With hard cheeses, which is better?  Pros and cons. 

Natural - Most breathing room; most maintainance (removing mold, maintaining moisture)
Wax - Not sure if it breathes or not; some effort in application; little maintainance if applied properly (so far…!)
Vacuum Seal - No breathing (does this affect taste, texture); no maintainance if cheese is sanitary

Anyone experimented with each method, just to compare?

Thanks. 

John

I’ve tried all three.  The bandaging method was fun to do; but I was less than satisfied with the results.  I may have made some mistakes along the way, since I only tried it 3 times; but I found the rind was thicker, and the cheese itself was not any better.

Waxing is a messy job, cleaning up afterward is inevitable, and there are some drawbacks.  The problem I was encountering was that the wax tended to crack over time requiring regular close inspections and repair jobs.

I have gone to vacuum sealing because it is easy, efficient, and its great to actually see the wheel itself as it ages.  There is no rind to contend with afterward either.  I have noticed no denigration in the quality of the cheese versus either of the above methods.

As to breathing, a good coating on the bandage and a good wax job will result in very limited breathing if any at all to my personal way of thinking. 

In the end it comes down to what you personally prefer.  Use one or all of the methods and develop your own style - and enjoy!  That’s what it’s all about.

I have been using the cream wax first, allowing to dry and storing until I have several cheeses ready to hard wax.  Then I wax them all at once.  I have not had the issue of cracking doing it this way, knock on wood!

I will probably vac at some point.

I have a jar of cream wax but have never used it, dont know if i will. I have a thing for chemical preservatives and afraid it will leach into the cheese.

Margaret Morris recommends it in her cheese making video.  She uses it prior to final waxing.

Shes not the first one I would rely on for answers, the recipes they post are some times incomplete.

Neil - 04 August 2010 01:32 AM

Shes not the first one I would rely on for answers, the recipes they post are some times incomplete.

Can you explain further?

Yes, please explain further.  Something you know that we don’t?  Being as she is involved with Glengarry, I just assumed that she was very informed.  I just bought the book 200 cheese recipes, and she is certainly recommended there in the forward.