Wiki: White Mould Defects, Ripening

Camembert At 34 Days, Cut At 10C 50F, Body Excessively Liquid - CheeseForum.org
Semi-Lactic At 18 Days, Sticking To Mat - CheeseForum.org
Semi-Lactic At 18 Days, Sticking To Mat – CheeseForum.org

This Wiki article addresses ripening phase defects special to “White Mould” type cheeses such as Brie & Camembert which are generally made by adding Penicillium candidum. In addition to all the normal Coagulation, Surface, Aroma, Body, and Flavour defects, white mold cheeses also have their own special set of problems. This article is divided into the following sections:

Ripening – Curds Sticking To Mats

Description

  • Cheese sticks to mat when trying to lift cheese off of for turning and possible tears off rind when trying to remove cheese.

Causes & Remedies

  • Excessive mold growth has glued cheese to mat, no immediate solution, in future pat down mold more often, turn cheeses more frequently, change to coarser weave mat.
  • Poor circulation below mat has resulted in mositure buildup and yeast growth gluing cheese to mat, no solution except to cut off infected part of cheese, in future enable proper drainage a/d air circulation below cheese.

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Ripening – Aroma Ammonia

Camembert At 34 Days, Cut At 10C 50F, Body Excessively Liquid - CheeseForum.org
Camembert At 34 Days, Cut At 10C 50F, Body Excessively Liquid – CheeseForum.org

Description

  • Ammonia smell in young cheese.

Causes & Remedies

  • Cheese is past “A Point” and is overripe before correct age, causes are ripening/aging temperature is too high, reduce to slow down ripening schedule, or moisture content of cheese is too high, stir curds slightly longer to expel slightly more whey before ladling into hoops.
  • Excessive growth of Penicllium candidum from either excessive amount of Penicillium candidum used or cheese not wrapped as soon as white mould had completely covered the cheese.

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Ripening – Body Liquid

Description

  • Body of cheese is too liquid or runny.

Causes & Remedies

  • Excessive moisture in the cheese, stir curds slightly longer to expel slightly more whey before ladling into hoops.
  • Normal in very overripe white mould cheeses.

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Ripening – Body Firm

Semi-Lactic At 22 Days, Paste Too Firm - CheeseForum.org
Semi-Lactic At 22 Days, Paste Too Firm – CheeseForum.org

Description

  • Body of cheese is too firm and does not soften when aging from action of Penicillum candidum mold on body of cheese.

Causes & Remedies

  • Moisture content is too low, reduce amount and/or time of stirring before ladling into hoops. If still to dry, handle curd more gently during ladling.
  • Aging time is insufficient.
  • Penicillium candidum mould inactive.

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Ripening – Flavour Bitter

Description

  • Cheese when mature tastes bitter. Common bitter tasting foods or drinks are coffee, unsweetened chocolate, citrus peel, or quinine in tonic water.
  • Excessive bitterness is usually from over ripening and is considered a flaw in white boomy cheeses.

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Wiki: White Mould Defects, Blooming

Semi Lactic At 12 Days Uneven Mold Bloom - CheeseForum.org

This Wiki article addresses blooming phase defects special to “White Mould” type cheeses such as Brie & Camembert which are generally made by adding Penicillium candidum. In addition to all the normal Coagulation, Surface, Aroma, Body, and Flavour defects, white mold cheeses also have their own special set of problems. This article is divided into the following sections:

Blooming – Slow Bloom

Description

  • White mould does not completely cover cheese in normal 12-14 days after making.

Causes & Remedies

  • Ripening/aging humidity is too low, retarding bloom of white mould.
  • Ripening/aging temperature of cheese is too low, retarding bloom of white mould.
  • If dry salting formed cheese, excessive salting retarding or halting bloom of white mould.
  • If inoculating milk with Penicillium candidum, temperature of milk was too low, retarding bloom of white mould.

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Blooming – No Or Non-Uniform Bloom

Semi Lactic At 12 Days Uneven Mold Bloom - CheeseForum.org
Semi Lactic At 12 Days Uneven Mold Bloom - CheeseForum.org

Description

  • No or non-uniform/uneven bloom of white mould on whole surface of cheese.

Causes & Remedies

  • If on bottom, bottom of cheese is in draining whey, mould will not bloom if it has it’s “feet in water”, keep drained whey away from bottom of cheese and turn more often.
  • Uneven, too much or too little salting of surface of cheese, retarding or halting bloom of white mold in certain areas or of whole cheese.
  • If applying Penicillium candidum to surface of cheese (vs to milk), uneven application.
  • Competing pathogen.
  • Antibiotics in the milk.
  • Wrong acidity.

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Blooming – Thick Bloom

Semi-Lactic At 20 Days, Excessive Bloom - CheeseForum.org
Semi-Lactic At 20 Days, Excessive Bloom - CheeseForum.org

Description

  • Thick layer of white mould on surface of cheese. If left uncontrolled will result in “slip skin” or “toad skin” where it will slip off the body of the cheese.

Causes & Remedies

  • Excessive mould development from either excessive amount of Penicillium candidum used or cheese not wrapped as soon as white mould had completely covered the cheese.

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Wiki: White Mould Defects, Forming

Camembert Slumping 3 Hours After Removing Hoops & Salting Top - CheeseForum.org

Camembert Second Turn, Curds Still Sticking But Peeling Off Mat - CheeseForum.org
Camembert Second Turn, Curds Still Sticking But Peeling Off Mat - CheeseForum.org

This Wiki article addresses forming phase defects special to “White Mould” type cheeses such as Brie & Camembert which are generally made by adding Penicillium candidum. In addition to all the normal Coagulation, Surface, Aroma, Body, and Flavour defects, white mold cheeses also have their own special set of problems. This article is divided into the following sections:

Forming – Curds Sticking To Mats

Description

  • During forming stage, curds stick to mat when trying to lift cheese in hoop off of mat for turning.

Causes & Remedies

  • Turning cheese too early before curd dehydrates and knits to form a skin.
  • Use thin blade knife to separate – peel curds off of mats, on subsequent turn curds will knit and torn area will not show.
  • Switch to slightly courser weave mats.

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Forming – Curds Slouching

Camemberts Excessive Slumping As Cheeses too Moist When Removed Hoop - CheeseForum.org
Camemberts Excessive Slumping As Cheeses too Moist When Removed Hoop - CheeseForum.org

Description

  • After lifting hoops up and off cheeses, the newly formed cheese slouches/sags becoming barreled at bottom.

Causes & Remedies

  • Cause is cheese was still too moist/not sufficiently drained of whey when removed hoop support. If quick can fit the hoop back over the cheese and drain for an extra 1/2-1 day at room temperature, otherwise have to live with problem and with further turning barrel shape will even out between to middle.

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Camembert Slumping 3 Hours After Removing Hoops & Salting Top - CheeseForum.org
Camembert Slumping 3 Hours After Removing Hoops & Salting Top - CheeseForum.org

Wiki: Hoops & Molds

Home Made 4 in, 103 mm Drilled PVC Hoop, Wooden Follower With Cheesecloth Wrap, & Improvised Weights - CheeseForum.org

Small (Saint Marcellin etc) Cylindrical Gravity Draining Baskets, 350w x 325d inch, 90w x 82d mm - CheeseForum.org
Small (Saint Marcellin etc) Cylindrical Gravity Draining Baskets, 350w x 325d inch, 90w x 82d mm - CheeseForum.org
This Wiki Article discusses various hoops and molds used in cheese making. Hoops and molds have several uses in cheese making, depending on cheese type. They can be used to drain whey in, either by gravity or by additionally applying weight, to form the cheese’s initial shape, to hold the curds while knitting in pressed cheeses, and to hold a cheese’s shape during aging also called ripening. This article is divided into the following sections:

Description

Generally hoops have open tops and bottoms and molds are basket shaped. Hoops are often cyclindrical shaped but can be square or rectangular, they often have followers, (circles, squares, or rectangles) placed on top of the curds upon which weight can be applied to lightly or heavily press the curds into their preferred shape. Normally hoops are placed on some sort of drainage material through which the whey can drain from the bottom of the cheese. Molds are similar to hoops except they have bottoms. Molds are historically used for gravity draining whey from cheese but with the advent of strong modern food grade materials they are now also often commonly used for pressing cheeses in. Because of modern materials, hoops are generally less popular as strong baskets can now be made with bottoms that will not shear out when being used for pressed cheeses. However hoops are still used for cheeses that are turned during gravity whey drainage such as Brie & Camembert.
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Medium (Ricotta etc) Tapered Gravity Draining Baskets, 450w x 325d inch, 114w x 83d mm - CheeseForum.org
Medium (Ricotta etc) Tapered Gravity Draining Baskets, 450w x 325d inch, 114w x 83d mm - CheeseForum.org

Whey Drainage

The primary use of hoops and molds is to drain whey from the curds. To do this they need the correct shape and number of round holes or slots to drain the right amount of whey in the right amount of time for the type of cheese being made. Additionally, hoops and molds for pressed cheeses are often lined with a light thin cheesecloth or mesh material to aid whey drainage from the top and sides of the cheese to the whey escape routes normally out the bottom of the hoop or mold.
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Materials

The material used to make hoops and baskets used in cheese making needs to be food hygenic and if reused, easily cleanable. Historically materials used were woven straw, dried reeds, or woven wood for baskets and strips of wood for hoops. While these materials are still used. most modern manufactured hoops and baskets are made from food grade polypropylene or stainless steel.
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Strength

The strength of hoops and baskets used in cheese making is dependant on the forces the curds or cheese will be under while in the hoop or basket. These can range from minimal for very small gravity drained cheeses to low for large gravity drained cheese or lightly pressed cheeses to medium for large wheels with medium pressing weights to high for highly pressed cheeses such as cheddars.
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Examples

Large (Ricotta etc) Tapered Gravity Draining Baskets, 625w x 325d inch, 159w x 83d mm - CheeseForum.org
Large (Ricotta etc) Tapered Gravity Draining Baskets, 625w x 325d inch, 159w x 83d mm - CheeseForum.org

Examples of hoops:

  • Light weight thus poor strength with medium density of commonly round whey drainage holes. These are commonly plastic and used for unpressed or very lightly pressed cheeses while forming their shape such as Bries and Camemberts.
  • Medium strength with low density holes. These are commonly plastic and used for medium pressed cheeses while forming their shape such as rennet coagulated washed curd type cheeses Edam and Gouda.
  • Strong strength with low density or no holes. These are commonly stainless steel and used for very highly pressed cheeses such as cheddars.

Examples of baskets:

  • Very light strength with multiple holes or slots. These are commonly plastic with poor strength for pressing and are commonly used for gravity draining whey from curds when making soft cheeses. Some examples are lactic acid coagulated type cheeses such as Cream Cheese, Chevre, or lactic acid surface white mold ripened type cheeses such as Chaource & Saint-Marcellin, or secondary coagulated (usually recooked) type cheeses such as Ricotta.
  • Medium strength with medium number of holes or slots. These are commonly thicker plastic with medium strength for medium pressing. They are commonly used for medium pressed rennet coagulated cheeses. Some examples are rennet coagulated type cheeses Caprino & Manchego, and rennet coagulated washed curd type cheeses such as Edam, Gouda, and Colby.
  • High strength with medium number of holes or slots. These are commonly stainless steel with high strength for high pressing. They are commonly used for high pressed rennet coagulated cheddared (normally stacked and milled curds) type cheeses such as Cheddar, Derby, Red Leicester, Wensleydale, Cantal, and Monterey Jack.

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Availability

Small (Valencay etc) Pyramid Gravity Draining Baskets, 350w x 325d inch, 90w x 83d mm - CheeseForum.org
Small (Valencay etc) Pyramid Gravity Draining Baskets, 350w x 325d inch, 90w x 83d mm - CheeseForum.org

Many novice cheese makers start by improvising for their hoops and baskets, some examples are:

  • Small fruit baskets from grocery stores such as blueberry or strawberry baskets or small food grade plastic containers such as yogurt containers with holes drilled in.
  • Food grade normally white coloured PVC 4″ or 6″ diameter pipe from large hardware store with or without holes drilled in and round follower cut from polyethelene cutting board for pressing cheeses in. While this material is frequently used in house construction for cold and hot water supply, it is not recommended for use in cheese making due to the effects of low pH/highly acid cheese.
  • Given the non-ideal examples above, many hobby cheese makers upgrade to purpose built manufactured hoops and molds. These are generally purchased from Cheese Making stores. Our international listing of supply stores is here.

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Small (Camembert etc) Gravity Draining Hoops, 425w x 425d inch, 108w x 108d mm - CheeseForum.org
Small (Camembert etc) Gravity Draining Hoops, 425w x 425d inch, 108w x 108d mm - CheeseForum.org
Two Kadova Brand 1.5-2 kg Gouda Shape Pressing Molds - CheeseForum.org
Two Kadova Brand 1.5-2 kg Gouda Shape Pressing Molds - CheeseForum.org
Home Made 4 in, 103 mm Drilled PVC Hoop, Wooden Follower With Cheesecloth Wrap, & Improvised Weights - CheeseForum.org
Home Made 4 in, 103 mm Drilled PVC Hoop, Wooden Follower With Cheesecloth Wrap, & Improvised Weights - CheeseForum.org

Wiki: Microorganisms & Cheese Making

This Wiki Article provides an introduction to microorganisms common in cheese making. Microorganisms are organisms that are unicellular or live in a colony of cellular organisms such as bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists; microscopic plants (green algae); and animals such as plankton and the planarian. Microorganisms were the first forms of life to develop on Earth, approximately 3–4 billion years ago, the study of microorganisms is called microbiology.

Microorganisms live in all parts of the earth’s biosphere where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the Earth’s crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. Microorganisms are present in raw milk and are used in controlling the fermentation process in making cheese, either natively or by additionally applying, and are critical in developing different cheese types flavours and aromas, and in inhibiting undesirable organisms. Microorganisms are also used in brewing, winemaking, baking, pickling and other food making processes. Historically and in many cases currently cheese has been made in very rustic facilities with many ambient/wild microorganisms, which does not necessarily mean unsanitary, but does result in cheese quality that is too inconsistent for modern cheese factories but good for home and artisan cheese making.

The main types of microorganisms used in making cheese are shown below.

Bacteria

Bacteria are a biological kingdom of simple single-celled, prokaryote (lacking a cell nucleus) microorganisms. They are typically a few micrometres in length and have a wide range of shapes ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat, growing in water, soil, acidic hot springs, as well as in organic matter and the live bodies of plants and animals including humans. There are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and a million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water; and in total form a bacteria with a biomass which exceeds that of all plants and animals. There are approximately ten times as many bacterial cells in the human flora as there are cells in the human body, large numbers of bacteria are on the skin and in the intestines. Bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, however most bacteria have not been characterised, the study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch of microbiology.

Bacteria reproduce asexually by simple division of the cell and its contents, called fission. The doubling time can be as short as 20 min, and as each cell grows and divides at the same rate as the parent cell, this could under favourable conditions translate to an increase from one to 10 million cells in 11 hours. However, bacterial growth in reality is limited by lack of nutrients, accumulation of toxins and metabolic wastes, unfavourable temperatures and dessication. Bacterial populations are expressed as colony forming units (CFU) per gram or millilitre.

Bacterial growth generally has several phases:

  • Lag Phase: Time for bacteria to become accustomed to their new environment. There is little or no growth during this phase.
  • Log Phase: Bacteria exponential growth begins; the rate of multiplication is the most rapid and constant.
  • Stationary Phase: Rate of multiplication slows down due to lack of nutrients and build-up of toxins. At the same time, bacteria are constantly dying so the numbers actually remain constant.
  • Death Phase: Cell numbers decrease as growth stops and existing cells die off.

Milk is sterile at secretion into the udder but is contaminated by bacteria before it leaves the udder. Except in the case of mastitis, the natural microflora of bacteria at this point are harmless and few in number. Further infection of the milk by microorganisms can take place during milking, handling, storage, and other pre-processing activities. If significant lactic acid producing bacteria are in raw milk, it will, with time and warmer temperatures, multiply, acidify and curdle the milk (commonly called clabber) after which whey can be drained. However, depending on bacteria amount and types this can result in either inefficient, uncontrollable, and unpredictable and thus variable results and if lactic acid producing bacteria are minimal, an environment for unwanted/unhealthy bacteria to reproduce. Thus to extend shelf life, milk is commonly pasteurized to kill off most of the bacteria, both good and bad types. Commonly in cheese making, wanted lactic acid producing bacteria are added (inoculation) to the milk, to out-compete unwanted native bacteria, these are called starter cultures.

Common bacteria used in making cheese are:

  • Lactic Acid Producing Bacteria: Commonly called starter cultures, naturally in milk but commonly added to milk to ferment lactose in milk to lactic acid causing coagulation and release of whey to condense remaining milk ingredients into cheese for longer shelf life.
  • Brevibacterium linens which is ubiquitously present on the human skin where it causes foot odor and applied to give cheese rinds an orange colour and a very pungent aroma, examples are Limburger and Port-du-Salut.

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Fungi

In biological terms, Fungi are a Kingdom and thus different from other Kingdoms such as plants, animals, and bacteria. Fungi are made up of yeasts, molds (spelt moulds in Britain) and mushrooms. The discipline of the study of fungi is called mycology, a branch of microbiology. Fungi are abundant worldwide but most are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. Fungi have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, soy sauce, and cheese.

Little is known of the true biodiversity of the Fungi Kingdom, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified. Most fungi grow in cylindrical, thread-like structures 2–10 µm in diameter and up to several centimeters in length called hyphae. From these they grow by a combination of apical growth and branching/forking resulting in mycelium, an interconnected network of hyphae which is normally more visible to the naked eye, (ie fuzzy mold on damp walls, spoiled food such as bread, or on cheese where used to provide flavour and aroma.

Yeast Fungi

Currently yeasts are thought to be about 1% of all fungal species, about 500 have been described by mycologists. Yeasts ferment carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohols, and are common in baking such as bread making for their carbon dioxide forming attributes and in for their alcohol making attributes in alcoholic beverage making such as beer and wine.

Yeasts are intentionally used in making some cheese types to enable rind development and are also a source of unwanted “infections” resulting in rising bread/beer yeasty smells and swelling. Note that Swiss types cheeses with eyes (Emmenthaler, Leerdammer) are not made with yeast but with Propionibacterium freudenreichii, a bacteria.

Mold Fungi

Molds grow like mushrooms, they have a surface component and send down roots called mycelia into the insides of the cheese where they break down the fats and proteins and create different flavors and textures, some penetrate just cheese rinds, some penetrate the whole paste (for example Brie or Camembert.

Common molds used in making cheese are

  • Geotrichum.
  • Penicillium white strains used in making the fluffy coating on Brie/Camembert.
  • Penicillium blue strains used in giving blue cheeses such as Roquefort and Stilton their distinctive blue to blue-green veins.

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Wiki: Pressing Cheeses

Two 1.5-2 kg final cheese weight Kadova brand Gouda shaped pressing molds with formed mesh nets and mesh lined followers.

This article discusses pressing cheeses which is primarily performed on rennet coagulated lower moisture content aged cheeses after curds are prepared, (steps dependent on cheese type being made). Many cheeses have whey drained by gravity either by hanging the prepared curds in cheese cloth or by placing in a mold, these are not discussed in this article. Pressed cheese are in general pressed by placing the prepared curds in a cheese cloth lined hoop, on top of a draining mat, then placing a follower on top of the curds and then placing weights on top of the follower.

Pressing Goals

0.5 kg Gouda cheese pressing in homemade hoop and cloth bag shaped liner, expelled whey needs to be drained.
0.5 kg Gouda cheese pressing in homemade hoop and cloth bag shaped liner, expelled whey needs to be drained.

The goals of pressing the prepared curds are to:

  • Reform a large cheese shaped drier curd, normally without any voids.
  • To dehydrate the curd at the surface and form a tough rind that is less susceptible to unwanted micro-organisms.
  • To knit the curds into a homogeneous cheese.

Some cheeses when manufactured in large wheels such as Stilton are not externally pressed, but are effectively pressed under their own weight. Making smaller artisan or hobby sized wheels of these cheeses often requires light pressing. Some cheeses such as washed curd Gouda’s need only light pressure versus some like cheddar require high pressure to form a knit. However, Dutch cheese makers of old pressed their large wheels with high pressures not to form a knit but to form a very dry and hard environmentally resistant rind as they had poor control of the weather and thus poor control of their aging environment.

Hoops & Molds

In gravity draining whey from cheese, commonly a thin mold or hoop and mats are used. In pressed cheeses the form is often called a hoop as it was historically in the shape of a round hoop as that shape was better to withstand the sometimes high hoop stresses from the applied weights.

Inside a cloth liner was placed inside the hoop in hold the initially moist and soft curds, but modern manufacturing has enabled more heavy-duty mold type devices with integrated bottoms and form fitted mesh liners and lids.

Pressing Method

Two 1.5-2 kg final cheese weight Kadova brand Gouda shaped pressing molds with formed mesh nets and mesh lined followers.
Two 1.5-2 kg final cheese weight Kadova brand Gouda shaped pressing molds with formed mesh nets and mesh lined followers.

The following is the standard method for pressing cheeses, it will vary depending on hoop or mold type and on cheese type.

  1. A hoop, commonly with small holes to enable whey expulsion is placed on some sort of mat that additionally allows whey to flow out of the bottom of the cheese.
  2. Inside the hoop a cloth is placed to initially hold the curds so that they aren’t extruded out the holes.
  3. The prepared curds are placed in the cloth and a round disk-shaped “follower” placed on top of the curds.
  4. While pushing down on the follower, the cloth is pulled up straight all the way around the sides to minimize wrinkle-fold lines in the sides of the cheese.
  5. Initially a light weight is applied on top of follower to apply a light pressure. Going light at first gives the excess whey in the interior time to move out of the cheese before the curds at the edge are dehydrated effectively sealing the whey inside the cheese, a location for unwanted micro-organisms to grow. If heavy weight/high pressure was applied initially then i) the fresh very soft curd can be extruded up around the follower or out of weep holes if no liner is used, and ii) the curds at the surface would rapidly dehydrate forming a barrier to further whey expulsion.
  6. After a short period, the very sort formed single curd is removed from the cloth and turned and replaced. Again while pushing down on the follower pull the cloth up verticlly aroound the circumference of the formed curd and then apply a heavier pressure. This is to i) enable the previously top of cheese to also form a slightly dehydrated layer and ii) enable a more uniform shaped and moisture content cheese to be created, iii) to minimize the curds impregnating and sticking to the cloth, and iv) to minimize cloth wrinkle-fold lines on side of the forming cheese.
  7. The above step is repeated with steadily longer times between turnings and with steadily higher pressures, depending on the cheese type and recipe-procedure.

Notes:

  • Some cheese makers only use the cloth lining for the initial light pressings to minimize the cloth imprint around the sides of the cylinder during higher pressure pressings.
  • Some cloths are sewn to snuggly fit the inside of the hoop and thereby reduce ridge lines around the periphery of the cheese.

Presses

Final pressing two 4 lb Gouda's in Kadova Brand molds using stepladder and large bucket of paint as weights.
Final pressing two 4 lb Gouda's in Kadova Brand molds using stepladder and large bucket of paint as weights.

Presses range from the simple improvised (exercise hand weight, jugs of water, step-ladder balanced one end on the hoop) to highly leveraged or geared machines to modern pneumatic (air powered) machines and are the subject of a future separate article.

Tricks & Traps

Common tricks and traps in pressing cheeses are:

  • Sticking of the curds to the cheesecloth of hoops or to the mesh liner in some molds, this normally occurs when the curds pH is too low or when the weave is too coarse and the pressed curds are imbedded into the cloth. Solutions are to turn the cheese a few times in the first couple of hours to build up a good rind, use a tighter weave, and additionally if required to soak the cloth or nets with warm whey with addition of Calcium Chloride (warmth helps curds to knit) or to spray with a salt/vinegar/CaCl2 solution. If required the cloth liner can be additionally sprayed between cheese turnings while in the press.

Wiki: Blue Mold Defects

“Blue Mold” type cheeses such as Stilton & Rocquefort are made by adding the mold Penicillium rocqueforti. In addition to all the normal Coagulation, Surface, Aroma, Body, and Flavour defects, they also have their own special set of problems. This article discusses the common defects special to blue mold cheeses, their descriptions, and causes organized by defect type.

Surface – Slow Mold Development

Description

  • Blue mold takes excessive time to develop on surface of cheese.

Causes

  • Ripening/aging room humidity is too low, increase.
  • Moisture content of cheese is too low, stir less or cook for shorter time or at lower temperature, or cut curds larger.
  • Extremely weak or dead Penicillium rocqueforti innoculant. This is unheard of as P. rocqueforti is an extremely hardy and resilient mold.

Aroma – Excessive, Early

Description

  • The aroma of cheese becomes excessive before correct ripening/aging time.

Causes

  • Ripening/aging room humidity is too high, reduce.

Body – Poor Mold Development

Description

  • Body of cheese has little blue mold development.

Causes

  • Inadequate amount of cavities in body of cheese in which blue mold can grow. Causes are not enough milling, cheese pressed too much, or moisture content of cheese it too high not allowing cavities to stay open.
  • Inadequate piercing of cheese not enabling air to enter body of cheese to activate blue mold.
  • Extremely weak or dead Penicillium rocqueforti innoculant. This is unheard of as P. rocqueforti is an extremely hardy and resilient mold.