Shipping Cheese
Posted: 07 September 2009 08:03 AM   [ Ignore ]
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I’m making Christmas Cotswolds for friends and thinking about shipping methods when it’s time to send them off. I worked for UPS briefly and I know the trucks/ warehouses/planes are very hot places at times, so I wonder about the food safety issue. There’s always next day/three day delivery, but besides cost, I still wonder if it’s safe without some odd insulated packaging. And then, what would happen inside a waxed cheese if it goes from refrigerated to room temp and back to the fridge again? I imagine it would create condensation between the wax and the cheese. Any thoughts?
-Bobbie

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Posted: 07 September 2009 09:58 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]
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Winter would be the best time to ship, I have done it in the fall and it was received very ripe to the unsuspecting noses on the other end. If one has to I would pack it in salt to minimize the bacteria growth.

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The Cheese Hole

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Posted: 07 September 2009 10:34 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]
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Interesting idea. Do you mean rub it in salt and rewax it, or just ship it in salt unwaxed?

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Posted: 07 September 2009 02:32 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]
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I mailed some cheeses last Christmas with no more precaution than to put it into a box with a lot of packing material to keep it from being damaged.  I think the 2” plus of packing also insulated it rather well.  There were no adverse effects from the shipping.  A note about condensation between the wax and the cheese:  if there is no air, there cannot be ocndensation, since condensation is moisture from the air which condenses onto a cooler surface.  Any condensation will be on the outer surface of the wax and should do no harm to the cheese within.

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Rich

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Posted: 07 September 2009 09:45 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 4 ]
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use the salt as packing material, this is to insulate it from hot weather (so it covers all areas and no open area) if its waxed dont bother. If its high heat its going to bake no mater what, if its not waxed the salt will deal with any sweating or formation from bacteria when its hot. If its its below 10c then just wrap in in foil with the shiny side out.

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