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Do I need to change anything when vacuum sealing instead of waxing.
I have been waxing but I am out of wax and it is very costly. I thought the vacuum sealer would be better.
Thanks

Ive never done a comparison, but  the food saver bags on a roll that I buy are not cheep.  I think there around $35 a roll.  The sure are convenient though.  i use them often and don't ever do anything different then I would if I was waxing.

You'll need to dry the cheese longer for vacuum sealing than for waxing, about 4-6 weeks, depending upon the moisture content of the cheese.

I really prefer vacuum sealing, as I never could keep the cheese from getting moldy under the wax.

Quote from: Brentsbox on September 30, 2010, 07:54:51 PM
Ive never done a comparison, but  the food saver bags on a roll that I buy are not cheep.  I think there around $35 a roll.  The sure are convenient though.  i use them often and don't ever do anything different then I would if I was waxing.

It depends on what width bags and how long the roll is that you're talking about. Here's an offer on Ebay similar to what I found when I bought three 11"x50' rolls:
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Roll-11x50-Mega-Rolls-FOODSAVER-Vacuum-Sealer-Bag-/270548155615?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3efded3cdf
I think it's worth the extra cost to secure my cheeses. I would agree with MrsKK about preventing the mold under the wax. Never had mold under the plastic.

A year from now, I'll still be confident that the cheese inside is pristine. The downside, of course, is that the rind doesn't continue to develop and there's no air/gases exchange with the outside world (double-edged sword).

-Boofer-

You say to dry it longer...
My colby recipe says air dry for 2-3 days. Are you saying I should air dry for longer prior to waxing? How do I know for how long?

That's what most colby recipes do recommend and, honestly, I haven't quite got that one down yet, either.  The colby I was successful with had been air dried for about a week (I'm slow to coat cheeses) and then I coated it with lard as a protectant.  It was about 4 months later that my family gave me the vacuum sealer and the colby had developed some mold on it.  I scraped the mold all off and vacuum sealed it.

Another colby that I made, I sealed up after a week.  It turned pretty sour and there was a lot of moisture in the bag.

Does anyone have any practical solutions for this?

Moisture in the bag means the cheese needed to dry longer and/or it was underpressed. Because there is residual whey in the cheese this can increase the acidity and leave a sour flavor. When you see this, unbag and let the cheese dry some more.

I try to go natural rind for 3-4 weeks on hard cheeses before bagging. This important time sets the stage for proteolysis and flavor development during aging. For lots of technical reasons (too early in the morning to elaborate) I feel that this makes a significantly better cheese. I air dry for 1-2 days at room temp to get dripping moisture out then I move it to the cave at 54F where the cooler air helps pull more moisture out. After 10-14 days, I rub down with olive oil to prevent cracking. I get virtually no mold growth using this procedure.

I try to go natural rind for 3-4 weeks on hard cheeses before bagging. This important time sets the stage for proteolysis and flavor development during aging. For lots of technical reasons (too early in the morning to elaborate) I feel that this makes a significantly better cheese. I air dry for 1-2 days at room temp to get dripping moisture out then I move it to the cave at 54F where the cooler air helps pull more moisture out. After 10-14 days, I rub down with olive oil to prevent cracking. I get virtually no mold growth using this procedure.
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Would you follow this procedure for all hard cheeses?

I'm afraid to answer. Somebody took one of my cheeses.

Maybe someone pushed the wrong button by mistake?

Some cheese are drier by design and therefore even air dry somewhat faster. It also depends on the temperature and humidity in the drying room.

So how do I know when to bag?

See, the time in the cheese cave at 54 degrees is where I'm having problems, as I don't yet have a cheese cave...just a cabinet where I keep my cheeses in the wintertime when the room it is in stays cool.  However, from April through October, I'm stuck with having the cheeses in the refrigerator.

I do have a freezer I can convert now, but need to save up the money for an external thermostat.  That probably isn't in the works for some time yet, maybe next spring. 

I've "cheesed" you, Sailor!  You help me out many times and I haven't given you the proper feedback for it.

Thank you Karen. Much appreciated.

I appreciate all of your input here, Sailor.  I've learned a lot from you!

...and now I lost 2 more cheeses. What gives?