I love cheese, but I rarely cut a piece and eat it plain, I use different cheeses in cooking so the fine nuances of expensive cheese is lost in the other ingredients. I got into the hobby mainly to make some parm/romano for Italian dishes, and to try my hand at mozzarella. Mozzarella almost isn't worth the effort for me--price of all the ingredients is about the same as a one-pound log in the store. I'll compare tastes when I finally get one to turn out right.
Well, I made a Romano yesterday. The curd set exactly as it should, clean break with a knife, and It is currently in the press. I was going to brine it this morning, but it felt too "spongey" to be a hard cheese. I flipped it and put it back in the press on 50 lbs and some clear whey did drip out so I'm going to let it press for a few hours more. I've seen cheesemakers brine, air dry, then immediately vacuum pack it, and others who never vacuum pack it but oil it after some time. Does anyone know if there is a downside to immediate vacuum packing?