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Hi there!

I’m slowly working towards some simplicity within the home, but hey! It’s a lot of hard work!

I love having a go at growing my own veges and always use herbs fresh from my garden. I try to plant from seed whenever I can and have learnt to save and share my own seed for the following year. I make Award Winning preserves and pickles; and my husband brews Award Winning boutique beers as well. I love to stockpile and try to limit quick trips to the shops. I dabble in bread making and enjoy making my own stocks too.

I enjoy feeding my family good hearty meals, nothing like those tiny restaurant stacks you have to look for on the plate. My husband maintains our vehicles and machinery and we both enjoy fabricating on a small scale mostly relying on metal & timber recyclers for any materials needed.


While I don’t always have time to reply to comments, I love reading them. I hope you enjoy your stay and I hope you learn something new because I love sharing what I learn, and I'm always looking for another new skill myself.

Cheers!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

WAXING YOUR CHEESE

When you make a cheese that needs to be aged, you will need a way of protecting it. Waxing the cheese is one way.
Waxing is used to stop the cheese from drying out over long periods of time. Aging some cheeses can be for 12 months. It is also to prevent mould growth on your cheese. Even though a cheese wax is breathable, it doesn't allow for a full exchange of moisture.

Waxing the cheese is definately the way to go if  you prefer a cheese that is softer with more moisture.

You will need

  • 2 pots to act as a double boiler - (the top pot will store your wax in it, never to be used for anything else again)
  • cheese wax - from your cheese making supplies stockist
  • a cheese thermometer

Make sure your cheese is dry and cool.

Place the cheese wax in the top pot, and melt it over the double boiler. Heat the wax to 250oF (121oC) to eliminate any surface bacteria that may be on the surface of your cheese.

Once you reach target temperature, hold the cheese wheel by the side and dip one half of it into the wax, just in and out....easy.

Let this layer dry and harden, then rotate the cheese wheel and repeat the dipping process. Let the wax cool after each dipping.

Once the sides are fully covered with wax, hold the cheese wheel horizontally and wax one side, just dipping enough to cover the end of the cheese.

On a piece of paper write the date and with a dot of wax, glue the paper onto the other side of the cheese, dip that side into the wax to seal the date under the wax, the wax is thin enough to see through for one layer.

Once your cheese is waxed place in your prepared cheese cave and follow instructions according to the selected cheese's recipe.

After maturation, cut cheese and use, once cut, store in standard kitchen refridgerator  to stop aging process.

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