thought i knew everything

[marlas1too]

a friend told me that if you take a block of cheese like thats always on sale and take it home and remove the wrapper then dip it in hot paraffin and keep doing that till you have a good thick coating then wrap it in cheese cloth as it will store for a long time in the pantry just im going to try it myself as my friend went into her pantry and got a small cake and cut some for me it was just like it was fresh and i love sharp cheddar

[Ceashels]

That's how it was done before refrigeration. We've lost a lot of old school ways this past century. Other foods used to kept fresh by covering in lard.... that's one I'm not thrilled to start practicing. lol

[Paws]

a friend told me that if you take a block of cheese like thats always on sale and take it home and remove the wrapper then dip it in hot paraffin and keep doing that till you have a good thick coating then wrap it in cheese cloth as it will store for a long time in the pantry just im going to try it myself as my friend went into her pantry and got a small cake and cut some for me it was just like it was fresh and i love sharp cheddar

Oh I am sooooo gonna have to try this!! We love Cheese, especially the extra sharp sharp type cheddars!!

[jodilhernandez]

that is good info but how much does the parrafin cost? I am not sure the savings is that great in the end.

[zakity]

I know of someone who keeps a double boiler filled with wax and she remelts when they need to dip cheese. She puts it on a shelf and puts an old pillowcase over the pan to keep the dust off it. When they need it, she pulls it down, adds more wax if need be, pulls out the cheese, melts the wax, and dips the cheese. When the wax is cool and hardened again, she puts it back on her shelf for next time.

She also said that when you cut the cheese, you put it cut side down on a plate and that keeps the rest of it fresh.

I haven't tried it yet. I am still looking for a stainless steel double boiler at the thrift stores.

[marlas1too]

about 4 coating of wax should do itbut be sure to let it harden good between coats

[Luckybustert]

We've lost a lot of old school ways this past century.

Very true, and so unfortunate. It's great that there are a lot of new and often easier ways to do things, but losing the old ways is a mistake. If we suddenly didn't have all the comforts we currently enjoy today, what would we do and how would we live? I feel the people who know the old ways would be in the best position at that point. Granted, it may never come to pass....but the world can change in an instant and you just never know.

[pollypurebred39]

I found this whole subject very fascinating so I did a bit of searching and found some links of interest. I thought maybe someone here would like to read through these.

Cheese Wax Will Save Us All Preparedness Pro

Settling the Cheese Wax Controversy Preparedness Pro

Calamity Cheese: Add Flavor to Your Storage Food

Adventures in Self Reliance: Wax Coated Cheese

Cheese Waxing

And the last one is a page with a recipe for making your own cheddar cheese! Too cool!

http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotmen...heese-home.php

[marlas1too]

polly those sites are way cool thank you for sharing it ill be up late studying them ty ty ty