother me much in the long term, but it's nice to keep it in mind. I do vac bag all sorts of other things, but they usually get used up within 6 months at most, so I didn't really have much to compare to. Before now I'd just taken peeling the rinds from farmer dude's cheese as a matter of course, didn't really think about it.
Thankee!!!