I've read the various posts about cheese caves, but I have a question specific to controlling humidity.
I am using a dorm fridge for aging my cheese. Most of them are cheddar which have been waxed, so for them I'm not too concerned about the humidity level in the fridge. But, I have one Parmesan that I put in there as well. The fridge is out in my garage and I don't even have it turned on because I can't get it warmer than 49 or 50 degrees even with it off. That will change as the weather warms up. I see that there is a way around the temperature problem with an external thermostat and I intend to research that further.
What I am finding is that the humidity level gets so high that the hygrometer goes off the digital humidity reading and simply says "very high". So I remove the Parm from the fridge and the humidity settles back down at which point I put the Parm back in. As the Parm continues to dry (which by the way has a nice rind to my way of thinking) will it cease to throw off so much moisture thus requiring me to start adding humidity to the fridge? Is this normal with a cheese like Parmesan?
Your thoughts and advice are always appreciated.
Here are to cntrolers that will help with the temperature issues. Just plug your power cord into it and then stick the probe inside the fridge and your golden!
http://www.northernbrewer.com/temp-control.html (http://www.northernbrewer.com/temp-control.html)
The contoller listed can be had on ebay for $50 if you have a little electrical experience.
As for the humidity it's hard becasue the cheese is giving off more than the frig can dissipate. Try putting a thin sheet of cardboard in the door and see how it goes.
Thanks for the information in controlling humidity in cheese.
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Programmable Thermostats (http://www.prothermostats.com/)
No problem. If you have specific requirements post pics of your setup and we'll see if we can help.
THis is what I just ordered: http://www.habitatmonitor.com/ (http://www.habitatmonitor.com/)
It can control Temp and humidity. I had been using one of those external temp controllers but had problems with maintaining humidity so now I am going to automatically regulate both.
What did it cost you if you don't mind me asking?
I'm looking to see if any of these products will work:
https://www.greenair.com/browse/control-stat-series.html (https://www.greenair.com/browse/control-stat-series.html)
I'm referring to the excellent thread at EGullet on Charcuterie (http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=116763&st=0&p=1583688&#entry1583688") for guidance and suggestions.
I didn't look to much (time for bed) but that egullet is a great site! Thanks for posting it.
Habitat Monitor was just under $500 including humidifier, relay to control fridge and shipping.
https://www.greenair.com/browse/control-stat-series.html (https://www.greenair.com/browse/control-stat-series.html)
This looks like they have similar functionality to the Habitat monitor so should work. What is the price on the humidity and temp controller?