(Cowardly useless disclaimer: Wax and consume waxed cheeses at your own risk!!! (There, my attorney will be happy.) Be sure and subscribe for more DIY videos!! Chef & Builder, Janie Pendleton
Waxed cheese will last up to 25 years until opened. That’s why I wax it in small portions . Keep it in dry cool place and your good to go for up to 25 years . Most people don’t know this. I put mine in sealed tins so the critters won’t get to it . You can also seal with a food grade sealer after waxing it. The Italians have kept cheese for up to 25 years after waxing it .it will get real sharp but it will last 25 years .
This was a great video! I have been canning for over fifty years , but never tried to preserve any cheese ! I will try it as soon as I can get me some wax ! I really learned something today and I will pass it on to my grand kids ! Thank you so much for sharing this ! May God bless you and your family!
If you have access to a Sam's club, you might want to get some of their flour sack towels. Bakers and Chefs is the brand I think. They are thin enough to do what your paper towels are doing, they are big enough to cover what you have there, and they are washable so you can sanitize them in the washer. I have some and I really like them!! Use them to cover fresh baked cakes, bread, etc.... Just thought you might like them.
+Iam Amc I love flour sak towels. They are good for drying dishes to a shine as well. I use them for polishing silver too. Great tip! I will find me some more just for this! I bet they strain cheese well too!
I want to give you an tip i notice the one thing you can improve in your method is if you heat the knife up before cutting the cheese wax or any wax in general the knife will slide thru like butter you will not have to uses any effort in cutting. Aka use a hot knife.
Oh wow....my family on my dad's side is Amish. My favorite cookbook I learned to cook from was The Mennonite Cookbook which I now have since my mom passed away.
That is what the vinegar is for. Gloves are not sterile either. Only surgical gloves are sterile. Those are expensive and hard to get in this town. :( This cheese lasted 3 years. I'd say that is a testament to how it worked. Give it a try next time you buy or make cheese in bulk. It's fun, cheap and works! Blessings!
neither are paper towels, the dry racks .. if it works, I guess !! I am just worried about RODENTS getting to all "my" hard work, if I ever decided to do this ..
Nice , so the right wax matters for not spoiling the cheese in the aging process , as well as keeping different cheeses separated / flipping cheese every so often makes a difference. Ok didn't realize the wax needed to be a specific kind until now for aging not spoiling. I might start off by just using store bought and aging them to different sharpness but the end goal is also making cheese from scratch. Now i understand the aging ,waxing , and storing process alot better.
Hi! In our country during Christmas season, our supermarkets usually sell Queso de Bola, a big ball of cheese covered with wax. I think we should buy more of those for prepping because its prize is almost the same when converted in USD. However, this method of preservation is great if you have collected more cheese to wax. The problem is, we do not have that wax available. If ever they are, it would be expensive.
I am curious though some people dont wax there cheese at all they seem to wrap them in a cheesecloth material or brush them every so often do you know anything about this nonwaxing style of aging. Why and when you would want to uses it obviously if you couldnt get cheese wax it be the only option but curious on the different nonwaxing aging/storing process. I definitely prefer your method as it seems less prone to issues , mold , or other problems down the line.
So glad you liked it! It's fast, easy, delish! I take it to crowd meetings like little league football or girl scout meets when there are pitch-in supps. Yes, I am doing a how to can butter video next week; and how to can milk and cream cheese. Exciting week ahead! Blessings!!!!
Thank you for this video! I've just started working on a pantry and I really enjoy your channel. Where do you find cheese in bulk? Would you be able to storage your cheese without it being refrigerated?
If you don't want the flavor of the cheese to change (by aging) can you freeze the cheese after it's been waxed? Will that change the texture of it at all?
Helen Reinsvold I've never froze the cheese after waxing... except in pot pies or on frozen pizzas...I think it would be fine. Waxed cheese can stay in cool dark room as well...but I keep mine in fridge.
+Helen Reinsvold You can freeze cheese even without waxing. it is totally unnecessary. just put it into a plastic bag and when you want to thaw it, you have to do this in your fridge (so this will take a couple of hours). This way it won't get crunbly.
I'm not sure about freezing after waxing... but I do know that wrapping and storing in the freezer does change the texture immensely. Usually frozen cheese looses it's texture, and basically is best used in baking dishes... maybe a fondue type use.
So far, I have bought the wax. A cheap pot to melt the wax in and cannot seem to find cheese being sold in large blocks anywhere here where I live. Ug. Frustrating.
TRY your deli! That is where I got mine or walmart may be some uncut long logs in the cheese section. I find it there on sale at times ..if they don't sell it in the deli by a certain date...they discount it and put in the bottom of the hard cheese section in large logs of hard cheese. I pay at a big discount if I buy when I see them laying there.
Don Platt Well- let's un-confuse you! LOL So picture this. It’s a bona fide emergency survival situation. You are holed up on your home and living off of the emergency preparedness supplies you stored. And you’ve got one heck of a hankering for some yummy melted cheese. But you’re just not in the mood for the Velveeta, that nasty powdered stuff, or the “squirt” kind of cheese. You want a good solid bite of a yummy Parmesan, or Swiss, or a sharp cheddar. (I’m making myself drool even as I write this.) But hey, cheese doesn’t store for a very long time, right? Well, in this case, I’m happy to tell you that you’re wrong. And if you’re a true cheese addict, then you’ll be happy to hear that you’re wrong for once, right? So here’s the good news. You CAN have your favorite cheese on hand, even in an emergency, and even though no stores are open and you have no access to electricity. All you have to do is buy the hard blocks of cheese that you want now in order to have them stored for up to the next 25 years. Cheese wax prevents your cheese from developing mold or bacteria and it keeps the moisture in. Simply use a combination of dipping and brushing with a natural boar's hair brush to apply the melted cheese wax liberally to your block of cheese, let it harden, and then, VOILA - you’ve got your wish. Cheese treated with cheese wax will store for up to 25 years at a mild to cool temperature. Sure, it will continue to age. But it sure won’t get moldy! (And even if it does in parts, you can simply cut off that part, and re-wax over it.) Be sure that you select block sizes of cheese that you and your family can easily consume within a 3 to 5 day period in order to avoid it going bad once you’ve cut into it. 1.) Waxed cheese can be stored in a cool room temp without refrigeration which is great if the power is out for long periods of time. 2.) It preserves the cheese longer especially if using a mold inhibitor. 3.) It saves money buying in bulk. 4.) There are less additives than pre-shredded cheese. 5.) You buy at today's prices saving money over time as well. 6.) Wax, if cared for and cleaned properly, can be re-used over and over. 7.) It tastes great when aged! 8.) It last a long time when kept in right conditions 9.) It's better than powdered stuff anyday!
Val Secrease Parmesan is usually aged 2 years or so, so it is a great storage cheese. Keep it dry, in a dark, cool location in a plastic container with 'holes' punched in the lid. This will help keep it from getting too dry or too wet/moldy. I call the company that makes it and ask them when in doubt and they know their cheeses best! If it's the kind in the jar with the shaker top. Keep it sealed in jar and store in cool dark cabinet for up to 2 years. Hope this helps.
+Janie Pendleton Thank you...you're the BEST! I bought a nice piece of Parmegianna Reggiana (a little pricey) and want to grate it and store....wondering if the holes in the lid would allow for critters to get into it? What do you think?
+Val Secrease This comment just came through on my messages, not sure what is going on; technology is great when it works! LOl!! Mice can slip through anything the size of a dime and largers, other critters, must smaller. When I have to make holes, I make LOTS OF TINY holes other than large holes.
+Janie Pendleton That is what I was afraid of so I will do what you said!! Thank you again. BTW, do I see that you live in PA? I do too....love that Fall is in the air...been dehydrating and loving it! Please continue your videos! I love them! Cheers!
I am wondering if you dipped it 2nd round the opposite direction if that would work(easier to see which side you are on)? also what is the cheese wax made of?
+Judy Obrien Hello. I've had this batch waxed since Feb of 2015, so almost 10 months and I've only noticed the mild cheddar has a more 'sharper cheddar' taste and the other cheese are still very fresh tasting; no hard spots or molding. I keep it in my garage refridgerator in bottom keeper in a foil baking tin...I rotate them to keep the oils flowing up and then down every few months. I would definitely recommend buying cheese in blocks on sale and doing this. The wax has a mold inhibitor as well as using the vinegar so I think this all helped to keep my cheese good longer. I'm getting ready to do this to swiss cheese next.
Just google search any word like "cheese" on my channel page and you will get several videos on each subject that will pop up; I have almost 600 videos on my channel. This cheese I bought on sale at deli for 30% off.
Swiss has too many holes. Waxing is generally used on semi-hard and hard cheeses. Hard cheese wax is a food-grade, paraffin-based wax that can be purchased in 1-pound slabs which I buy my food grade wax on ebay. Swiss is the only cheese that I do not wax as it is too 'holy' lol! NO PUN INTENDED!
No thin spots or piercings in the wax; and yes, you can use a slow cooker but remember that the pc is hard to clean so get a used one from goodwill or a 'dip' cooker. Keep it on low.
Janie Pendleton ... went with a fryer like you use. And I'll be giving it a try next month. Going to a huge food auction. They have great deals on the food but most of the time, you've gotta buy in bulk. like 1/2 and whole wheels of cheese! that's a lot of cheese! LOL.
+Rev John O'Toole Sorry, I am just answering this; getting over a migraine and had to do some research; other than cheese wax is designed for cheese with a mold inhibitor built in to it, I don't see why bee's wax would be wrong for storage; I think a 'professional' cheese connoisseur would be a better person to direct this question too. I make cheeses but I'm by far no pro at it. I did find where some have used beeswax to avoid the artificial coloring and the petroleum product that is in reg cheese wax. It worked beautifully for her, but if you're ever looking for a more sustainable option to the traditional red cheese wax I'll not vouge for bees wax just yet! I hope this helped. I think some might have soy in the wax as well. Plyable vs cracking of wax at certain temps might have some science backing here as well. Maybe add some coconut oil or other to make it more pliable?
It will age nicely and turn to a sharper taste over a years time. One year out of fridge in a cool dark place, or, 2 years in fridge kept dark and dry with a vented container.
Where do you buy the cheese wax? I called around to the larger cheese stores however none of them sell the wax. Must order on-line I suppose… is there a worthy site to order from?
www.ebay.com/itm/RED-Cheese-Wax-2-Pounds-/181327238170?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a37f2141a or ebay and search cheese wax. I suggest a color you can see either red or black and make sure it has the mold growth inhibitor within the cheese. My cheese in video is still doing great, no mold after six months in garage fridge. I have about four blocks left of the cheese you see in this video. I cube it for pasta salads or slice thin on my meat slicer for sandwiches. I love buying it cheaper in bulk and having cheese on hand when I need it.
