Minimum size for Parm

[flac]

What is a minimum size for a parm? I am just starting to experiment with firm and hard cheeses. I don't have much equipment so I made one gal (US) batches of cheddar and parm.

They pressed into approximately 4x1.5 inch wheels. Is the parm going to dry out too much as I age it?

[linuxboy]

Depends how you age it and for how long. In a bag? No. Wax? Not too much. Other ways? Too much moisture loss.

[flac]

Alright, thanks!
I was planning on just doing an oil rub on the rind, but I will have to hold off on that until I make a bigger wheel.

[linuxboy]

Oil conditions the rind. Slows down the moisture loss, but not extensively enough for a small wheel. Appropriate for a full traditional parm wheel, but not for small pucks like a 1-lber.

[peno17]

What would you say is the minimum non-waxed and non-vacuumed size is in terms of gallons?

[linuxboy]

Give me some parameters to work with. Final moisture target, aging conditions, initial moisture, and length of aging.

[peno17]

Final moisture content is something average and suitable for grating and slicing. I can age in a basement or a  refrigerator. Age for 6-12 months.
Sorry for my ignorance I'm just getting started in all of this

[linuxboy]

target a cylinder at least 6" in diameter and height, which would require somewhere around 4-5 gallons.

[Tiarella]

I've done some 4 gallon Parm/ grating style cheeses from whole Nogerian Dwarf goat milk and oiled the rind, aged 12 months in a wine fridge that I didn't control moisture in (so it was rather dry) and the cheese came out very nice.  I did re-oil a number of times and there were times of moisture during aging when there'd be a bunch of Brie or Valencay style cheeses in there. 

I think Pav's input is the best and most reliable but wanted to mention my experience. 

[Spoons]

Thanks for this, all. For some reason, I thought the rind development was essential for a parm. I'll try my 8L parma-puck project, age it 1 month then seal it for another 12-18 months.

[Kirkbybil]

I made a very successful parm from 3 gallons in a 5" mould on 21st April 2013. I left it to dry for a month and then I started oiling with olive oil and ended up with a very nice parm that we started last month (and I just had some on my Spaghetti Bolognese for tea tonight!). That was 9 months old,  I cut it halfway up and then cut one of the halves in half and used that and vac. packed the rest as it takes us a long time to use that much.  I also have another on the go that I made 3 months later th exiling certainly gives a nice rind that seems very resistant to the moulds in my cave, blue just brushes off.

I'm certainly not an expert, I just follow the recipe, but this size certainly works okay.

[flac]

Update:
After over a year and a half of sitting around I finally tried the cheese that started this thread. Half of the time was vacuum bagged in a normal fridge and then switched to a temperature controlled cave.



Overall the parm was pretty good. I feel it was a bit undersalted. Bagging it early lead to nice texture, even though I probably could have let it dry a bit longer. It will go well on some salads and will not last too long. I need to start a larger one!

[Reflector]

That looks really good, especially the almost translucent appearance around the edges.