I’ve just made my first cheese, a colby, and now am wondering about aging.  What do home cheesemakers use to keep the temperature right?

bottom of the fridge (crisper)

The temperature in my crisper is 40 to 42 at the lowest setting on the frig.  Any other suggestions?

45 is about average form the books I see, depends on what your making. So I would say close enough.

Maybe I’m being obtuse here, but is the temperature not critical?  It was my impression directions must be followed to the letter.  Or is close enough close enough?

Well, both. To create a cheese true to it’s name and type, you should follow the recipe as closely as possible. However, in a home environment, that can be tough. I’ve had trouble keeping humidity correct more than anything. I use some “mini” fridges that are controlled with a thermostat to get the temperatures I want, but still struggle with getting a high enough or low enough humidity. So, you get as close as you can and still get great cheese. Maybe not perfectly true to the original recipe, but great nonetheless. And, that is what home cheesemaking is all about—making great cheese at home that has your own “fingerprints” on it. So, don’t sweat it. Get as close as you can, experiment, and have fun.

Thanks for the common-sense answer.  As I said, this is my first attempt.  I think I may have rushed the curd-cutting process.  I didn’t get a clean break, as I now know it to be, and instead the curd had more of a cottage cheese consistency.  I forged ahead and went through the whole process.  It looks good to me (what do I know?).  Do you think it’s ruined, or will it just have perhaps a slightly different texture and taste than the recipe intended?

You’d be surprised how soft and fragile the curd can be once cut, even with a clean break and especially on cheeses that are low-temperature cheeses. I’t will be fine.

When I firsts started I did a whole bunch of small batches to see how they reacted and getting the techniques down, then I went for the big batches. Trial and error is the learning curve, keep notes of temperatures, times and what u did, then u can compare notes.

Thanks for the info.  I’m going to try another batch this weekend.  I am very excited about this new hobby.