Cheese wheels are round because they’re typically created in large cheese presses that give them that shape. These machines compress the cheese into a round shape which is then wrapped in cloth, wax, washed in brine or alcohol, or left to mould ripen depending on the type of cheese. Cylindrical cheeses are less vulnerable to over-ripening than rectangular cheeses as the surface mould has fewer corners to break down. Cheese wheels are often rotated as part of their ageing. Square and rectangle cheeses, on the other hand, were developed for modern storage and mass production.