More unbearable cheese excitement.

[solipsistnation]

The cheddar is waxed!

Pictures here!

Or highlights:

50 pounds!

Wheel of cheese, ready to dry.

Wheel of cheese, ready to wax.

Waxed cheese!

Things I learned today:

- Do not wax cheese over things you like to not have wax on.

- Our hot water heater heats water to a temperature high enough to melt cheese wax. That's at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Useful when cleaning up cheese wax, but otherwise potentially very very painful.

- Painting on wax is hard. I should go to Goodwill or somewhere and get a cheap saucepan (or double boiler, really, since wax will explode over direct heat) and just use that and dip the cheese into it rather than using a brush.

- Hot wax is neat.

And, uh, that's it. In a couple of hours, cheddar 2 comes out of the press and then gets to sit out and dry for 3-4 days, and then I get to do it all over again! But, um, less messy next time.

Comments

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Do not stare at hot waxed cheese with remaining eye.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

isn't that a HUGE wheel of cheese? I mean, I don't know how much cheese you eat, but once you cut into it in march won't it go off before you finish it? i thought of you today when i peeled the wax off a laughing cow babybell, and had pretty much the same mental query as above.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

I think it's something like 2 pounds. It's only about 6.5 inches across. And, uh, nope. If it's any good, it won't have a chance to go off before it is totally devoured. If nothing else, I'll probably give pieces to people...

[gambl0r.livejournal.com]

That looks really cool and your finished, waxed cheese looks very... professional. Like, something right out of a store! I hope it comes out good! :)

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Me too. If you're around, I'll give you some. 8)

And it's kind of lumpy compared to store-bought cheese... I think that dipping it in wax would have worked better...

[mindways]

Neat!! (Mmm. Cheese.)

(Do we get pictures of the waxed ham, too? :)

[kiya]

Dude, that "What a mess" photo looks like a crime scene shot for the Worcester Serial Cheese Murderer.

(I showed it to a friend with a line to that effect and got the response, "No! No! Not the cheddar!")