Cave Temp High - Temporarily Aging In Cold Kitchen Fridge, Effect?

[medomak]

Hello,

My aging room is temporarily off line and my temps have gone from 50-54 degrees to 60-64 degrees in there.

I've currently got colby, cheshire, manchego, cheddar and gouda (all waxed) in the cave.  They have been at the higher temps for a little less than a week.  As a temporary fix, I've decided to put the cheeses in the refrigerator at about 39-40 degrees, with the idea that lowering the temp would slow the aging process, which I'm hoping/betting is a better alternative than letting the cheese age at the higher temper.

Questions:

1)  Am I in danger of ruining the cheese for letting them age at those higher temps for that period of time?
2) Am I correct to think that the lower temps will slow down the ripening and that higher temps speed up the process (and run the risk of going rancid)?
3) Is there a better alternative to what I'm doing here while I get my cave temps back to the low to mid 50's?

Thanks for the help.

[zenith1]

you are correct in your assumptions about the temp affect on the aging of your wheels. You are probably OK at 40F but be careful that you don't have an area that most refrigerators have that is a little colder.

[medomak]

Keith,

Thanks for the help.

Dave

[MrsKK]

Until I got my mini fridge cave this winter, I aged all of my cheeses in a basement cabinet over the winter months, then transferred them to the veggie bin of my spare refrigerator for the summer months.  It does slow down the ageing process, but the cheeses were just fine.  Even when the temps in the cabinet climbed for a few days before I noticed and got them shifted to the fridge.

I think your cheeses will be just fine.

[medomak]

Karen,

Thanks for the help and the moral support. 

Dave