Waxing cheese has been around for a very long time
But it is a skill that most people have lost
In my goal of being more self sustainable, waxing cheese was one of the things I needed to learn
Waxing cheese makes it good for up to 25 years in a place 55 degrees and under
So you still need a cheese cave, refrigerator, or a root cellar
But now the cheese wont mold after a week or two
What Wax can you use?
There is a specific kind of wax called cheese wax that is used
While you can use beeswax, it is difficult to use
There are a lot of cracking issues and it makes a mess when cutting into the cheese to use it
Cheese wax is flexible, resistant to cracking, doesn’t flake when you cut into it, and dries very fast when it cools
I used this wax from amazon and was able to wax about 8 pounds of cheese
Is cheese wax reusable?
Yes! Cheese wax is reusable
Just clean it and store it after you remove it from the cheese
Then you can melt it in your double broiler when you want to wax more cheese
You can also buy cheese that is waxed and save the wax to use again
How do you store waxed cheese?
Waxed cheese still needs to stay cool
It should be stored at 55 degrees or below
Avoid freezing though because the wax will retract and possibly crack
You can store cheese in a cheese cave, in the refrigerator, or in a root cellar
How long does waxed cheese last?
When done correctly, waxed cheese will last up to 25 years
But make sure you learn and test before banking on that
You have to make sure any mold spores were killed before waxing
That is why we cost the cheese in vinegar before dipping in the wax
How to wax cheese
To wax cheese, decide what size cheese you want to store
I decided on half pound blocks of cheese when i waxed it
Then lay the blocks out on paper towels or some other clean surface
Make sure the cheese isn’t touching
Dip or brush vinegar on all sides of the cheese
Allow the cheese to dry for 1 or 2 hours
Set up a double broiler for the wax
I take a regular pot and boil water in it
Then i put a metal bowl on top and put my wax in the bowl
This allows the wax to be melted by steam instead of direct heat
Once the wax is melted
Dip the cheese blocks into the wax and place them back on the towels with the wax side facing up
Once the wax is hard (it only takes a few seconds), dip the other side sonall the cheese is covered
If you are using larger blocks, keep dipping uncovered places until the whole block is covered
Repeat the process until all the cheese has two layers of wax
Allow rhe wax to fully harder before adding a sticker label so you remember what the cheese is
Store in a cool plave that stays 35 to 55 degrees
How to remove wax from cheese
Removing the wax is simple
Just cut into the cheese and peel the wax off
Make sure to save the wax for next time you want to wax cheese
Just clean any cheese residue off the wax and put it in a container to be melted down again!
