Author Topic: Aging cheese in airtight environment  (Read 3214 times)

alumineandrew@gmail.com

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Aging cheese in airtight environment
« on: May 09, 2012, 12:25:50 AM »
Hi
Just new to cheese-making. A friend and I are making cheese and experimenting on the best environments for them to age. We thought we would ask whether cheese would age better/worse/differently if we vacuum packed it and let it sit in a 'cave' at the right temp/humidity....Has anyone tried this?

Caseus

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Re: Aging cheese in airtight environment
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2012, 03:11:08 AM »
I'm a newb too, but with the few things I've learned, I can answer your question. 

Vacuum bagging is very common.  Many people on this forum do it.   If you vacuum pack or if you wax your cheese, you need to age at the proper temperature (generally 50°F to 55°F, with some slight variations depending on the cheese type), but humidity is not especially important.  Wax or vacuum plastic bags hold in the moisture and the cheeses don't dry out or crack due to low humidity in the cave. 

You can wax or vacuum bag most semi-hard and hard cheeses and age them at any humidity level so long as the temperature is right.  Surface mold ripened, washed rind, natural rind, bandaged, or oiled rind cheeses need appropriate humidity control in addition to the right temp.  For example, you can't wax or vacuum pack Port Salut (washed rind / smear ripened) or Camembert (surface white mold ripened) cheeses.  You'll need to control humidity for those.


alumineandrew@gmail.com

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Re: Aging cheese in airtight environment
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2012, 06:44:02 AM »
thanks heaps, that's a huge help.

Caseus

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Re: Aging cheese in airtight environment
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2012, 01:03:12 PM »
You're welcome, and welcome to the forum.  This is the best cheese forum on the web.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Aging cheese in airtight environment
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2012, 03:35:09 AM »
There are advatages and disadvantage of all processes.  I think the cheese may age a bit slower in a vacuum bag but it also staus doesn't dry out on the surface. Depending on the size of your cheese cutting a 1/2 inch of cheese off at a time could be a real waste. Another advantage is you don't have to fight mold. I happen to be alerlic to mold so the vacuum bag is perfect for me! I have been bagging for years. Tried the wax thing a few times and I hate the mess and expense. If it cracks and air gets in you have mold that ruins the cheese.