Is it just me?..........

[cmayna]

.......or does smoked cheese darken as it ages in the fridge?    I was looking at some cheese I did last year which has sat in the reefer vacuum sealed and swear it wasn't that dark when I pulled it out of the smoker way back then.

Then again, maybe it's just me.

 

[crazymoon]

I'm only on my second batch so I don't know BUT I hope to make enough so I have some that is that old ! Congratz on your patience !!!!

 

[timstalltaletav]

.......or does smoked cheese darken as it ages in the fridge?    I was looking at some cheese I did last year which has sat in the reefer vacuum sealed and swear it wasn't that dark when I pulled it out of the smoker way back then.

Then again, maybe it's just me.

I hope you're right. The last batch I did came out looking the same as it did going in? It smelled smoky but the color change was minimal. Other batches I did seemed to take on more color?

 

[crankybuzzard]

The natural oils and moisture within the cheese will react with the smoke residue and darken the surface a bit. Some of it will wipe away with a clean cloth or paper towel when you open it up.

 

[dirtyduc83]

I noticed this with some recently smoked cheese.  I smoked some Dubliner and saved a small chunk to compare the flavors of smoked vs unsmoked.  The color was very similar right after pulling from the smoker, it was about 30F outside and smoker temp hovered around 60-65F through the two hours.  After vacuum sealing and 48 hrs, I noticed the smoked has darkened quite a bit from when I first pulled it from the smoker.  I'm noticing the same with some from just a couple weeks ago. 

 

[tropics]

I have only done a few batches and Yes it does darken as it ages