Cheese Wax Will Save Us All

Homemade Parmesan Cheese

Well, at least those of us who are addicted to cheese anyway.

• Can you name at least 10 different kinds of cheese that you love?
• Do you believe that cheese should be its own food group?
• Are you helpless to abide by your diet unless it involves huge amounts of melted cheese?

Then this article is for you! Grant it, it’s a simplification of things, but it should give you blissful, melted gooey hope!

So, picture this.  It’s a bona fide emergency survival situation.  You are holed up on your home and living off of the emergency preparedness supplies you stored.  And you’ve got one heck of a hankering for some yummy melted cheese.  But you’re just not in the mood for the Velveeta, that nasty powdered stuff, or the “squirt” kind of cheese.  You want a good solid bite of a yummy Parmesan, or Swiss, or a sharp cheddar.  (I’m making myself drool even as I write this.)  But hey, cheese doesn’t store for a very long time, right?  Well, in this case, I’m happy to tell you that you’re wrong.  And if you’re a true cheese addict, then you’ll be happy to hear that you’re wrong for once, right?

So here’s the good news.  You CAN have your favorite cheese on hand, even in an emergency, and even though no stores are open and you have no access to electricity.  All you have to do is buy the hard blocks of cheese that you want now in order to have them  stored for up to the next 2-5 years.  Cheese wax prevents your cheese from developing mold or bacteria and it keeps the moisture in.  Simply use a combination of dipping and brushing with a natural boar’s hair brush to apply the melted cheese wax liberally to your block of cheese, let it harden, and then, VOILA – you’ve got your wish.

The cheese was should be heated to 225-240 degrees and you want to let it completely cool before applying the 2^nd and 3^rd coats. Yes, I recommend 3 coats.

Cheese treated with cheese wax will store for up to 2-5 years at a cool and humic temperature.  (Just store your cheese in one of those cake carriers from Tupperware with a wet sponge inside, not touching the cheese, to maintain a 75-95% humidity level. Sure, it will continue to age.  But it sure won’t get moldy!  (And even if it does in parts, you can simply cut off that part, and re-wax over it.) Once you’ve cut into it, make it a clean cut and then go over it with cider vinegar and rewax.

A couple of tips you should know though.

yes you can wax your own cheese

1. Don’t use paraffin wax.  It tends to crack and it’s brittle.  Cheese wax warms slower, is pliable, and heats to a higher temperature and thus plies better to your cheese shapes and sizes.  Cheese wax is also less crumbly and you can use less of it than paraffin. Remember, it’s reusable too!
2. I have yet to find a hard cheese that I can’t wax.  Cheeses like sharp cheddar, parmesan Gouda, and Swiss are ideal.
3. You don’t need cheesecloth, but if you desire to use it prior to your wax layers, it may be helpful getting the wax off.  I haven’t had any problems without it though.
4. It’s best to melt the cheese wax in a double boiler as opposed to direct heat. Any pan you use to melt your cheese wax in will be your designated cheese wax pan. They are impossible to get clean afterwards. So be forewarned. I use the square food pans that you get from the restaurant supply stores.
5. The less you handle the cheese with your hands the better. Use food handling gloves.
6. Dip the cheese in for about 6 seconds, then bring it out and HOLD it there for about 90 seconds. You want it to completely cool in between layers. Do 3 layers of dipping and then three layer of brushing to get what you couldn’t dip.  (Using the natural boar’s hair brush)  The reason why you want to use this kind of brush specifically is because other brushes will apply the cheese wax too thick, or with crevices, etc.  This kind of brush is perfect for cheese waxing.
7. You don’t need to use food-grade labels for your cheese, however, it’s smart to use a label on the outside of your cheese just prior to the last wax layer.  That way you don’t have to worry about it falling off. I just use a single layer of cheese wax to put the label on. I can see through the layer of cheese wax.  Some people use different colors of cheese wax for each kind of cheese instead of labels, but I like to date my cheeses too.
8. The color of cheese wax doesn’t matter.  I prefer red, but I also like clear because I can then see if anything is developing under the surface.
9. Be sure to check for pockets or crevices that didn’t get sealed.  Look for pin pricks as they will become bigger problems later.
10. The cheese surface should be clean and dry prior to waxing. I like to go over my surface with cider vinegar and let it dry before waxing.
11. 

    cheese waxing has been around for ages!

    Cheese wax can be re-used several times.  You can simply wash it in warm water, let it dry and then re-melt it.  So when you remove cheese wax from your cheeses, you can simply reheat and reapply the wax.  Simply heat the cheese wax to about 225-240 degrees F.  This will also ensure that you’re not transferring any bacteria or unnecessary moisture to your new cheese–even when you’re putting it on your cheese which is cooler.

12. You do not need to filter the cheese wax after you melt it.  So don’t worry about that step.
13. Your first coat will have some unevenness to it.  Don’t worry.  The 2^nd and 3^rd coat will even it out just fine.
14. Cheese will respond to gravity. So using cheesewax vs. paraffin is important as it’s more pliable. I periodically turn my cheese in view of the gravitational pull.
15. A 1# blog of cheese wax will do 10-12 2# blocks of cheese if you’re strictly using the brush.  But for dipping, which is what I do, you’ll want a 5# block of cheese wax so that you have enough depth.
16. Caution: I would not rely on the “cheese wax” that is used on the soft cheese product that you buy as the store as your cheese wax.  You have no idea what’s in it.
17. Yes, you can use beeswax instead of cheese wax, but it’s more brittle so you’ll want to put in a small amount of vegetable shortening while it’s melting.
18. While letting my cheeses dry out before waxing, I place them on what’s called a cheese mat. It just a sushi rolling mat.  You can get a couple of them for under $5 on Amazon.

Cheese wax can be found multiple places online or in your local health food stores.  (I have been buying mine on Amazon.) You should also have no problem finding a boar bristle brush either.

Once you get the hang of this cheese waxing stuff you can progress to making your own cheese from powdered milk in any flavor you decide! There’s a whole other world out there in making your own cheese and it’s amazing and can be done in  under an hour! (And a bit addictive)

Yummy!

Enjoy the recipe below-especially now that you know that cheese isn’t out of the question and it doesn’t have to be the expensive freeze-dried cheese!

Shelf Stable Enchilada Recipe

Kristen’s Cheesy Roughin’ It Enchiladas

1 can of tomato soup

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 regular sized can of enchilada sauce

2 cups of canned chicken, drained

About 2 cups of your favorite shredded cheese

Make your sauce by combining the soups and the enchilada sauce.

Use enough flour or corn tortillas to line a large baking dish or Dutch oven with your enchiladas (About 12 to 15 depending on how big you stuff them).  Be sure to spray your dish with some cooking spray.

Lightly coat the bottom of your tortilla with the sauce.  Then add about 2 tablespoons of chicken, according to your desire.  Top the chicken with about 2 tablespoons of cheese.  Then roll up your tortilla and place seam side down in the dish.  Continue until you’ve filled the dish a single layer deep.  Once you’re finished, pour the remaining sauce over the top and top with the remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until the cheese is completely melted.  You can add chopped black olives, black beans, rice, or even green chilies to this recipe as well.

(Please note these are not ALL of the cheese waxing directions which are far too lengthy for a blog article. Should you like to know how to wax your cheese perfectly and without errors that may cause you to have to do it all over again, please use the resource guide available on this site “For the Love of Cheese” as found in the Pre Pro Classes tab of this site. It includes video instruction and detailed written instruction. This way you won’t get discouraged and your waxed cheese will turn out right the first time.)

For more on cheese wax, visit the Cheese Wax Controversy.