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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => EQUIPMENT - Aging Cheese, Caves => Topic started by: Annie on April 17, 2012, 06:40:26 PM
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I don't yet have a hygrometer (which is next on the list!), but I do know it is Very Dry in my old fridge/cheese cave, so I put an open bowl of water in it.
Is that an ok thing to do?
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Yes but it may not be enough to get you to 80-85% RH you need to age semi hard and hard cheeses.
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Walmart seels a cheap one that works well for like $2 and they are small enough to place all over the place if you have drawers.
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Yes but it may not be enough to get you to 80-85% RH you need to age semi hard and hard cheeses.
Thanks, I thought it would be better than nothing until I get the hygrometer and whatever else I need. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be bad for it.
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Walmart seels a cheap one that works well for like $2 and they are small enough to place all over the place if you have drawers.
Thanks, Debi. Do you know what they call it? I could only find either expensive ones or steam humidifiers which would seem to defeat the purpose of the whole thing :) I also hope to not have to plug in yet another thing....
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They seem to have gone up but they work surprisely well
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunbeam-SHG50PDQ-U-Hygrometer/15135864 (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunbeam-SHG50PDQ-U-Hygrometer/15135864)
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They seem to have gone up but they work surprisely well
[url]http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunbeam-SHG50PDQ-U-Hygrometer/15135864[/url] ([url]http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunbeam-SHG50PDQ-U-Hygrometer/15135864[/url])
wowie kazowie! I thought I would have to spend more :)
Once I have one, how do I raise the humidity? Will I have to get a humidifier?
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Annie, one of the quick easy ways to raise humidity is to use plastic ripening boxes (I call them "minicaves") which retain the moisture given off by the individual cheese, thus raising the humidity around that one cheese. I have several in use in my caves right now. Since I am currently ripening some blues (Fourme d'Ambert cheeses) they require a higher level of humidity than the inside of my caves can offer.
-Boofer-
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It's not the best but they work pretty well. I have been known to hang a piece of cheese cloth over the back of the shelves up against the wall and spray water on it to raise humidity.
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It's not the best but they work pretty well. I have been known to hang a piece of cheese cloth over the back of the shelves up against the wall and spray water on it to raise humidity.
Or trail one end in a jar of water to soak up the moisture as needed.
-Boofer-
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Annie, one of the quick easy ways to raise humidity is to use plastic ripening boxes (I call them "minicaves") which retain the moisture given off by the individual cheese, thus raising the humidity around that one cheese. I have several in use in my caves right now. Since I am currently ripening some blues (Fourme d'Ambert cheeses) they require a higher level of humidity than the inside of my caves can offer.
-Boofer-
Oh, yes, this was why I put them in plastic bags... I forgot :-[
A couple of my cheeses got moldy in the bags... I guess bags don't work, but ripening boxes will.
This is great--I am really learning so much :) And they say that's good for the brain!
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Ah sorry yes you have to have the cheese cloth in the water - it wicks up and adds moisture.
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Ah sorry yes you have to have the cheese cloth in the water - it wicks up and adds moisture.
Ahhh, that makes sense!
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A couple of my cheeses got moldy in the bags... I guess bags don't work, but ripening boxes will.
You need air circulation around the cheese. Having it in a partially closed plastic box accomplishes this. You also have to then raise the cheese away from the bottom of the box by using some kind of plastic matting so that air can circulate there as well and so that any residual whey can drain off.
-Boofer-
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Annie, one of the quick easy ways to raise humidity is to use plastic ripening boxes (I call them "minicaves") which retain the moisture given off by the individual cheese, thus raising the humidity around that one cheese. I have several in use in my caves right now. Since I am currently ripening some blues (Fourme d'Ambert cheeses) they require a higher level of humidity than the inside of my caves can offer.
-Boofer-
I'm having a problem keeping my Camembert rounds at a low enough temperature and high enough humidity. I bought a combination temperature/humidity gauge which has a remote probe, so I can read both outside the cave. I finally moved the Camembert to my refrigerator (45°F), inside a plastic container, and even put a wet cheesecloth inside next to, but not touching, the cheeses. So far, humidity doesn't get above 50%. If I put them in my Styrofoam "cave" in the basement, I get 85% humidity (still not enough), but the temperature goes to 60° or more.
What are your "plastic ripening boxes"? Are they just plastic containers like one can get at Walmart? Or something different?
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My minicaves are plastic boxes by Rubbermaid, Sterilite, and others that I bought at Walmart and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I coined the term "minicave" because they function just like a miniature version of a cave, allowing tighter control over humidity around the cheese. That word is also shorter and easier to say than "ripening box".
Some folks have had to resort to a humidifier to add extra moisture to their cheese environment. Search on the forum for discussions about that.
-Boofer-
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How do you raise humidity in a plastic box (I use Lock n Lock boxes)? I've put wet paper towels, bowls of water, wet cloths, etc., inside and it hasn't done a thing. I can't imagine a humidifier would affect the environment inside a box.
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Seems like you are doing everything that would increase the effective humidity inside the box. You have a wireless humidity sensor inside the box too?
Is there any condensation forming on the walls, floor, or ceiling of your box?
-Boofer-
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No condensation that I can see.
It's not a wireless sensor. The sensor is attached to the device, which sits outside the box. The wire is about 4 feet long, so can go inside the box, inside the refrigerator, and I can see the temperature/humidity readings from outside. I'm starting to wonder if the device is faulty, but the lack of condensation makes me think not.