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So, it is around minus 10 C today and I have some Jarlsberg in the smoker. Is it too cols outside? The AMNPS raises the temp in my converter oven quite a bit, but perhaps not enough for a chilly day?
I have had to preheat my smoker to cold smoke. The smoker inside temp has to be above freezing and below the melting point of the cheese you are smoking. I'd say 80° is going to be max for about any cheese.
I think it turned out well. At two hours it was cool to the touch and barely coloured. The AMNPS had only burnt about two and a half inches of pellets so I left it going for another two hours. At four hours the colour was a bit darker but still pretty light. There was no sweat on the cheese and the oven wasn't warm at all. The heat from the pellets was just enough to keep it above freezing. I'm going to let it sit for a couple of weeks; only tasting it will tell but I think this cheese will be mild with just a hint of smoke.
I've smoked cheese in temps that low many times and as long as you get the smoke chamber above freezing you are fine. You won't see as much of a color change, but you will still get good smoke flavor.
Good advice from all of the above. It's the internal smoker temperature that we are concerned with not the external. If you keep the temp between 0°c - 27°c as Bear55 said you will be fine.