CheeseForum.org » Forum

What a great group!

The kids and I did some cheddars a few days ago, and they're drying in the "cave" right now.

It's 68 degrees and I would guess 60percent humidity. NOT ideal.

I'm aware of the methods of creating a suitable space using containers and water and such, but I thought I'd ask here, what would happen to my cheeses if I just left them there?

I'll probably wax them in another day or so, and I don't really want to retard the aging by putting them in the freezer, but will they spoil if left out in such conditions of higher heat and lower humidity?

After reading here about making cheddars, I'm not even sure what this cheese will be like. It's our first hard cheese.

It was using raw milk, so I guess in 60days min we'll find out.

Others will no better, but for a cheddar, I would probably be more inclined to age it in a normal fridge than at 68. It will take longer to develop though. Also, if you are comfortable with the source of your raw milk and your cleanliness while cooking, I would not worry too much about 60 days. Although with children some might disagree.

We made the 3 small ones (3inch) on Friday, and the larger one (4inch) on Saturday. They're dry enough now to.....vacuum? wax? nothing?

What's in the bottles? Looks like maple syrup.

Good eye, sir!

The cheese is currently sharing a shelf with some of batch #2 from our 2010 maple syrup season.

If you're waxing, then the humidity won't matter, but the temp is a bit of a concern. Nitai is right about the regular fridge. It may be a better choice for aging than at 68*. That's just a bit warm. It will take a bit longer to develop a good flavor aging at 40* in a regular, but the risk of spoilage or milkfat sweating out is much less. Plus, you don't want the milkfat under the wax spoiling around the cheese and ruining it.

From the look of it, I think I would let it dry just a bit more too. Put it in the fridge for about a day, flipping it regularly. This will dry out the surface and cool the cheese down which makes for a well-adhered wax.

Looks like the cave is a cellar or basement...? If you're not already in the coolest part (maybe the floor of a closet or another area where it's just a bit cooler), then the top shelf of a fridge is the warmest and may be the best option.

Good looking cheeses though, and quite impressive with the syrup. That many bottles means you had quite a number of gallons of sap, and it must have taken a while to reduce it down too. +1

So my choices are to

1) wax it/vacuum seal it and get it to 55 or below, the lower I go, the slower it ages.

2) get it to 50deg/80humid and leave it without a covering, removing surface mold as it appears

2a) get it to 50/80 and cover it with something (oil, lard/bandage, etc)


Is that pretty much it?

If I go the waxing/sealing route, should I at least temporarily get it to 50/80 before I seal it in or does that not matter?


For the time being, I plugged in a small cooler that typically runs off 12V. It brought the temp down to 34 in a hurry, so I unplugged it and put the cheese in and in an hour or so it was at 51 degrees, 80%.

Do people ever use external controllers on these little coolers, too? Something that just relays power to the cooler?

The archives have been very helpful, so I guess people do use controllers. Time to get it all together. Or just seal and stick in a regular fridge.

We only have 4 sugar maples, but the we go through the neighborhood and got permission on 15 more or so. They're all residential trees, we live in a city. Fun for the kids, and provides chores, and tastes great. We made about 6 gallons total this year. Not much for the guys with forests, but just right for us.

You dont really have to wax if you vaccum seal. I just cracked 9 month old cheese that was still totally sealed from the foodsaver. Maple syrup sounds great!

I think myself and quite a few others (most?) on this forum use fridges or freezers with external controllers. We even use one to make a chest freezer function as a fridge for our fresh milk.

I'd say go with choice #1 or #2b. Smaller cheeses tend to dry out more quickly than large ones, and without any type of covering to prevent moisture loss, you'll develop a thick, inedible rind. (Imagine how gypped you'd feel if you have to trim 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rind off all sides of the cheese). Waxing or vac-bagging seems like the route I would take. It's a little less work, and much less hassle.
I don't think you'll need to hold it at 50*/80% if you plan to wax or seal it. High humidity just helps keep the cheese from drying out too quickly on a hard, aged cheese.

Ok, we got our cooler humid enough.

Thought I had enough beeswax, but I don't know now, so they're still unprotected.

We sliced into one of the small ones today just to peek. Our first cheddar!

The rind was very thin and the inside was so tasty. I guess we didn't get full knit, but it already tastes like very mild cheddar. You guys all know this magical feeling already, but this is our first. Can't believe it worked!