[Cheese] Cheese wax

[Erica Schechter]

Jack,

Thanks for the tips! I ended up buying a small crock pot for $8 and
making it my dedicated wax pot.

Is it okay if the temp does not get too high, as long as the wax is
melted so that it's thin and clear?

--Erica

On 1/12/06, Jack Schmidling <arf at mc.net> wrote:
> Erica Schechter wrote:
> > Jack, do you use a double boiler, or just set the stove on a low heat?
>
> I have never used a double boiler but it seems to be one of the knee
> jerk recommendations in every cheese book I have ever seen.
>
> To avoid problems I never take my eyes off the pot if the flame is above
> the lowest setting.  If I am in no hurry, I just set it on low, put in
> the meat thermometer and turn on the alarm at around 200F and stay
> within earshot.  When it gets there I turn up the heat, stir constantly
> and shut of when I get to my waxing temp.
>
> This of course works on my stove which has a VERY low heat and would
> take hours to reach flash point.  The double boiler prevents the wax
> from ever getting over about 200F which is some comfort but it is not
> necessarily high enough for proper waxing.
>
> If one has any concern about the ability to "watch the pot" religiously,
> the double boiler is a safe way to do it.
>
> I am aware that most folks use "cheese wax" at low temps.  But for the
> record, Kosikowski recommends that cheese be dipped into parafin wax at
> 245F for the initial ripening period and then cover with cheese wax for
> long term storage.
>
> The idea being that parafin allows gas transfer that cheese wax does not
> and the high temp, virtually sterilizes the surface of the cheese.
>
> I gave up on the two step process and just dip it in cheese wax at about
> 220F.
>
> It's sort of a whatever works for you kind of thing.
>
> js
>
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