cheese wax

what is the purpose of this? does it just go on the cheese and create a protective coating? does it greatly extend shelflife? i would love to make big batches of cheese, and i do eat cheese a lot but would like it to last a bit longer. should you wrap up cheese in plastic or anything if its in wax. does the wax peel off easy? can i only use hard cheeses?

IXIboneheadIXI said:

what is the purpose of this? does it just go on the cheese and create a protective coating? does it greatly extend shelflife? i would love to make big batches of cheese, and i do eat cheese a lot but would like it to last a bit longer. should you wrap up cheese in plastic or anything if its in wax. does the wax peel off easy? can i only use hard cheeses?

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The wax covers the cheese, sealing it during aging. It doesn't extend the shelf life, as it's more just to protect it during aging.

You can store your cut cheeses in plastic in the fridge.

Yooper said:

The wax covers the cheese, sealing it during aging. It doesn't extend the shelf life, as it's more just to protect it during aging.

You can store your cut cheeses in plastic in the fridge.

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so how do i go about storing cheese so it wont get mold in two weeks? i know some cheese ages for 6 years or more, so if it lasts for that long, why is it no matter what i wrap it in or what i do, i can never get any cheese, swiss, cheddar, anything to last more than like 3 weeks

IXIboneheadIXI said:

so how do i go about storing cheese so it wont get mold in two weeks? i know some cheese ages for 6 years or more, so if it lasts for that long, why is it no matter what i wrap it in or what i do, i can never get any cheese, swiss, cheddar, anything to last more than like 3 weeks

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That sounds like a humidity issue. If you're talking about already purchased cheese, you could just use a food saver to seal it up.

I inspect my cheese every day for mold, but so far haven't seen any. Making sure your cheese is dry and like Yooper said keeping
the humidity to an accepted level extends the ageing process. I plan on trying to age my cheese a while if I can just keep from
sampling it to death. That's the reason for waxing it.
I keep my cheese in my lager fermenting fridge.
I find that smoking the cheese also helps keep it from getting moldy. I have kept store bought cheddar that I cold smoked, for a longer time
period in the cheese drawer of the fridge than I can if I had just left the cheese as is.

so whats the trick for aging a cheese for so long without it getting moldy, getting a funky taste or going bad. like ive seen 6 year old cheddars before but hell i cant keep on for a month lol

The key is like any aging and curing of foods. Dry atmosphere and a controlled temperature. Brining your cheese will also prolong shelf life.

I've seen some interesting sites that show how to create a rind on your cheese instead of waxing. I'd probably just wax, but the same rules apply: Dry and cool.

An issue with waxing is that infections can occur beneath the wax, so keep an eye out for growing bumps and pustules in it.