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Aging purchased wheels

Started by Npsperl0863, April 04, 2012, 02:21:53 AM

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Npsperl0863

Hi everyone,

I was given a few wheels of cheese purchased in the Netherlands, aged 6 and 18 months. Right now they are still wrapped in the original paper, and are sitting in my cheese cave.  That said, I have a few questions:

Should I unwrap them? I plan on eating the 18 mo first at some point, just not sure when.

I would like to age the 6 mo for another 3-4 mo, do I need to be washing it with brine?

ANY advice would be great, as I have never mongered cheese before. Thanks!!

Tomer1

What cheeses are these?
Are they wraped under vacuum\plastic or waxed\plastic coated?

Npsperl0863

I have 2 Dutch Boerenkaas's, aged 6 and 18 months, both wrapped in the original wax paper. The other one is a small wheel of Gietenkass, most likely 5-6 months aged, with a very thick rind.  Right now I have them both sitting on the bottom shelf of my cheese cave, and I'm not sure how to manage these.

Tomer1

Id vacuum seal them if possible. fire and forget.

Another option is to wax.
Last option continue with natural rind and age at 85% RH brushing them occasionally to avoid mold growth.
You could oil the rind to minimize further thickening of the rind\drying out.

Chris K

At the least, you should probably be turning them routinely - and given that I assume you have other cheeses in there, you'll get cross-contamination... which could certainly lead to interesting results.