Wrap like a pro

ed. note: Formaticum supplied us with professional-quality cheese paper for this article. Credit was accidentally omitted from the original article: you can find their products and more cheesewrapping advice at formaticum.com.

Call me a sad cheese geek (I will readily confess), but wrapping cheese carefully has always given me particular satisfaction. Perhaps it’s my own small “homage” to the considerable labors of the cheesemaker, the least I can do being to send the wedge or wheel on its way looking its best. Either way, taking care to wrap cheese serves a dual purpose. It’s not only pleasing to the eye but is essential to keep the cheese in the best possible condition. A badly wrapped cheese will deteriorate much more quickly than a well wrapped one.

What follows are some step-by-step instructions for swaddling those challenging cheese shapes armed only with a sheet of paper and a small amount of sticky tape. If you find a method that works better for you, that is fine too. The important thing is to ensure that the cheese is entirely covered by paper, but not wrapped so tight that it’s strangled.

Remember, cheese is alive.

Pyramid / Cylinder / Round

Step 1: Place cheese in the center of the wrapping paper.

Step 2: Bring together two opposite edges of the paper and fold over to form a French pleat.

Step 3: Fold the open side ends inward to meet each other in the middle (like a paper dart).

Step 4: Tuck the folded side ends underneath the cheese and fasten with a piece of tape.

Triangle Wedge

Step 1: Place the wedge of cheese along the center line or crease of the paper. This will provide a good positioning guide, ensuring that the cheese is entirely covered by the paper when it’s wrapped.

Step 2: Bring one edge of the paper over the top of the cheese and down the other side. Form a crease in the paper with your fingers where the two pieces of paper meet. Fold the outside edge of the paper toward the middle, encasing all but the thick end of the cheese.

Step 3: “Roll” the wedge of cheese toward the edge of the paper, making sure that the paper is taut (not super tight), and fasten with a piece of scotch tape.

Step 4: Fold the open side ends of paper inward to meet each other in the middle (like a paper dart).
Step 5: Fold the “point” of paper at the thick end toward the cheese to enclose the wedge. Fasten with a piece of tape.

Asymmetrical Wedge

This is one of the most challenging shapes of cheese to wrap well.

Step 1: Align one of the cut edges of the cheese along the center crease or fold of the paper. This will provide a good positioning guide, ensuring that the cheese is entirely covered by the paper when it’s wrapped.