It's amazing how Mother Nature wreaks havoc with moisture! Over time water can cut a rock in two. It can change the course of landscape, and even turn New York Subway systems into tide pools. But, in the world of cheese making, moisture is a fickle beast. Too little, and your cheese dies (at least the part that's supposed to grow). Too much and you get UFO's (ugly fungal objects) and you have to start scrambling with UFO killer (salt, vinegar, airflow etc.), which can taint the outcome or maturation of the cheese. Some cheeses like less humidity (harder cheeses prefer between 40-60%) during aging, while softer cheeses want more humidity (65-95%).
So, what happens when the house humidity is 40%, the cheese fridge humidity is 50%, and you have one cheese needing 65% and another needing 90%. Perhaps you put the house inside the fridge so you can combine their collective humidity to reach 90%. Or, maybe you buy two fridges in order to have each at a different level. Maybe you use a reptile humidifier pumped into a fridge to get to 90%. May you boil water 24-7 near the cheese to increase relative humidity? All ridiculous notions aside, it is frustrating that in a world where cheese appears at nearly every turn there have yet to be dedicated cheese fridges that can also set themselves to dual zone temperature "and" humidity control. Dual zone temperature can be found on upscale wine fridges. But a fridge with hygrometer controls would be a revolution for the home cheese maker.
For us, we are finding that the days of air conditioning in the hot Indianapolis summers kept our house dehumidified, but the lack of AC and lesser need of heat in the fall/winter has our house at a higher humidity and is playing havoc with our cheese development. And, with tender semi-frim cheeses, each time mold has to be addressed with a salt or vinegar solution, the cheese is at risk. So, we have been adding access to ventilation and open air in the cheese making process and are seeing a correction in our aging process. Having grown up in dry Wyoming, and spent a great deal of time in Colorado, I took too much for granted in terms of seasonal variations in humidity. Note taken!
Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com
So, what happens when the house humidity is 40%, the cheese fridge humidity is 50%, and you have one cheese needing 65% and another needing 90%. Perhaps you put the house inside the fridge so you can combine their collective humidity to reach 90%. Or, maybe you buy two fridges in order to have each at a different level. Maybe you use a reptile humidifier pumped into a fridge to get to 90%. May you boil water 24-7 near the cheese to increase relative humidity? All ridiculous notions aside, it is frustrating that in a world where cheese appears at nearly every turn there have yet to be dedicated cheese fridges that can also set themselves to dual zone temperature "and" humidity control. Dual zone temperature can be found on upscale wine fridges. But a fridge with hygrometer controls would be a revolution for the home cheese maker.
For us, we are finding that the days of air conditioning in the hot Indianapolis summers kept our house dehumidified, but the lack of AC and lesser need of heat in the fall/winter has our house at a higher humidity and is playing havoc with our cheese development. And, with tender semi-frim cheeses, each time mold has to be addressed with a salt or vinegar solution, the cheese is at risk. So, we have been adding access to ventilation and open air in the cheese making process and are seeing a correction in our aging process. Having grown up in dry Wyoming, and spent a great deal of time in Colorado, I took too much for granted in terms of seasonal variations in humidity. Note taken!
Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com
