Cheddar-style cheese
A pressed cheese whose curd is cooked slowly, then cheddared: kept warm in slabs that are turned and stacked for hours before milling, salting and pressing.
Built structures · Cabinets and chamber conversions
Fridge cheese cave with individual ripening boxes
A modern cheese-ripening space made by controlling the temperature of a refrigerator or display cabinet and managing each cheese in its own covered container. It is an appliance conversion, not a natural cave or a traditional structure.
An appliance conversion, not a natural cave
A fridge cheese cave is a modern controlled space made by adapting a refrigerator or refrigerated display cabinet for cheese ageing. The word “cave” describes its role as a cool ripening environment; it does not mean that the cabinet is underground, naturally formed or built in the traditional manner. This item is classified as a cabinet conversion because the enclosure is a manufactured appliance adapted to hold a different temperature and humidity from an ordinary food refrigerator. The sources document present-day guidance, including a converted-fridge FAQ and a 2020 account from New Zealand; neither dates the invention of this approach.
The sources document two arrangements rather than one standard design. New England Cheesemaking Supply describes a home refrigerator controlled to a warmer ageing setpoint. In a separate account, cheesemaker Tony Hamblyn describes using a three-door shop display fridge as his cave. Neither account makes a particular make, cabinet size or internal layout essential to the idea.
Sources for this section
Temperature and humidity belong to the cheese method
A controller can keep a refrigerator above its own normal thermostat range. The FAQ's example sets a converted fridge to 52–55 °F (about 11–13 °C) and describes raising humidity with a shallow water pan and a sterilized sponge. Hamblyn reports a different commercial setup at 12 °C and 90% humidity, while also noting that humidity varied within the cabinet. These are reported examples, not one universal specification.
Ageing targets depend on the cheese. A cabinet reading cannot by itself show the conditions at every shelf or inside a covered box, so the useful measurement is near the cheese. The selected recipe or ageing method should determine temperature and humidity; a wine cooler is only a possible cabinet if its actual operating range suits that target.
Sources for this section
Individual boxes make a smaller humid space
Covered containers can reduce moisture loss by keeping a smaller volume of humid air around a cheese. The FAQ gives a general container fill guideline of about 40 percent cheese and 60 percent air space. It also discusses wiping away condensation, keeping a wet surface from forming, lifting cheese on a mat where the method calls for it, and opening boxes to exchange air. These handling details come from the FAQ; the linked Hamblyn photograph shows lidded containers on the upper shelves of his fridge but does not show cheese inside them, a mat or an air vent.
The distinction matters when describing the pictured equipment: the photo documents a commercial fridge used for cheese, with cheeses and lidded containers in the same cabinet. It does not prove that every cheese was boxed or that every box had the same internal arrangement. Boxed ageing is a separate practice that can be used inside a controlled cabinet.
Sources for this section
Documented New Zealand example and practical limits
In a 2020 update, Hamblyn describes a three-door shop display fridge with temperature and humidity controllers and a humidifier in one bay. His account gives settings of 12 °C and 90 percent relative humidity, and says that humidity varied within the fridge. Dish-draining trays created a more humid micro-environment for cheeses that needed it. This is a single reported New Zealand example, not the origin of the method or a model to copy in every detail.
One cabinet provides one main temperature, so cheeses with incompatible targets need separate spaces or another method. A controller does not verify food safety or guarantee a successful rind. Do not run a cheese-ageing setpoint while also treating the appliance as an ordinary refrigerator for other perishable foods. Containers help manage moisture but are not a guarantee of microbial isolation.
Sources for this section
Site
SettingA domestic or small-workshop refrigerator or display cabinet adapted for cheese ripening.
ClimateA controlled cool cabinet, with temperature and humidity targets chosen for the cheese being aged.
NotesThe sources document more than one setup, including a converted home refrigerator and a three-door commercial display fridge. They do not establish a single cabinet design or a geographic origin for this modern practice.
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Materials
- Refrigerator or refrigerated display cabinet — The enclosure is set aside for cheese ageing; documented examples include a converted regular or dorm-sized refrigerator and a three-door shop display fridge.
- Temperature controller — A regulator can control a refrigerator setpoint above its normal food-storage range; the FAQ gives 52–55 °F for its converted-fridge example.
- Covered individual containers — The FAQ describes containers to retain moisture around cheeses; Hamblyn's fridge photograph shows lidded containers on shelves and cheese wheels elsewhere in the cabinet.
- Humidity source or control — Optional humidity management ranges from a shallow water pan and sterile sponge in the FAQ to the humidifier and humidity controller reported in Hamblyn's display fridge.
- Choose a refrigerator or display cabinet that can hold the target temperature, and dedicate it to ageing rather than ordinary food storage.
- Use a temperature regulator if the refrigerator's own thermostat cannot maintain the cheese's specified ageing range. The FAQ's converted-fridge example uses 52–55 °F; Hamblyn reports 12 °C for his different commercial display-fridge setup.
- Place each cheese in an appropriate covered container when the method calls for a higher-humidity micro-environment. Follow the cheese-specific instructions for container volume, opening and moisture management.
- Manage humidity cautiously with a shallow water pan and sponge where appropriate, or a separately controlled humidifier in a larger cabinet; check conditions near the cheese.
- Monitor condensation and exchange air in containers as directed by the cheese method. The FAQ warns that dripping condensation can wet the cheese and recommends raised mats and periodic fresh-air exchange for boxed ageing; the Hamblyn photograph does not show those details.
Places
New Zealand
Documented use · Country evidenceTony Hamblyn's 2020 update documents one display-fridge cheese cave in New Zealand; it does not establish the origin or exclusive location of refrigerator cheese caves.
Related
Used for
Pairs with
Fridge or wine cabinet
A refrigerator or wine cabinet can provide a cool enclosure for holding or ripening food, but it does not control every condition a ferment or cheese needs. Check temperature, humidity, airflow and cleanable food containers separately.
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Sources
New England Cheesemaking SupplyEquipment · Temperature · Humidity · Container use · Care
Aging Cheese FAQThe page describes a converted regular or dorm-sized refrigerator controlled to 52–55 °F, with humidity raised by a shallow water pan and sterile sponge when needed.
It describes individual covered boxes, roughly 40% cheese to 60% empty space as a general rule, management of condensation, mats to lift cheese, and opening boxes to exchange air.
The FAQ advises that a regular food refrigerator is cooler and tends to dry unprotected cheese; it gives a cheese-specific explanation rather than a universal target.
Cited in: An appliance conversion, not a natural cave; Temperature and humidity belong to the cheese method; Individual boxes make a smaller humid space; Documented New Zealand example and practical limits
New England Cheesemaking Supply CompanyDocumented example · Geography · Equipment · Temperature · Humidity · Image reference
Tony Hamblyn in New Zealand UpdateHamblyn reports converting a three-door shop display fridge into a cheese cave using temperature and humidity controllers, with a humidifier in one bay.
His reported setpoints are 12 °C and 90% humidity; he notes that humidity varies through the fridge and uses dish-draining trays to create a micro-environment for high-humidity cheeses.
The article photograph shows a glass-door commercial refrigerator, shelves, cheese wheels and lidded plastic containers; it does not show the boxes containing cheese or raised mats.
Cited in: An appliance conversion, not a natural cave; Temperature and humidity belong to the cheese method; Individual boxes make a smaller humid space; Documented New Zealand example and practical limits