Another thing we’re adding to our food storage is waxed cheese. I know the FDA says home waxed cheese is not a good idea, but I decided to do it anyway based on what I read here. And if it’s moldy when we open it up, we’ll just throw it away and be very sad.
So, in addition to canning chicken last week, I also waxed a 5 pound block of cheese. Waxing cheese is way easier than canning chicken for sure!
I got some cheese wax from a local health food store and melted it down in a double boiler. But first I cut my 5 pound block of cheese into 6 chunks, making sure that the edges were as smooth as possible (bumps, cracks, and rough edges create space for air and air is what will make the cheese mold, so this is important.)
After my wax was melted, I dipped each of my 6 cheese blocks in the wax, one side at a time, until each block had 3 coats of wax. The first layer is the most important as that is what seals the cheese inside and keeps the air out, so make sure there are no air bubbles. If you have bubbles just pop them and re-dip if necessary.
Keeping track of where you are is kind of tricky after the cheese is completely covered in wax, but figure out a system that works for you to make sure each block gets 3 coats of wax.
And here’s the finished product – pretty, huh? My second batch was much smoother and even more beautiful, but looks don’t really matter, right?
I will store my waxed cheese in a food grade bucket in my basement and we’ll test it out in a few months to see if it worked. My fingers are crossed!
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