Hey guys, I am looking for a little advice on these permeable bags if anyone has any experience. I have a supply of them specifically for aging cheese and a chamber sealer. I understand the technology but I am not 100% on the process.
I read somewhere online that it is possible to seal the cheeses right out of the press and then put straight into the aging environment? My initial thought was to let a bit of a rind develop before sealing them for aging? Would it be safer to seal them right away and let a more natural appearing rind develop at the end of aging? There isn't a great deal of information available online so if anyone has any insight I would be most appreciative!
Most that use bags put the cheese in right away but if you are looking for the flavor notes of a more wild rind it is possible to let the rind develop then bag it to slow down the growth for a while. Bagging then opening and finishing in the open is also an option but the flavor notes will not be the same as if you bagged after aging a bit first. It all depends on what you want from your finished cheese
I'm relatively new to cheesing and I have found that vac packing straight away increases my consistency. This has enabled me to vary other factors and more accurately assess their impact.
Most recently I made a ricotta salata from leftover whey and vac packed it after a few hours pressing. It developed a decent flavour in a couple of weeks without any of the mold issues I had with its predecessors which I matured and then vac packed.
Keep us posted with the results
Thanks for the replies. It is the first time using this breathable bags for me so I will be interested to see how it goes. I think I am going to give them a couple of weeks exposure to develop a decent rind before sealing. Will monitor weight loss from there on and update this post.
Where did you get the bags from? The responses that you received so far were relevant to regular vac bags, not the breathable type.
I got the bags from the Danish company Tublin. They also make the material for UMAI Dry Bags (Tublin 10, I think). I have Tublin 30 bags.
Do you know any more Sailor?
I used a Umai bag to age a Hispanico.
I use them extensively (in tube form) for salamis and get great results.
I age all my cheeses in a frost free fridge in vac bags, low humidity.
The cheese dried out a fair bit in this environment, and didn't develop as much flavour as it's brother in an impermeable bag.
If done in a higher humidity environment, I suspect the result would be better.
I have not repeated the experiment as I have been getting superior results with different methods, far cheaper too.
If you can get the bags cheap, it's worthwhile to experiment with this option. If you age in a wetter environment, it's worth a try.
Your profile does not show your location. Are you in the USA? Did you buy the bags directly from the company or thru a 3rd party distributor?
I am based in South Africa, I bought the bags directly from Tub-Ex. I am going to start using them and will post back here when I get some results.