Cheese Make Room - Temperature

[steffb503]

How hot is too hot?
My brand new cheese room seems to be getting a bit too hot. Like 90 inside yesterday and it's not even summer yet. I am certain that if I were to run my vat for a fresh cheese it will be too hot to drain it in there.
How about air drying hard cheese?
Can I air dry in the fridge?
We are working on air conditioning but for now , any thoughts?

[Sailor Con Queso]

IMHO that's way too hot. Either air dry in your cave, or cool things down. Higher temperatures create an environment that is conducive to spoilage and/or contamination.

[Tomer1]

Cheese fridge is fine ,it will likly take a few extra hours\days (depending on size and type of cheese) extra to get to the draining level you want.

[ArnaudForestier]

Cheese fridge is fine ,it will likly take a few extra hours\days (depending on size and type of cheese) extra to get to the draining level you want.

Do you mean, in a regular cheese cave, at say, 88-94%RH?  I've got an issue with drying cheeses, now - no more means to do a separate 55-60F/70% RH, at least not very easily.  So I had thought to try and find the driest part of my existing caves, but even there, we're likely talking 85% or better.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Unless your room is hitting 90F like Steff, just dry at room temp (and the associated lower RH) for a couple of days, then move to your cave.

[ArnaudForestier]

Thanks, Sailor.  As it turns out, I'm able to get my room to 68F and about 65%RH, so hope that will do.  I do want to get a small wine cooler, make it just a dedicated "drying room" since it wouldn't need much capacity, turns cheeses in 24-48 hours or so.

That said - in a commercial operation such as yours, perhaps - how do places deal with a single, dedicated drying room, when doing very different cheeses (I'm making a run of tomme de grise, for instance, and don't want mucor anywhere around my other cheeses).  Isn't there an issue of cross-contamination, or is it too early for there to be any appreciable growth (would think there's always potential for "appreciable growth.").

[Sailor Con Queso]

I do tons of blues in the same room temperature drying area where I do all my other cheeses. I do not have a dedicated drying room, so everything is in the same room as my make pot, presses, and draining area. I don't find it to be a problem at all. You just have to take the time to manage the rinds properly. Wipe with a vinegar brine before things get out of control. If you let things go for a week and molds get a foothold, you're screwed. I dry at room temp for 2 or 3 days then go natural rind for 3-4 weeks in my drying cave and then vac bag. The blues actually force me to do a better job on all of my other cheeses.

[ArnaudForestier]

Great info, many thanks, Sailor.  Will do.