In a standard size, no-freezer refrigerator, how much cheese will one be able to age in the refrigerator?
I am not planning on making any humongous wheels of cheese, just the regular standard recipes in the cheese books-- so I want to know how much cheese I will be able to stuff into and age into a refrigerator.
Any takers? Can anyone give me a count of the cheeses that they've successfully been able to put into their fridges from experience?
I have about forty 7-1/2" wheels and it's still not full. Although it's kind of reaching equilibrium - put one in and take one out. ;D
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on December 02, 2009, 06:27:57 AM
I have about forty 7-1/2" wheels and it's still not full. Although it's kind of reaching equilibrium - put one in and take one out. ;D
how big is your fridge if you dont mind me asking?
have you uploaded any pics of it?
i sure would be interested in seeing your structure thanks
It's just a normal 18 cubic foot refrigerator. Nothing special. I do a lot of vacuum bagging, so stacking is easy and efficient. If you are doing natural rind, you need a lot more space.
It does have a freezer section above where I store frozen Mozarella, Ricotta, cream cheese, etc.
The key to storage efficiency is vacuum sealing the cheese wheels!
Quote from: DeejayDebi on December 03, 2009, 01:34:27 AM
The key to storage efficiency is vacuum sealing the cheese wheels!
hmmm... really?
wont that change the humidity of the cheese though?
how do you monitor that btw, if its vacuum sealed?
Quote from: Sailor Con Queso on December 03, 2009, 12:45:19 AM
I do a lot of vacuum bagging, so stacking is easy and efficient. If you are doing natural rind, you need a lot more space.
See this is where I sort of get confused.
Cant all or most hard cheeses be made doing natural rind?
Can you briefly describe your method of vaccuum bagging so I can understand it more?
humble, there is a great picture here (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2572.0.html) of one of Debi's fridges and lots of info in the STANDARD METHODS - Aging Cheese (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/board,184.0.html) Board on vacuum bagging cheeses.
One of the great things about vaccumm sealing cheeses for ripening is you don't need to monitor humidity just temperature. Once the temperatures is settled they practically take care of themselves. You can also hack off a piece, reseal and continue aging for years as long as you have a good seal (and room to store them).
Quote from: John (CH) on December 04, 2009, 01:45:59 AM
humble, there is a great picture here (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2572.0.html) of one of Debi's fridges and lots of info in the STANDARD METHODS - Aging Cheese (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/board,184.0.html) Board on vacuum bagging cheeses.
Quote from: DeejayDebi on December 04, 2009, 04:44:34 PM
One of the great things about vaccumm sealing cheeses for ripening is you don't need to monitor humidity just temperature. Once the temperatures is settled they practically take care of themselves. You can also hack off a piece, reseal and continue aging for years as long as you have a good seal (and room to store them).
Wow!! Thank you!
This is perfect!
Just one question however though. Is there a limit to what types of cheese you CAN't put in a vaccuum-sealed bag?
Which ones are those?
And how much does the vaccuum-sealer cost you?
Humble - I just bought a FoodSaver V2830 on Ebay for $65. New In Box. Got it yesterday. Excellent deal.
After trying both waxing and vacuum-sealing, I'm leaning strongly towards the latter. Whip-zip...you're done.
-Boofer-