Hi guys,
I’ve been thinking about using an electric wine cooler as a cheese fridge. Walmart has a 17 bottle cooler that should hold somewhere between 17 and 20 of my 6” round cheeses (plus some provolone, etc.).
The temperature range is adjustable between 41 degrees and 60 degrees so it would also be very useful for curing bleu cheeses, swiss and others.
My other option is buying an external thermostat for use on a spare fridge that I have. The temperature range on the one I’ve been looking at is 32 degrees to 90 degrees F. Of course the external thermostat is a cheaper option ($59.00 for the thermostat compared to $114.00 for the wine fridge) and a regular refrigerator would of course hold way more cheeses.
I was wondering what you all do with your cheeses. I do have one closet in the house where I currently store my wines that stays in the 45 - 60 degree range during the winter months. It is built on an outside wall and has a door that keeps the room heat out of it.
I’m really wanting to try a stilton but from what I understand the curing temp needs to be 55 degrees. On the lowest setting my spare fridge stays at 42 degrees which I’m sure will cause some problems with the aging process.
What would happen to a Stilton if I was to store it in the closet with my wine? As I said, the temperature does flucuate between 45 and 60 degrees so would the cheese still ripen properly?
This is the main reason that I’ve held off on doing a bleu for the past three years.
Any insight you all might have would be greatly appreciated.
Dave

I removed the crisper draws and store my cheese in that area, keeps a good average temp .

I’ve gone with a wine fridge that sounds similar to the one you’re looking at. I’m really happy with it, doesn’t take up too much space, or use much energy.

I don’t normally get around to having more than a few cheeses on the go at once, so can just vary the temp setting to suit whatever’s there. I also used the bottom of the fridge for a blue cheese that needed to be a bit colder. It was probably slightly colder than recommended, but came out fine, maybe just took a little longer to mature - no big deal.

Hmmm…..lost my first attempt at a reply….
Okay, thanks for the responses to myby question.
I think I’ll go ahead and make a Stilton this weekend and put it in the bottom of the fridge to age once it’s ready.
I also think I’ll go ahead and order the wine cooler for future use.
I figure with the wine cooler I’ll only be spending about $50.00 more than I would for the external thermostat and I’ll have a dedicated cheese fridge instead of sharing a fridge with food that could contaminate it.
Again, thanks for the responses. I have been making cheese for awhile now but it’s good to get input from others who also share the love of this hobby.
Dave

Got my wine fridge ordered tonight and expect it to arrive within a week. I had to concede (to wife) that I will also share the cooler with some of our favorite homemade wines.
I’ve been perfectly happy with my reds coming out of the wine closet at 55 - 60 degrees but she wants her whites and sweet reds to be a little cooler.
Oh well, it’s worth the compromise to have a fridge to cure my cheese in.
Thanks for the input.
Dave

And its even more important to have a happy wife!

You ain’t just whistling Dixie there, Rich!

LOL, Good marriage, cheese and wine

hi i’ve just bought a 40 bottle one about the size of a bar fridge it was $140 aus it should perfect for cheese i will let you know how it goes

narelle - 23 November 2008 08:21 PM

hi i’ve just bought a 40 bottle one about the size of a bar fridge it was $140 aus it should perfect for cheese i will let you know how it goes

Welcome to the forum and have fun filling up your new fridge.

thanx I had an old fridge i was using but in winter the temp would drop too far to mature cheese so i couldn’t make any in winter.  as it happened the fridge died over the winter and i was thinking of getting another old one when i saw the tread on the wine coolers and when i went looking around the department stores the other day i found one on special so i bought it for myself for chrissy hopefully it will last mare than one summer. so now i am looking forward to making cheese all year round

I’m glad to hear the wine cooler is working.  I was curious about the temp ranges.  My mini fridge is not working out so good (it’s leaking, hard to get the temp to hold stedy) and I’ve requested a wine cooler from Santa.  I found a 36-bottle model that should hold PLENTY.

hi jeanne
the one i have ranges from 7C - 18C or 45F - 65F and i think that is fairly standard

Anybody have costs worked out on power consumption per month?

here is mywine cooler come cheese cave it looks full now but when the bries are wrapped there will be plenty of room

Looks good.  Here’s something I learned the hard way.  My cave was getting full so I stacked some of my waxed cheeses two deep.  That was a bad idea.  Over time, the bottom wheels split open from the weight.  I learned to practice restraint in my cheese making and just wait until I have room.