I am struggling to work out where is the best place to ripen my cheese once i have made it? (i’m starting with a farm house cheddar)

As this will be my first attempt i don’t want to go about buying a separate fridge in which to ripen my cheese just yet in case i don’t want to pursue it, however i will of course need a place for it to do its thing.

I have read various things but am all confuzzled now, i can’t leave it ‘out’ as i have dogs and run the risk of contamination with dog hair etc, but in the kitchen fridge i can’t adjust the temperature as it will still need to keep everything in there cold, so i wonder if anyone has any advice on what to do with it?

If i can keep it in the fridge, in a Tupperware box, won’t it get wet and become mouldy?

soooooo confused…...

Well good morning Ginger.  I remember that I was in the same situation you’re in when I first started.  No, you cannot use your fridge.  It’s just too cold and your cheese will not age properly.  It’s the bacterial action of the culture that brings out flavor as it grows.  It will not grow at refrigerator temps.  And you’re right, you cannot just leave it out - aside from the dog hair, it will just be too warm.  So here’s what I did for a very temporary solution.  I used an ice chest.  You will have to monitor it closely and put in fresh ice as needed; but it will work.  Keep a thermometer in the cooler so you can watch the temp.  A side advantage of this is that you will have plenty of humidity.

Good morning Rich and thank you for your reply!

By ice chest, are you talking about a picnic cooler box type thing? what sort of temperature (ideally) does it need to stay at? i am really eager to get started but i am so concerned about where i am going to keep it for ripening, up until now it all seemed quite simple lol

Yes, a picnic cooler is what I used.  You want to keep it in the 50 to 55% range.  Freeze water in some 2 liter bottles and use them for cooling.  Then it’s easy to change them out when you need to.

Thanks Rich, you have been most helpful :o)