This is how I converted a small refrigerator into a temperature and humidity-controlled "cave" for aging cheese.
While traveling in Spain, I fell in love with aged Manchego cheese: the older the better. I can easily find Imported 1-year old Manchego in the US, but it just isn't what I remember -- either the farms willing to do export aren't as good, the cheese hasn't been aged long enough, or maybe the context is all wrong and one can only enjoy Manchego in the dry winds of La Mancha. Northern California has a number of artisan cheese makers, but doesn't have a strong cheese-aging tradition. Most cheese here is measured in months, not years like in Spain. So, I decided to try aging some locally produced cheese myself.
While traveling in Spain, I fell in love with aged Manchego cheese: the older the better. I can easily find Imported 1-year old Manchego in the US, but it just isn't what I remember -- either the farms willing to do export aren't as good, the cheese hasn't been aged long enough, or maybe the context is all wrong and one can only enjoy Manchego in the dry winds of La Mancha. Northern California has a number of artisan cheese makers, but doesn't have a strong cheese-aging tradition. Most cheese here is measured in months, not years like in Spain. So, I decided to try aging some locally produced cheese myself.
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Signing UpStep 1: Plan the Cave's Construction
Donna Pacheco of Achadinha Cheese Company told me that she ages her cheese at 55°F and 80% relative humidity. That's about the same conditions you would find in a natural cave, perfect for aging cheese. (See the last step for details on the cheese I'm aging.)
The crawl space under my house is pretty cool most of the year, and I even measured the temperature of the ground a few inches below the surface at 59°F. However, there are vents to the outside, so the humidity is the same as ambient, and it rarely gets as high as 80%. I briefly considered converting a pantry with an exterior wall into a temperature-controlled cave using a window air conditioner and CoolBot controller -- but you know things are getting out of hand when you consider cutting holes in the wall for cheese you haven't yet tasted. In the end, I decided to follow the rough outline of the Converting a fridge for fermenting beer Instructable, and use a small fridge with a temperature controller placed in the crawlspace.
The crawl space under my house is pretty cool most of the year, and I even measured the temperature of the ground a few inches below the surface at 59°F. However, there are vents to the outside, so the humidity is the same as ambient, and it rarely gets as high as 80%. I briefly considered converting a pantry with an exterior wall into a temperature-controlled cave using a window air conditioner and CoolBot controller -- but you know things are getting out of hand when you consider cutting holes in the wall for cheese you haven't yet tasted. In the end, I decided to follow the rough outline of the Converting a fridge for fermenting beer Instructable, and use a small fridge with a temperature controller placed in the crawlspace.
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As someone who is in the cheese business, and if the US system is any way like the Canadian one, its nearly impossible for cheesemakers to age cheese long enough to stand up to their European counterparts. The simple and sad fact is that their overhead is so low, they cant afford to just sit on their stock for year, even if it would make a better product. For most, a couple of months is all you get, unless its cheddar, simply because you can make different batches, so that you are more likely to make a profit anyways.
The second thing is that the "age" of a cheese has not so much to do with time, as it has to do with taste. The age rating is determined by how strong it tastes as compared with existing products. Given that cheddar is the most likely candidate for aging, there are different processes that they put the product through to ripen it (like low heat/pressure combination.) as some local makers have experimented; under that system, a cheese may be rated "2 years old", while it has only been ripened 6 months.
And even the European stuff is not actually as old as listed; a 3 year old parmegiano regianno is actually 2 1/2 years old, at the time of packaging.
Sorry about the rant, but I cant stop the craftman from venting :D I love Instructables and will keep an eye out for building this one and possibly its update if one is necessary!
may i ask how much a wheel of the Capricious costs? that wheel looks enticing already. how soft is it now, at 9 mos?
i have a mold allergy, in your opinion, doctor, is aging my own cheese a health risk??
The wheel of Capricious was $90, or $19/pound. It's pretty firm, and from tasting similarly aged wheels, I expect it would still be slightly moist, but not yet fully crumbly.
All of that to say- exposure is one way of knowing if you will react- you just have to weigh the risk of re-action.
I am a fan of the ccchhhhhheeeeeseeeeeeesss too
I like Jarlsberg the most http://s3.amazonaws.com/post.good.is/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/jarlsberg_em.jpg