Cheese - - - again!

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I've read old posts about cheese, but I'm still not satisfied with my preps of cheese. I have followed directions for parrafin dipping and after several months, black mold begins to grow down under the parrafin in a spot or two.

I ordered some mild cheddar from Fennimore cheese which they said would keep unrefrigerated until opened. When it arrived it had only a thin plastic wrap around it instead of being coated with wax as I had anticipated. I tried to order some cheese wax and the man said it would still have to be refrigerated. Can anyone help?

-- Sylvia (bluebirdms@aol.com), December 24, 1999

Answers

We're going to try the vinegar/pepper thing this weekend, mentioned in another thread that I don't have a link for. Roughly, just put chunked cheese (1 inch cubes or less, is my impression) in jars, dump a bunch of black pepper (maybe 1/4 cup in a quart, just guessing) and fill with vinegar, close the top. No canning, vacuum seal might be a good idea.

Maybe someone else can supply that link and perhaps the voice of experience?

-- bw (home@puget.sound), December 24, 1999.


Oh yeah - it was said to be a Maltese traditional recipe.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), December 24, 1999.

I, too, was dissapointed by the Fennimore cheese claim of waxed wrapped cheese. They claimed that it was a mistake and then finally fessed up that they could no longer obtain the waxed wheels. I finally gave up finding it. It is unfortunate that Fennimore continued to misrepresent their product line on the web. I know I shall not be back even though their cheese was perfectly fine.

-- smfdoc (smfdoc@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

copied:

"I Maltese by birth (now Canadian) and there is a kind of cheese they have that lasts and lasts. I am told it would last even without refrigeration. I have always refrigerated mine, but here is the recipe. I think it would not need refrigeration.

You can use whole milk natural brick cheese - cut into two inch squares. Put into a large large jar with the cheese filling it up. Add a lot of black pepper - say two inches worth in the jar and then fill it up with vinegar. Put lid on and shake well. Shake every other day to keep the pepper distributed. The cheese takes a month or more to mellow - the longer the better. The taste is of course spicy and it is delicious with bread or crackers. It is a delicacy in Malta and if I'm not mistaken the best is made with goat's cheese. I have always used natural brick and while not authentic, it is delicious.

Had forgotten all about it till I visited a Maltese restaurant yesterday and saw the big jar on the counter (not refrigerated). The owner who makes it said it would last several months, even a year at room temperature due to the vinegar. Just thought I'd pass it along. I used to make it all the time and got out of the habit as my husband doesn't like it. But I'm going to make a big jar now! "

-- b (nah@rathernot.com), December 24, 1999.


Somebody out there like me after all, I love cheese, life without cheese would be like life without candy. You hit right on one of my questions. I have been prepping, and wondered how I could preserve some of my favorite food, which is cheese. Come on somebody give us some words to live by. The one above about the vinigar and pepper sounds good, and I will try however I would like something more substantual.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), December 24, 1999.


Cheese is definitely a GOOD thing.

With a little imagination you can carve a slab of cheese into a Santa, a Christmas tree, or just about anything you like, to make your eating experiences more enjoyable.

I LOVE cheese, especially slicing it.

-- Martha Stewart (slicing@the.cheese), December 24, 1999.


Help...

Can I freeze my cheese to extend it's shelflife? We're in cold weather country and keeping it frozen through March is no problem.

-- Nailbender (notatmidnight@myhouse.net), December 24, 1999.


cheese can be frozen as well as dried. In both cases the processing alters some of the more desirable attributes such as texture. refrigeration need not be severe to keep cheses a long time. 40 degrees is adequate in temp if you keep an watch for molds. These are ok as long as tendrils do not penetrate into the cheese. The mold can be cut off. Also you can age cheese at lowish temps with specific molds such as those for bleu or swiss.

vac seals extend the life of cooled cheese by eliminating the possiblity of molds or bacteria. As a sailor from the old days of no refridge on board, i can say that we have had cheese last for over two months at sea.

of course hard cheeses last forever at room temp. in fact, they are improved by aging.

-- pliney the younger (pliney@vallier.com), December 24, 1999.


Frozen cheese loses it's consistancy and it crumbles as you try to slice it.

-- ... (...@...com), December 24, 1999.

We have frozen swiss and a few other cheeses for a number of years. This time we first vacuum packed (Foodsaver) and froze. We believe they will last for more years than we care to think about this way. We have found old regular frozen OK at the bottom of the freezer mucho years old.

Todd

-- Todd Detzel (detzel@jps.net), December 24, 1999.



PS...

We have, maybe, 50 pounds frozen away.

Todd

-- Todd Detzel (detzel@jps.net), December 24, 1999.


You might try here http://www.cubacheese.com/ They carry waxed cheeses, hard cheeses, and the Old York cheese spread is outstanding. Sorry, don't know why the URL didn't turn blue & clickable. Pam

-- Pamela (jpjgood@penn.com), December 24, 1999.

I did the vinnegar/pepper with some Muenster about a month ago, and it's still good. Just be sure to shake it well enough cause the blocks of cheese are quite good at trapping air bubbles. I used cidar vinnegar for no logical reason, and the cheese still looks good.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 25, 1999.

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