Has anyone had experience with shipping cheese - waxed, of course?  I would love to ship some to my sister in Indiana from my home in Oklahoma for Christmas.  Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Funny you should ask, because I just mailed one off yesterday.  I have done so in the past as well, with good results.  In the past I just used a lot of wadded up plastic shopping bags as padding (they gotta be good for something, right?).  And the cheese has to have a good thick coating of wax.  This time I was fortunate enough to have some commercial packing material on hand from some online purchases.  I got a shoe box and cut two pieces of the shipping foam to fit the box.  Then I carved out a cheese shape in the foam pieces.  One was put over the top and one on the bottom.  The result was padding on all surfaces, and no room for movement in the box.  The only problem is the cost, as we’re talking pounds through the mail.  So, go for it - it works well.

Thanks, Rich.  I’ll give it a try.

LOL, brings back memories. As long as its cold outside its fine to ship just makes sure its wrapped well, foil and plastic. if its warm outside (like summer) it would be the same as baking as it travels, with a very “ripe” arrival at its destination LOL.

Jeanne,

Just a wee bit more encouragement.  The cheese I mailed on the 12th has been received and it was in great condition.

Jeanne..
About a month ago a fellow cheese maker sent me a nice wedge of parmesan that he had made last year.
He did vacuum bag the wedge and also sent it 2nd day air but I really doubt that the faster shipping method was necessary.
If you think about it, when making swiss, that particular cheese will sit in a 70+ degree room for up to 4 weeks without turning rancid.
Because of this fact, I really would not be concerned with shipping an aged cheese to someone.
This particular cheese came from a cheese maker in Ohio and man…...was it ever good.
My entire family went totally nuts over the flavor and texture and I was immediately told that I had to start making more Parmesan.
Now if I can only reproduce his results, everything will be good.
I am a big fan of vacuuming bagging and feel that this would be the safest way of sending cheese though the mail.
Regardless I still do not feel that you would have any problem sending a waxed cheese across the country.
I would love to see those of us that are in the same region begin to send samples of the cheeses that we make, to one another.
Although I have plenty of “taste testers” in my area, I would much rather get the opinion of my fellow cheese makers.

Dave