One of the things I did on Saturday was to wax this wheel of cheddar. I'd aged it for about 5 days and it had developed a nice rind over that time. Time to wax it and put it downstairs to age with the first cheese.
In addition to the rind, though, the cheese had also developed a couple of small dots of mold on the surface....
This is not unusual, which is reassuring. I dipped a clean cloth in vinegar and just wiped it off. And since I was about to wax the whole cheese anyway, I wiped the whole wheel down with the damp, vinegar-dipped cloth, then let it sit to dry and chill in the fridge for about 3 hours.
I melted the wax in a makeshift double boiler...
And this time I actually dipped the cheese in the melted wax. The melted wax wasn't deep enough to cover to the midway point, but I was able to get all the edges done and about an inch in on the flat sides. I used a natural-bristled brush to get the spots dipping missed. I chilled the cheese again, briefly, to harden the wax, then applied another coat.
And, finally, I attached my little label to the cheese.
I've been using the backs of business cards, because they're a nice size, but the card stock is pretty stiff and doesn't adhere well, so I need to think about switching to something with a bit more flexibility. Details, details.
This cheddar joined my first cheddar in the chest freezer/cheese cave in my basement. The temperature ranges between 50-55 degrees F, and the humidity should be fine; there's a bottle of water in with the cheeses (the temperature probe for the regulator dangles in the bottle.)
So there we go. Two waxed...many more to go.
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