I need a bigger cave or maybe a second one. I have been trying to decide on what my next make would be so I was reading the different makes on the forum to see what sounded good. As I am looking over the different boards I kept running across Boofer's "My Baby Is Swelling Up" I must have come across this thread a dozen times, so a Baby Swiss it is. Below is a picture of her out of the press before her bath in the brine and a photo of an almost full cave.
Even with having very little knowledge of cheese so far, I have to say that one looks really good, Devon.
If that Rubbermaid tub is your brining tank, you could buy back some room in your cave by putting it into a 6 or 8 quart cylindrical container that'll fit in your regular fridge. I've got that same container, and I'm using mine for drying a cheese right now.
That's a good point, I do need to take the time to locate better brining containers. I do not always have it in the cave, it is just there cooling down for the baby's bath in the morning. If anyone has ideas on better brining containers for 8 inch wheels please share.
I use the large brie mold from www.thecheesemaker.com (http://www.thecheesemaker.com), with a follower I cut from a cutting board. It fits perfectly into a square 6 quart restaurant supply graduated container for brining.
I finally made the decision to turn the upright freezer into a cheese cave/curing room with a Johnson controller. The two power outages we had this past year in Connecticut convinced me not to rely too much on a freezer.
Quote from: Devon on May 11, 2012, 01:02:39 AM
I need a bigger cave or maybe a second one. I have been trying to decide on what my next make would be so I was reading the different makes on the forum to see what sounded good. As I am looking over the different boards I kept running across Boofer's "My Baby Is Swelling Up" I must have come across this thread a dozen times, so a Baby Swiss it is. Below is a picture of her out of the press before her bath in the brine and a photo of an almost full cave.
I'm afraid I can't take credit for "My Baby Is Swelling Up"...that would be Sailor's baby.
Looking at your overflowing cave, I would say that you do need some shelving or something to support the cheeses so that they are not stacked on top of each other. I would suspect too that you are not turning them regularly with that setup, correct?
-Boofer-
Boofer,
I do pull all of them out, rotate and flip them at least once a week. I plan on building wooden shelves to place in the cave, I just have not had time lately. It came with glass shelves but the condensation was a problem, so I removed them.
I stand corrected, it was Sailor's post I was referring to, I just happened to be reading one of your post while I was writing this one.
I ran into the "full" problem in due course and had to bite the bullet and add a second cave. It does help a lot. I got some raised eyebrows from my wife, but she understood my "obsession".
If you have any minicaves (ripening boxes) in use, they chew up a lot of shelf space. But they are essential to maintaining humidity and/or isolating blues, Geo, PC, linens, etc.
As you can see, in these pics I had four minicaves in use. Sometimes it's tough to find enough shelf space. ;)
-Boofer-
Boofer, do you have both of yours on the same circuit? My wife told me to buy a full size frig, but I like the idea of two small ones. One for cheddars and one for blues. Plus space is a concern.
Yes, same circuit but different temperature controllers, hence, different cycling schedules. They don't pull much power anyway. If I could have found one at the time without the useless, tiny freezer space, I would have bought that instead. The freezer eats up space that could better be used to store cheese. All it does is generate condensation that needs to be periodically mopped out.
-Boofer-
Absolutely, I agree but short of buying a wine cooler or beverage cooler getting by on the cheap we must live with what we can get and modify.I have a freezer in mine as well no way to eliminate it without damaging the refrigeration. So we add temperature controllers to achieve what we need. Brings me to my wife's point, I spend 7.50 per gal for raw milk to make cheese but I will not invest in a cooler at 800 or more to store it. I think it is more the principal that I can build my own cave for less to achieve the same result. I do however find the temperature varies a great deal between the door storage, the top shelf and the bottom shelf. Maybe she has a point.
My Danby DAR440BL (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danby-Designer-Compact-Refrigerator/5893621) pulls 1.3 amps max. That is very low, and it only comes on for a few minutes two or three times an hour. (That's a guess, I haven't actually timed it.) I wouldn't hesitate to put two on the same circuit. You will need a separate temp controller for each. I use a Ranco ETC-111000-000 for mine.
A low speed fan inside the fridge, like a PC fan, would help equalize the temperature in different parts of the fridge. There are DC and AC models available. I haven't added one yet to my cave, but I plan to.
I think in my next house I'll buy a surplus walk-in refrigerator for aging my cheeses and install it in my barn. That should eliminate space problems. :D
I bought my cave very cheap on the Dutch version of eBay. It missed some shelves and I replaced them with glass shelf's that were cut exactly on size AND: I put a special plastic foil at the bottom. If something happens with the glass, it sticks together due to the foil. The most expensive part of the cave was the external thermostat.
About saving space: Salt is very cheap. With every make of cheese you will have whey. So why store brine in your cave when your space is so limited?
Quote from: Caseus on May 12, 2012, 06:34:48 AM
My Danby DAR440BL (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Danby-Designer-Compact-Refrigerator/5893621) pulls 1.3 amps max.
There I go again...being envious. ;) If I had seen that model way back, I would have bought it. Good choice.
Quote from: Caseus on May 12, 2012, 06:34:48 AM
A low speed fan inside the fridge, like a PC fan, would help equalize the temperature in different parts of the fridge. There are DC and AC models available. I haven't added one yet to my cave, but I plan to.
I put a laptop cooler (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2029.msg14934.html#msg14934) in one cave when I started. I have another one coming for the other cave. You really need something to equalize the temp & humidity. There is a pretty big difference in both between the top (near the bogus freezer >:() and the very bottom of the cave.
-Boofer-
I've got an old 12 cm computer fan in my cave. The power range it can handle is quite wide, so I found an old loader with an output of 9V and it's working now for almost 2 years nonstop. If I have to rise the RH in the cave, I put a saucer with some water in the airflow...
Here's the cave I own: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1260093&navAction= (http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1260093&navAction=) I got it at Sam's Club last year for $109 - I see it has gone up $5. It does not have a freezer compartment in it and it easily stays between 50-53 degrees Fahrenheit.
After giving it some thought I decided to buy another cave, I picked up a beverage cooler rather than a mini frig. So far it is working out well, below are the updated photos. Thanks for all the input, you guys are great. Now I have to make more cheese :-\
Congrats on the new cave. I have to say though ... I may just be over cautious but I'd put the glass one on top so you don't over stress it and maybe break the glass. Just in case it get shifted of something.
DeeJay,
I only put the enclosed frig on top because it did not weight as much, the beverage cooler weighed a ton. I was also concerned if there was a shift it would be the one with the glass door to hit the floor. I also intend to get another beverage cooler to replace the one on top. I really like this one and the temp is constant from top to bottom +/- 3 degrees.
Yeah, I'd say you've been hooked by this cheese "thing". :)
-Boofer-
Looks good. I like the idea of attaching the fan to the door, wonder why I didn't think of that because it's taking up space now on the bottom of my cave. Another thing to do today :D
Boofer,
I have had the cheese bug for a few years now, I find the hardest thing is making enough cheese to age long term. We seem to go through several pounds a month.
Another suggestion is that once your cheeses have aged a bit, you can stand them on end and get a few more in each fridge.
Once upon a time we all had but one refrigerator ... then came cheese and there where two ... then three ... then four ....
Now I am think about making a small room in my basement and using an AC unit to keep it cool. With a divider so I can do cheese and sausage at the same time. :o
Now that sounds like something I would do, Deejay don't forget the humidifier
Quote from: Devon on May 19, 2012, 02:04:22 PM
We seem to go through several pounds a month.
Okay, that's one cheese. :)
If you make a cheese a week (not too impossible) and each cheese weighs around 4lbs (with a 4 gallon make), you've got 3 cheeses left for next month. Unless of course you are still on the cheese-a-week schedule next month. ;)
You're obviously falling behind in cheese production. ::)
-Boofer-
I know right, I make maybe twice a month if I am lucky, most of the time it is once a month. That is why I built the double Pneumatic press, now I can make two to four cheeses within the same time frame. The press is working great, however I over pressed a baby Swiss last weekend, I am having a hard time getting it to form a rind as she is still draining a lot of trapped whey. Still trying to learn the new toy's limits. I have a few cheddars, a couple of Colby's, a couple of parms, a couple of Cheshire's and a couple of gouda's. That's the extent of my cave at the moment. I need to make a few blues now that I have two caves.
The hard part is balancing between short and long aged cheese so you always have room to store more cheeses.
Unfortunately it is the long aged cheese we seem to eat the most of,(Most of which are eaten young) the short aging cheese seems to, ummm , well, not be the favorite of the family. Go figure however I can eat any cheese but as I am only one person eating 4 lbs before it is dried out or it has expired is challenging.
Quote from: Devon on May 20, 2012, 04:24:17 AMthe short aging cheese seems to, ummm , well, not be the favorite of the family.
There are quite a few cheese styles that are ready in a couple months and IMHO are very tasty: Gouda, Butterkase, Leiden...to name a few. I'm looking forward to a Double Gloucester that is ready in 3 months from make to cut.
Maybe your discerning audience hasn't been introduced to these younger cheeses.
-Boofer-
I tend to prefer the stornger long aged cheese too but the ones Boffer mensioned are really good cheeses!
Yes, and Caerphilly and Lancashire are a couple in the cheddar type that are good very quickly as well. Dunlop is another one that is quite nice in just a couple months.
- Jeff
Jeff,
Where did you get a recipe for Dunlop?
I do make various other cheeses, not a big fan of Cantal. I did make a gouda last weekend and I have a Baby Swiss and a Jarlsberg I made three weeks ago. I am waiting for them to start swelling now. The Swiss type cheese is another one that my family will not eat, however I love Swiss cheeses. If I have time this coming weekend I plan on making a colbyJack. 1st pic is of the Gouda and 2nd pic is the Jarlsberg and Baby Swiss.
Quote from: dbudge55 on May 21, 2012, 06:39:38 PM
Jeff,
Where did you get a recipe for Dunlop?
Someone posted it on the boards awhile back. I've made it 3 times now, and my make notes are available in the archives (should be in this group, the Hard cheddared section).
ahh, here's a link to my most recent make : https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,8953.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,8953.0.html)
- Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. Being a newbie I'm going to have to research the direct set alternative to the ripened buttermilk you use for starter. This looks similar to Derby. I have one of those in the cave now.
Devon don't let them try your swiss or you'll be in trouble! I do not care for the dry weird swiss they sell i the deli ar stores but I really enjoy a nice creamy moist swiss made at home. So much sweeter and better even my son likes it (and he's a PITA!) he normally only likes cheddar and mozzarella.
Quote from: dbudge55 on May 22, 2012, 12:23:13 AM
Thanks, Jeff. Being a newbie I'm going to have to research the direct set alternative to the ripened buttermilk you use for starter. This looks similar to Derby. I have one of those in the cave now.
I just used buttermilk as I was trying it out this time. I've used Flora Danica in two of my makes for this and they were both very good. I was just trying out buttermilk for this one (and haven't tasted it yet). Use any meso culture you would for a cheddar or derby. I have very limited cultures, so my meso options are just FD or Buttermilk at the moment.
- Jeff