Can you wax store bought cheese like cheddar from sams for long term storage. I am new to the cheese making scene. I love cheese like I’m sure most of you do. I made some simpe (ricotta cheese) with my daughter and we had fun… even though I want to experiment on different cheeses to make I want to put some cheese away in case the economy gets any worse I can have cheese as one of our foods. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. Brian

You can store cheese for quite a while; but why wax it?  It’s already in a vacuum pack.  Given your intention it would seem to be far better to leave it unwrapped, rather than open it and risk adding bacterial contamination.  If, on the other hand, you are intending to store a partial cheese, I would still recommend vacuum sealing.  Wax cracks over time and without continual maintenance you may end up with dried and molded cheese.  As you can tell, I’m a fan of vacuum sealing.  In any event, Brian, I welcome you to the forum and encourage you to go ahead with your cheese making urges.  You’ll find it very rewarding.

Thank you Rich, for a quick answer. I guess the only reason I was going to wax it was because all the people I see storing cheese long term like 2 years or better say you need to let the cheese breath. I hear it is a living breathing thing and must breath. I also hear you can and you can’t store in your basement any cheese that has been processed like most store bought cheese is. I guess the FDA says no and the food prepers say its ok… I was wondering if any one here has stored cheese from sams or walmart in a cave or cellar for any great amount of time….. Thnak you so much for all your replies….Brian

Store bought (commercial) is different then “Artisan” (home made cheese). The commercial stuff is dead, and Ive seen plenty of them get mouldy in the vac pack on the shelves.
The Artisan ones still have live enzymes and “breaths”, I would go with the good stuff if your going to store some.