[pct-l] Sending cheese

[goforth at cio.net (Joanne Lennox)]

I have been experimenting with sending cheese in my resupply boxes. I found
that the supply at most resupply points was either nonexistent to dismal,
so figured I did not have a lot to lose if the cheese went bad. I do not
remember a single package of my own that was bad; one sealed package of
cracker barrel was moldy in one box. 

At first I used a Tilia sealer to seal the cheese; any sealer would
probably do.  But later I found that any good, unused, unopenned plastic
bag was fine.  Also, if you get a sealed package in the store, it seems to
work.  

I like good sharp cheese.  So I would get a large, 2 lb, sealed package of
Tillamook sharp cheese.  I surface sterilized my cutting knife and cutting
board with a weak bleach solution ( alcohol would work too, as long as you
let it evaporate), wash my hands very well, and closed the windows so there
are no drafts.  Lay out the plastic bags, put marks on the cheese wrapper
where you will cut it, then cut it quickly and put it in the plastic bags,
pressing most of the air out and sealing(tying a knot is fine). It is
important to get the cheese into the bag as soon as possible and not to
suck in air when you are sealing it.  If you have fruit or bread go bad
very easily in your house, this will probably not work for you as the spore
load may be just too high.

If you get wedge shaped packages of Gorgonzola cheese, and leave it sealed,
it has its own culture of Penicillin which I have found gets more and more
interesting over time and perhaps in the special environment of a post
office.  I just snipped off the very end of the package and sweezed the
contents onto a cracker.

 I have had a cheese package in a resupply box for 2 months(snoqualmie),
and it was fine.  I put the smaller cheese pacakages in the frig or
freezer, until I send the resupply box.

Joanne---------
>