Vacuum Bags Instead Of Wax For Aging Hard Cheeses

[wharris]

I wonder what the deal with that is...

[Cheese Head]

BoilerMaker, sad to hear the bad news.

I also found that on some of my cheese makings I was getting whey around the cheese inside my vacuum bags. So in my case I was wrapping them too early, pictures in some of my cheese making record type posts.

[BoilerMaker]

I had the same issue whey issue with a couple of my cheeses; a gouda and a colby. But the others (cheddar, m. jack) had no issues with excess whey so I'm not entirely convinced that the whey was the issue.

[goat lady]

 I just opened a 2year old cheddar that was vacum sealed and it was wonderful

[Foodieguy]

I am new to this discussion board, and appreciate all the great info here. I have used my vacuum sealer plenty. Something you need to remember is that you are lowering the atmospheric pressure on the cheese inside the bag. Even the best rind on the outside is holding back moister. Once you put it into the vacuum the whey on the inside is now pressurized, and is forcing itself out past the rind.

Also, the wax is air tight as is the plastic. The whole idea behind the wax was to keep out the nasties.  If you do get mold that is a sign you did not make your wax seal air tight. Same with the plastic bag in vacuuming.

Great ideas and input!!!!

[Cheese Head]

Foodieguy, welcome to the forum!

Thanks for your thoughts on vaccum bags and on them pulling moisture out of cheese, good point. This was probably part of the cause for problem I had of whey around outside of rind, other reason was probably that I wrapped them too early before drying enough.

[DeejayDebi]

I have one asiago I air dried in my spare unheated room for 3 few months then vacuum sealed. It's been in the fridge for over a year with no mold. This was a tasty cheese at 3 months and I expect it will be a great cheese for grating when I get around to it. I love asiago grated on pizza and in soup.

[BoilerMaker]

From everyone's input, and my own experience, it sounds like I just need to let the cheese age for a while before vacuum sealing. Now if I can just keep the mold at bay until that point...

Deejay this is a little off topic, but where did you get your Asiago recipe? Any chance you could share as I have not been able to find one online?

[DeejayDebi]

Boiler maker
I scaled it down from a 100 gallon recipe I got from a farm in Wisconsin. I have my recipe here.

http://deejaysworld.net/deejayssmokepit/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1200537380

Sorry I can't remember who asked but I have a Food Saver Vacuum Sealer one that will do wet stuff and it works great I've had it for 3 years now. Love it!

[cowboycheese]

Newbie here-

I've used my Foodsaver for 6+ years I think on everything. Using it on store bought vs. artisan can tell you something about the quality or lack of proper pressing and aging. Some really cheap cheddar from the local grocery can end up soggy soup after a week in the bag.  Can't wait for my moulds to show up - my store bought days are nearing and end!

Thanks for all the info you all have posted!

I'm going to try both vac pack and waxing. I'm hopeful the vac bags will be fine, plus it should be safer than waxing - at least for me as hot wax and I are not friends right now...  :o

[wharris]

Cowboycheese,

Many folks here do in fact use the vacuum bags.  I have used them myself.

Speaking just for myself, i will not use them going forward. 

I do not like the the fact that the vacuum will pull whey out, through the rind that would not ordinarily be expressed due to the vacuum pressure.

I also do not like the the marks that the vacuum leaves in a round wheel of cheese.

[zenith1]

I have been following the posts in this thread since they were started with great interest. I have two cheeses vacuum bagged now for ~ two weeks. No problems so far. But I am still not convinced that although this is the easiest way to go, it's the best. I am convinced the the comments in this thread that if you are going to use this method, you need to adequately air dry before placing in the bag. Also you are creating a negative pressure on the cheese of varying amounts based on the amount of time you evacuate the bag. How does this affect the final product? I won't know how it affects the flavor development until the aging is completed, but taking into consideration the aerobic nature of the bacteria I would guess that some change is inevitable. Time will tell on that matter. I'm very interested in hearing how their aged cheeses have fared in the bags as far as texture and flavor. Has anyone tried this on a cheese that is typically not waxed, say a grana style. I know that this would not be a tradition based method, but doesn't oiling a rind due essentially the same thing, IE. sealing the rind off from the air? I think there are many variables involved here that our experiments will help solve. Thanks for every ones input on this topic.

[Foodieguy]

Up date on vacuum bags...

My girlfriend opened the bag before it had fully aged, but I thought it had a great flavor and not too moist. She thought it was bitter and did not like it.
Karma got her for opening the bag before it was time.