I believe I've read here a few times that one can cut in to a wheel of cheese and re-wax to continue the aging process. I've also seen the suggestion that another/simpler way to do is to cut the wheel before waxing and individually wax the slices, so that you could open one slice at 1 month, the next at 3 months, the next at 6 months, etc...
My question is: If you decide to quarter or halve the wheel, does it make more sense to let the cheese air dry and develop a bit of a rind first, then cut the cheese and then wax? Or should you cut the wheel right after pressing, then let air dry (so that you let the newly exposed interior dry and become part of the rind) and then wax?
My gut tells me to cut right after pressing so that you can let all exposed surface areas air dry and begin to form a rind, but since I haven't tried it before and I only get to make a cheese/week, I figured I'd ask if others have experience with this.
Thanks so much for the help.
Dave
Small cheeses age poorly. You are better off aging the entire wheel, let it go 60 days, then try it. You can always re-wax AFTER you cut it.
Sailor,
Thanks for the comment. That brings up a good question for me, which is WHY are smaller cheeses more difficult to age AND is that an argument for making larger wheels? Typically I use recipes that call for 1-2 gallons of milk. But I have another set that all call for 4 gallons. Should I interpret your comment to mean that with larger batches, I can expect better aging results?
Thanks for your help.
Dave
Yes, for a lot of reasons, you will get better aging results with larger wheels.