Waxing the Cheese

The day has finally arrived, time to wax the monterey jack cheese.  I melt the cheese wax in an old pie plate over a pan (a cheap double boiler set up) and dip the cheese in the wax.  First I dip the top, to make sure it is fully coated - usually takes 3-4 dips with 10-20 second rests between dips allowing the wax to semi-harden.  Then I dip the bottom of the cheese - again 3-4 dips with 10-20 second between dips.  Finally, I hold and roll the cheese on its side in the wax to coat the sides working my way all around the cheese 3-4 times.  I hold the cheese for a minute or two to allow the wax to harden and then place the newly waxed cheese on some plastic wrap- into the cheese cave it goes to harden some more.  I write the type of cheese and date waxed on some blue masking tape and paste the tape on the cheese for easy reference. 

The cheese cave now contains 1 lb. of stirred curd cheddar waxed, 1 lb. of monterey jack waxed and 1 lb. of manchego drying for a few days before waxing.  The regular fridge has 2 lbs of drunken goat cheese (made up with cows milk and lipase for test purposes) and 2 lbs of lavender ricotta salata.  So, the cheesy adventures continue.