Waxing Store Bought Cheese for Long Term Storage

Waxing Store Bought Cheese for Long Term Storage | 6 Month Update

Рет қаралды 5,447

2 жыл бұрын

Inflation seems to be rising daily, and we’re feeling the pinch at the grocery store. We waxed cheese 6 months ago, stored it at room temperature, and we are giving it a test to see if it’s still edible. Will it work or will it be a waste of precious food?
PLEASE NOTE: If you try this, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. Please research food safety guidelines and prepare accordingly. We are not recommending that you try this, this is an experiment done at our own risk. When non-acidic foods are deprived of air, as is the case with waxed cheese, there may be a risk of botulism. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH before attempting any food preservation method.
Music By:
Slowfly/Barefoot (Instrumental Version)/ courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Cheese wax from:
New England Cheese Making Supply Co.
cheesemaking.com/
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Video edited with Davinci Resolve 17
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Пікірлер: 61

@lauriivey7801 2 жыл бұрын

Growing up in the 70s, my mother always just cut the mold off of cheeses ... I'm pushing 60 and seemed to have survived ;-)

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

That is what we did, and we are just fine too!

@TheDenisedrake 2 жыл бұрын

I agree. Don't think the mold that grows on cheese is harmful.

@karenchakey Жыл бұрын

Same here i am 61, i would have just cut the corner off

@baddog9320 Жыл бұрын

Well some cheese is judged by it mold content. I remember in the 70s my aunt, she was lower upper class, took us to this cheese place on a road trip from my house to her house about 800 miles. Well we stopped at this rittie cheese place..And we sampled cheeses. One that I tried, diffently had mold in it. I remember it was dry and not to my liking. But it was a expensive cheese. Case #2. Blue cheese. Well that blue is mold folks. Cutting the mold off cheese is fine. I just hate losing the cheese I cut off. lol.

@lauriivey7801 Жыл бұрын

@@baddog9320 Yep, I love blue ... so tasty in a salad ;-)

@register1430 5 ай бұрын

subbed for the 1 yr update. Smart idea to compete with the Baybell cost for snacks. Doing this for long term backcountry adventure.

@jeaniemelear-ru9yq 6 ай бұрын

Thank you I was hoping to find someone that had tried it and updated

@TheDenisedrake 2 жыл бұрын

Where have you been all my life? I just discovered your channel. Thank you for the fantastic information.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for watching!

@baddog9320 Жыл бұрын

I've watched a few videos on waxing cheese. And I noticed something. Make sure you dry your cheese for a couple days before waxing. This prevents a lot of molding. And if an edge does get mold. Use that cheese first. And just cut off the mold part. FYI some expensive cheese is require to have mold. And the blue in Blue cheese is in fact mold. However I prefer to not have mold on cheddar.

@baddog9320 Жыл бұрын

ok update. I makes some wax cheese. And the day after it got warm. And it changed my cheese shape breaking all my waxing. So I took off all the wax. let's it dry for a couple more days. And re- waxed the cheese. Well, I didn't cut the cheese again. And I put less wax on the cheese. I learned that there must be an idea thickness to the wax. Because its very hard to get the wax off. But I know I'm going to be better 5he next batch. BTW. For wax, use unscented big candles. It appears that stores don't carry the canning wax anymore. Oh and to color your wax. Use food dye. I forgot to buy the food dye for my first batch. So it just has white wax. But I can tell its going to work Just make sure you harden ( dry) your cheese before you wax. So glad I finally figured out how to keep cheese. This cheese for a few days and then no cheese for months was not to my liking.

@wojohomestead Жыл бұрын

That’s a very interesting idea about the candles! I would just want to be sure there is nothing harmful added to the wax since it will be in contact with food. You are very right; we did not dry the cheese for long enough. Two or three more days would have been better! Next time we will make sure to dry for longer.

@348Tobico 9 ай бұрын

As a kid in the 60's my mom cut the mold off cheese and fed the non moldy to the family. Mold is very natural since cheese is created by bacteria. Bleu cheese is blue because of mold. Lots of people eat it and live to tell how good it tastes. I wax my cheese and keep it in a plastic box with 8 holes drilled in the top. No moist sponge. Just air and kept in a cool basement. Perhaps your wax was too hot and the shock of coating the cheese caused the cracks. I let my wax get tepid then dip for nice thick layers of wax. I never get cracks. I pack the wax coated cheese sitting on the waxy side of freezer paper and put crumpled paper with the waxy side out between the cheese pieces. It keeps things from sticking together and lets the pieces breathe. I also think that setting the waxed cheese on the freezer paper makes it easier to lift the cheeses from the paper than when I tried using waxpaper. Waxpaper was to fragile and hard to get the wax to let go. If you have trouble pulling the newly waxed cheese off your paper you risk cracking the wax. Then you get mold. I also do several nice thick coats of wax to be sure I have a tough protective covering.

@rjhsullivan3299 2 жыл бұрын

You're suppose to store it in open air with cheesecloth. Make a cheesecloth sack for the bricks and hang it up in cool room - no direct sun.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent suggestion!

@thomasgleaton685 2 жыл бұрын

thanks for the follow up. thinking about waxing up some myself. will check out more of your content. thanks. GB!

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Hope the technique works well for you also. Seems prices are increasing more and more quickly so food stores today saves $$ tomorrow.

@libraryladydi 2 жыл бұрын

Years past, before refrigeration, cheese was waxed and wrapped. I am sure that after cutting off that edge, the rest is fine.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

It sure tasted good!

@crjmmymmy3938 2 жыл бұрын

I just found your channel and I'm SO excited! I do want to know how hot your pantry gets? I can't find much on the temperature to store waxed cheese aside from 52-56°. Obviously that isn't a sustainable task with no refrigeration, especially during the summer.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I’m in the process of another update video, but the summary is that the pantry does get too hot, especially since we don’t have air conditioning in the whole house. We moved the cheese to the basement (likely where it should have been in the first place to avoid the fluctuations in temperature).

@MatoNupai 2 жыл бұрын

Also when you prep and are your preps starting to run low you have a little time to wait and catch items on sale I love Yoghurt cheese. Since I make my own yoghurt I make 6-8 pounds of yoghurt at a time for the cost of the pasteurized milk and yoghurt starter. Separate the whey from the yoghurt cheese. The yoghurt cheese is spread on toast or bagels. After I store three pints of whey (2 in fridge 1 in freezer) the extra whey is given to neighbors for a probiotic rich think to add to pets kibble, 50/50 whey and water is good fertilizer for plants. Whey goes on kibble for my dogs, I use whey to lacto ferment gingerale soda, lacto ferment vegetables, etc you can use whey to make yoghurt when you’re out of yoghurt starter

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

What a wonderful example of using everything up! So many possibilities!

@debk5325 Жыл бұрын

Excellent follow up. I used an old round crock pot and dipped my first cheese yesterday. Be mindful that I used 1 lb of wax and was worried about it no being deep enough. I hadn't figured the when dipping the cheese the wax would come up to half or better of the cheese. This is a great video. Thank you!

@wojohomestead Жыл бұрын

So glad to hear it worked out for you, hopefully it will store well also!

@debk5325 Жыл бұрын

@@wojohomestead thank you so much for your reply. Fingers crossed. I have learned so many new things in the past 2 yrs. Thank you.

@mamabairds 2 жыл бұрын

New Subscriber here! I can't wait to try this!! I'm all about trying all the things "they" say are unsafe! What an amazing idea! Thanks for sharing and can't wait for more!

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

It’s all about reasonable risk taking. We are all smart enough to make these choices for ourselves and our families ❤️

@mamabairds 2 жыл бұрын

@@wojohomestead I couldn't agree more with you! Thanks for being you and sharing what you do!

@stephanierobertson2378 2 жыл бұрын

How many layers of wax did you add? Some say more than 2 layers can stress the wax and cause cracks. Just asking. Thank you for the video.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

I heard this too, so we did some with only two layers, and some got much more. It seemed as though the blocks with less wax cracked more than the excessively waxed blocks, and the result was moldy cheese in the blocks that cracked. Although as to why, I’m not certain.

@SEMPER-FI-777 Жыл бұрын

Hello Ma'am, Thank you for your humble videos! It allows for an open door for folks like me to ask silly questions! .... I have not yet ventured into making my own cheese yet however, it has been added to my "BUCKET LIST"! I currently purchase imported Mandarini (its a hanging pear shaped with rope and fully waxed) provolone cheese from our little local Italian market. I typically have them cut me a 6lbs chunk and take home and get through it in a reasonable time for freshness. My goal/desire is to purchase the whole waxed/sealed hanging ball from them (approx. 30lbs)! My million dollar question is: Is it possible to purchase the whole 30lbs break the wax seal, cut it into manageable 1lb chunks and re-wax those size pieces and safely store them in my pantry? If I can't/shouldn't, I will accept that. However, if it is a viable option......what and how would be the best approach for highest success? Thank you in advance!😇🇺🇸

@wojohomestead Жыл бұрын

You most certainly could divide it up and re-wax the smaller portions. As for whether you should store it in the pantry vs the fridge, I would take a look at how the cheese is stored at the market where you purchase. I do not know your climate, but I have found that even in the northern US where we are, the summer months just get too warm to store most waxed cheeses in our pantry above ground, and it needed to be moved to our refrigerator. There is some debate over whether it’s safe to store some cheeses waxed and at room temperature, due to the risk of botulism (unlikely but possible in theory). I would suggest doing plenty of research before doing this, just to be safe. Happy waxing! 😁

@SPC.Network 7 ай бұрын

Im so glad you didnt waste it! blessings keep up the great work!

@rosamenchen9084 Жыл бұрын

hard cheeses can be eaten after the moldy area plus a margin around the area is cut off. Mold grows in the presence of moisture. perhaps storing on top of a kind of grid not closed in a plastic box would store better.

@wojohomestead Жыл бұрын

This is a wonderful suggestion!

@angelamc3532 2 жыл бұрын

So how do you dry out the parmesan cheese, once you unwrap it? To make it hard and be able to make into a grated Parm. To use on top of salads and other foods.

@wojohomestead Жыл бұрын

It seems to get harder with age even when just unwrapped. If I recall correctly ours was able to be grated after about three months.

@alternifeind15 Жыл бұрын

Could the mold possibly be bc of the use of a plastic container? A lot of the homesteading articles I've read about cheese waxing they recommend you to hang them in the pantry

@wojohomestead Жыл бұрын

I do think that it contributed to the mold. Initially we were thinking the pantry would be too dry and crack the wax, but after seeing mold on some of the cheese corners we did remove the cheese from the plastic container.

@TheDenisedrake 2 жыл бұрын

Maybe I missed it, but why did you want to increase the humidity with a damp sponge? I thought high humidity is good for culturing of cheese, but waxing is supposed to keep the humidity out. It seems to help the mold grow.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

The thought behind the sponge was because our pantry is so incredibly dry, that a very slightly damp sponge would help increase the humidity just enough to mimic a cheese cave, of sorts. It was something we came across while researching how to do this. Looking back, I am not convinced it was necessary, and I do agree that it promotes mold growth. I would not repeat that part. We will cover that in the 9 month update video.

@Deathcat1000 2 жыл бұрын

Too much moisture from sponge. Cheese has moisture in it. Confused why you are creating more moisture with sponge. Ps. Just found your channel. Love it

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

The idea behind the sponge was to try and mimic a cheese cave since the pantry we're storing it in is quite dry. We may have to re-evaluate it. Thanks for the advice!

@Deathcat1000 2 жыл бұрын

@@wojohomestead your Chanel is awesome. I was binge watching.

@stephanierobertson2378 2 жыл бұрын

Rain Country did a video where she puts shredded cheese in a canning jar and vacuume sealed it for 3 years. She opened it and it is still good. I guess waxing and vacuum sealing are the same thing. Both prevent moisture from reaching the cheese. Thank You for your video, we are going to try waxing for the first time and its good to see mistakes so we can learn. Teachable moments are priceless!

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Love Rain Country! Thanks for watching, mistakes and all🙂

@leaannebrummett9159 2 жыл бұрын

Can you store the waxed cheese in the fridge? I know the point of waxing it is so you don't need to store in the fridge. I'd like to give waxing a try instead of vacuum sealing.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely! In fact, it would probably be safer to store waxed cheese in the fridge long term. The only reason we chose to store outside the refrigerator was basically to see if it was possible..in case for whatever reason we weren’t able to use a fridge (power grid down, no fuel for generator, etc).

@leaannebrummett9159 2 жыл бұрын

@@wojohomestead Thank you for responding so quickly. Thanks for all your hard work!

@thewellreadgearhead544 2 жыл бұрын

First comment that cheese looks amazing.

@wojohomestead 2 жыл бұрын

Tastes amazing too!

@Frugality101 4 ай бұрын

Why the wet sponge?

@wojohomestead 4 ай бұрын

The theory behind the wet sponge was that it helps the container maintain the correct humidity. We found in the long run that it didn’t make much difference.