Author Topic: Cutting Into My First Wrapped Cheddar  (Read 1174 times)

Offline rukiddingme

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Cutting Into My First Wrapped Cheddar
« on: October 20, 2022, 01:59:00 PM »
Hi cheese heads,

I did my first wrapped cheddar (3+ lb)14 months ago.
I would like to cut it open to see how it tastes.

Question: can I re-wrap 1/2 the cheddar and continue to age or am I better off vacuum sealing it?

thanks in advance

Offline mikekchar

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Re: Cutting Into My First Wrapped Cheddar
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2022, 01:06:33 AM »
I would vacuum seal it.  Wrapping essentially provides a medium for the mold to grow and gives you a rind that you can peel off.  If you re-wrap, then you have to go through the whole process of re-establishing the rind and I think your cheese will tend to dehydrate a bit during that process.  You've pretty much got all of the benefit you're going to get from the natural rind at this point any way.  At some point the inside of the rind basically dies and the outside of the rind is continually feeding on the inside bits -- so it basically very slowly grows outward.  Where you are getting influence from the rind is earlier on in the process where you'll get enzymes from the mold contributing to aging characteristics.  This is also why I wouldn't wrap again -- it will potentially disrupt the aging process and reset it back to an earlier stage, which will be inappropriate.