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Nice job lycon do you plan on hard waxing your cheddar?

Thanks john !:)

I think I will let it age in its cosy cheesecloth and lard blanket for the rest of its life, although when I cut into it, it will no doubt be to early and I may then wax half of it to age further. 

" (I think I will bandage) " Ok I must have missed something here. What is the bandaging process you are using?

John

Aha, yes it all happened so quickly, I was in actually going to wait a bit longer but realised that I won't have any time to do it if I wait as I am going away after christmass and between now and then it's a bit hectic.

You can see the picture of the bandaged product if you go a few posts back, I tried to follow Ozziecheese's instructions here https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,13778.0.html as closely as possible. It was a lot of fun and highly satisfying!

AC4U for your effort looks great. Thanks for the link.

John

Hi Lloyd... That looks good.. Just a question - how many layers od Lard and cloth did you use ?  I tend to use 3-4 layers as you will supply a sucession of layers that the mold will adhere to before getting to the cheese.
Also, I have found that trying to re-use wax is a bit problematic.  Especially trying to clean it before melting and straining it - it gets a real funky smell that I didn't like so I view either waxing or bandaging as a one time thing any way - that just me .  If you feel the outside is getting a bit 'scary' you can always remove, clean and recoat...
A Cheese for your leap of faith !!

-- Mal

Hey Mal thanks for the cheese and also for your detailed thread on bandaging!

I applied 2 layers of course cheesecloth and 1 layer of butter muslin. all up I used 220g of lard.

I haven't had the chance to re-use wax yet but i can see the whole process being a little messy.

Yeah the re-using wax thing requires cleaning the residual off the wax and re-melting it and straining it to remove cheesey bits. And it all gets a bit 'old' !! I did it once and really wasn't worth the effort.  But that's just my take on it...   You may have seen some of the other photos and maybe I didn't explain well enough but I normally finish with final Butter muslin layer which I impregnate the lard into it by just rubbing it through.  It's a bit hard to explain ... if you place the last layer of cloth on the lard and then with your fingers try and rub it though the lard you will find the outside will be a little more manageable and if the outside gets too wooly you can brush the outside without having to do anything too drastic.

-- Mal 

I have reused wax successfully by creating a filter from a wire coathanger, a chux and several pegs with the wax draining into a tray lined with greaseproof paper.
The wax runs through and all the sediments get strained out by the chux.  You do lose a little wax but I find it totally worthwhile.

Bill, I'm not familiar with the term "chux" -- ??

I know that it is not at all traditional, but I have found a vacuum-sealer to be a superior alternative to wax. I hesitated before getting one ... but ever since I got one, and used it, and most importantly tried several cheeses that were ripened using it, I have been sold. So much more convenient and reliable; my crock pot full of wax has been sitting forlorn for close to a year now. Obviously this is not the way to go for a natural rind! But I am eating a cheddar and a gouda right now, both ripened in vac bag, both outstanding. Well, at least for me -- how they compare to the real pros is another matter!

Sorry, chux are a local kitchen wipe with a fairly open structure. http://www.chux.com.au/the-chux-range/chux-cloth-range/superwipes-range/index.html
I use a non stick cake tray directly on the induction top to remelt the wax I am reclaiming.

I also vacuum bag my cheese after I cut it but I have noticed they sometimes suck some moisture out into the bag after a few weeks. I assume I haven't let them dry enough before bagging.

Aha! Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I too sometimes get some moisture pulled out. Depending on the style of cheese, length of aging, amount of moisture, and phase of the moon, I may take it out, dry it, wash and dry the bag, and reseal. Or not.