OT But... Dry cheese?

[CalG]

I like my cheese.. dry.

Parmesan is just right!

But I enjoy Jarlsberg, Colby Cheddar and Verrmont Cabot Cheddar too.

But I don't like it soft and mushy!
4 weeks in the fridge with an open wrapper seems to do the job of drying, but there must be a better way.

Any other "sufferers" of soft cheese blues have a better method?

Oh I like Soft cheeses too... they are good on crackers etc.

 

[Wagtail]

What you're doing by 'drying' the cheese in the fridge is a type of ageing. Perhaps it's the wrong maturity of the cheese that you're buying?

For example: Cheddar... Mild (matured for 1-6 months) = creamy. Semi-Mature (3-6 months) = creamy but with a bit more 'bite' to it.

[Note: Mild & Semi-Mature are also the 'infused' or flavoured cheddars. The ones that have stuff like peppercorns or spices or chillis added to the mix]

Mature/Tasty (6-12 months) = nice bite & a bit crumbly. :licking: And finally, Vintage (12-24 months) = Very bitey [tiny crunch from calcification] and very crumbley.

 

[Maxify55]

Youy live in Vermont and can't find a cheese maker?

I've vacationed up there, once upon a time, and stumbled onto one up in dairy country on my way to Montreal.

Beautiful dairies and skilled cheese makers up there.

I detest having to buy cheese in the supermarket.

They're ok in a pinch but do yourself a favour. Get some of Vermont's finest cheese from local small town factory.

They're usually close to wherever you find syrup makers.

Get out of the city, if you like cheese and support your local dairies. They're a hearty breed of farmer.

Watch your step, though. There's lots of "by-product".

 

[Egon]

Dry cheese; just set it in the cupboard open to air. When it's ready just scrape the green stuff off and enjoy!

 

[oosik]

OH, WOW - me and Jarlsberg. Let the fun begin. I also like sweet goat's milk cheeses. Uff da

 

[teejk]

Back in the old days my grandfather and father operated one of the village grocery stores. There was always a big wheel of swiss (probably 50-60lbs) that sat in open air. It was kind of "self-serve". But that's swiss cheese that tends to be drier/firmer than many cheeses. Many of the softer cheeses will harden quickly if sliced/chunked.

 

[dmccarty]

Back in the old days my grandfather and father operated one of the village grocery stores. There was always a big wheel of swiss (probably 50-60lbs) that sat in open air. It was kind of "self-serve". But that's swiss cheese that tends to be drier/firmer than many cheeses. Many of the softer cheeses will harden quickly if sliced/chunked.

Locally, they would call that Wheel Cheese. I had never heard the term before moving here. There is a store near us that was opened in the 1800s that has Wheel Cheese. People come in and get a slice which they then cover back up with this big lid dohicky thingy. I figured the cover was to keep the flies off but maybe it helps keep the cheese moist too. :confused3: The Wheel Cheese is not self serve though. :laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[teejk]

Locally, they would call that Wheel Cheese. I had never heard the term before moving here. There is a store near us that was opened in the 1800s that has Wheel Cheese. People come in and get a slice which they then cover back up with this big lid dohicky thingy. I figured the cover was to keep the flies off but maybe it helps keep the cheese moist too. :confused3: The Wheel Cheese is not self serve though. :laughing:

Later,
Dan

I said it was back in the day...our wheel never got covered but I'm sure somebody would have a fit today. I still remember the pricing thing...similar to what you see in deli's with a plastic number holder and steel legs sticking out of a pan of jello salad. And ours didn't come off in slices...it came off in chunks (but that's Wisconsin). Every so often dad would pile us into his VW micro-bus and we went to get a new wheel (in Wisconsin back then we didn't have to go far...seems that every town had a cheese factory). We are losing many of our factories now as the milk industry is consolidating into the mega-dairies. The cheese factories close to them have gotten huge, the others close. Progress I guess.

 

[Richard]

Speaking of cheese...

I received just today, 2 pounds of 10 year aged white cheddar and 2 pounds of 12 year aged yellow cheddar.

Bought it for the wife. The briny outside has some salty crunch to it... and it will crumble a bit on you as well.

A bit too much bite for me, I'm fine with some Cabot extra sharp.... I got this for her for our anniversary and she's in cheese heaven.

(around $25/pound shipped bit worth it to see her excitement for it)

 

[dmccarty]

I said it was back in the day...our wheel never got covered but I'm sure somebody would have a fit today...

The wheel cheese cover is very old, I would think it has many decades of use, and it would not surprise me if the cover and the cheese cutter are as old as the store. The store is well over a century old. If that wheel cheese cover/cutter could talk...

Later,
Dan