Waxing your cheese for long term storage is not as difficult as you might think but you will need some supplies: Pick up a double boiler, parchment paper, a thermometer, boar bristle brush, cheese wax & muslin.

Now, let’s get started:

Use hard cheese. Test it before buying by pressing your thumb into the cheese, it needs to not leave a thumb imprint to be dry enough. I personally have had excellent results with various Gouda & cheddar cheeses.

Prep & dry the cheese. Since this was my first time, I worked with small batches of cheese. I cut them into meal sized portions. Wiped it down with vinegar & wrapped it loosely with a paper towel. Then let it it out on the counter to get to room temp. & to dry it out more. Pat it down to remove moisture. Because moisture will interfere with the adhering process.

Break up the wax (Tip: take the plastic wrapping off before you cut it) and melt in a double boiler until your temp. reaches 180 – 200 degrees. I will be getting a larger pan set for waxing.

Wash your hands. Dip half of each block of cheese, slowly in & out of the wax.
Hold it over the pot for a few seconds to allow the excess wax to drip off
Gently set on parchment paper (it's smooth surface will help eliminate lumps & bumps in the wax). Set the side you just dipped facing upwards. Let it cool for at least 90 seconds.

Then dip the opposite side of the cheese. Dip 3 times (3 layers).

Then brush one more layer on. Look for spaces where it may have not been covered.

If you want to you can cut the labels out from the cheese wrappers ahead of time and then add the labels to the block of waxed cheese and wax a thin coat over the label. It will adhere the label and you can still read the label.

Just FYI: If you have an Amazon.com account the author says she got all her supplies there — but be warned: The stuffs you buy for this project need to be exclusively for waxing cheese because it does get messy and is hard to clean. The author suggests you let the wax cool in the boiler then just store it away for another time.

For post waxing information, where and how you should store your cheese, please go to Perky Prepping Gramma. He author has a wealth of information on the subject and since she has done it numerous times she knows what she’s taking about.

Once it’s done, you’ve got enough cheese to survive! That is…until you eat it all and run out.