Thank you both.
I read a lot about waxing before I attempted it. There are basically two methods; painting or dipping. By all accounts, dipping gets you a smoother surface, but you need more wax to do it. I had a 5 pound block of wax, so I decided to dip.
The pot I'm using is an inexpensive 5 quart stock pot I picked up at WalMart for $6.89. It's a basic pot and lid made of thin metal and with no special features such as an aluminum-core or copper clad bottom. That kept the price low and made it perfect for a dedicated wax pot. I bought three of them so I can have one each for red, yellow, and black wax.
The biggest question I had in my mind was what temperature should the wax be? Searching the internet for an answer yielded recommendations ranging from 120 degrees to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower temperature recommendations appeared to primarily have cheesemaker safety as a primary consideration. The higher temperature recommendations appeared to have cheese safety (mold prevention) in mind.
Generally the low temperature recommendations also suggested using a double boiler to heat the wax. Doing so obviously limits temperature to something approaching the boiling point of the outer vessel fluid. For water at sea level, that would be 212F. I tried initially to heat my wax in this fashion, but I couldn't get the wax temperature over 200 degrees. (Note: The boiling point of 100% ethylene glycol would be 387F, and in an 80/20 mixture with water it would be 255. I didn't try that and don't recommend it without careful study first, as there may be other safety considerations.)
The only way to get the wax to 250 degrees (248 was specified in several sources to insure death of mold spores), you have to use direct heat. There are safety considerations when doing this. Wax can "explode" if heated too rapidly, a catastrophic and violent boiling eruption that can throw wax everywhere like a volcano. Also, wax and wax fumes are highly flammable, and the higher you raise the temperature, the greater the danger.
I wanted the higher temperature to kill mold spores. So I put a 1/8th inch thick steel plate over my gas stove burner to distribute the heat more evenly, and put the wax pot on that. I used a medium heat to start with, and reduced it as the wax got closer to 248. I very gently and slowly stirred the wax now and then to keep gas from forming and bubbling up from the bottom (boiling). Then as soon as the wax temperature hit 248, I turned off the fire and started dipping.
At 248 degrees, the wax makes a very thin coat. You can see this in the first couple of photos. I dipped half the cheese, then let it air dry for about 30 seconds, then dipped the other half and let it dry for 30 seconds. Then I turned 90 degrees and repeated the two-dip cycle.
For the final coats, a temperature of around 160 will yield much thicker coatings. So I put the pot in a sink of warm water to bring the temp down quickly to 160, then I followed the process above and dipped three more times. After the first complete dip at 160 (dip, dry, turn 180, dip), I dipped about half of my label into the wax and stuck it to the cheese and smoothed it out. Then I did two more dip cycles.
I didn't really need that third dip. Two dip cycles at 160 produced a very nice looking wax coating. I did it because I messed up the second coat by touching it before it was dry enough.
I thought I'd explain what I did in case anyone might be interested in the process. I'm sorry for being long-winded, but I wanted to make sure the safety considerations were highlighted. There is greater danger in heating wax to a high temperature, and it is not strictly needed to obtain a good coat. The reason to do it is to kill mold spores on the surface of the cheese. In fact, lower temperature wax gives a better coat. If you decide to go with the high heat method, be sure to heat the wax very slowly, wear protective gear (heavy shirt, jeans, eye and face protection, cap, etc), and have a good exhaust fan and ventilation.
I'm going to make a cheese holder dipping frame to simplify this process going forward. It will cut down on the time and should help me get an even smoother surface.
I read a lot about waxing before I attempted it. There are basically two methods; painting or dipping. By all accounts, dipping gets you a smoother surface, but you need more wax to do it. I had a 5 pound block of wax, so I decided to dip.
The pot I'm using is an inexpensive 5 quart stock pot I picked up at WalMart for $6.89. It's a basic pot and lid made of thin metal and with no special features such as an aluminum-core or copper clad bottom. That kept the price low and made it perfect for a dedicated wax pot. I bought three of them so I can have one each for red, yellow, and black wax.
The biggest question I had in my mind was what temperature should the wax be? Searching the internet for an answer yielded recommendations ranging from 120 degrees to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower temperature recommendations appeared to primarily have cheesemaker safety as a primary consideration. The higher temperature recommendations appeared to have cheese safety (mold prevention) in mind.
Generally the low temperature recommendations also suggested using a double boiler to heat the wax. Doing so obviously limits temperature to something approaching the boiling point of the outer vessel fluid. For water at sea level, that would be 212F. I tried initially to heat my wax in this fashion, but I couldn't get the wax temperature over 200 degrees. (Note: The boiling point of 100% ethylene glycol would be 387F, and in an 80/20 mixture with water it would be 255. I didn't try that and don't recommend it without careful study first, as there may be other safety considerations.)
The only way to get the wax to 250 degrees (248 was specified in several sources to insure death of mold spores), you have to use direct heat. There are safety considerations when doing this. Wax can "explode" if heated too rapidly, a catastrophic and violent boiling eruption that can throw wax everywhere like a volcano. Also, wax and wax fumes are highly flammable, and the higher you raise the temperature, the greater the danger.
I wanted the higher temperature to kill mold spores. So I put a 1/8th inch thick steel plate over my gas stove burner to distribute the heat more evenly, and put the wax pot on that. I used a medium heat to start with, and reduced it as the wax got closer to 248. I very gently and slowly stirred the wax now and then to keep gas from forming and bubbling up from the bottom (boiling). Then as soon as the wax temperature hit 248, I turned off the fire and started dipping.
At 248 degrees, the wax makes a very thin coat. You can see this in the first couple of photos. I dipped half the cheese, then let it air dry for about 30 seconds, then dipped the other half and let it dry for 30 seconds. Then I turned 90 degrees and repeated the two-dip cycle.
For the final coats, a temperature of around 160 will yield much thicker coatings. So I put the pot in a sink of warm water to bring the temp down quickly to 160, then I followed the process above and dipped three more times. After the first complete dip at 160 (dip, dry, turn 180, dip), I dipped about half of my label into the wax and stuck it to the cheese and smoothed it out. Then I did two more dip cycles.
I didn't really need that third dip. Two dip cycles at 160 produced a very nice looking wax coating. I did it because I messed up the second coat by touching it before it was dry enough.
I thought I'd explain what I did in case anyone might be interested in the process. I'm sorry for being long-winded, but I wanted to make sure the safety considerations were highlighted. There is greater danger in heating wax to a high temperature, and it is not strictly needed to obtain a good coat. The reason to do it is to kill mold spores on the surface of the cheese. In fact, lower temperature wax gives a better coat. If you decide to go with the high heat method, be sure to heat the wax very slowly, wear protective gear (heavy shirt, jeans, eye and face protection, cap, etc), and have a good exhaust fan and ventilation.
I'm going to make a cheese holder dipping frame to simplify this process going forward. It will cut down on the time and should help me get an even smoother surface.
