Author Topic: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold  (Read 21845 times)

iratherfly

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #15 on: December 02, 2012, 03:16:14 PM »
Look, I just think that selling PVC moulds for cheesemaking is downright irresponsible. They are not good either because the size and weeping hole patterns are wrong, but if that's what someone is willing to have just to save money, why buy it online? You can save more by just going to the nearest hardware store and cuting your own PVC pipe. In my opinion, if the cost of a proper purpose-built French-made mould that you will keep forever is around the cost of milk it takes to fill it once or twice, it is totally worth it and is rather cheap in the grand scheme of things. It is also safe and works great so it's worth the small investment.
I see that thecheesemaker.com also has a Camembert mould for $14: http://www.thecheesemaker.com/products/Camembert-and-Brie-Moulds.html shipping included of course. I have some moulds I made out of reused food grade containers (my two brie moulds are home made).

Too expensive, as I said above, I sell them for $8.99. Mine are made at the same factory but are proper Normendie size which is actually a bit bigger. I can double check but I think they are Ø115mm diameter by 110mm height.

"Dairythene" by the way is just a food-grade polypropylene.  There's nothing special in it for dairy applications, it's just a trade name.

Mighty Mouse

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2012, 12:19:13 AM »
Any pics of your brie mightyMouse?   :D

Also, can anyone post links of studies showing PVC is of concern?

My camera has been out of commission but hopefully I can get some in the near future. I'll try to.

Regarding PVC. I do not know of any studies off the top of my head. I know that if you google search it you get many links to articles suggesting its not the best thing for you. Perhaps some of them have sources listed that would give you what you are after. (One of my first stops is usually Wikipedia. Often the cited sources give pretty good leads.)

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2012, 01:10:19 AM »
Poly Vinyl Chloride or PVC can transmit tastes into your cheese.  You have to be careful when selecting a material for a cheese mold.  Delrin, or acetal plastic, contains a high amount of formaldehyde which can also be released under heat.  Your best bet is to stick to the Dairythene or stainless steel.
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iratherfly

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2012, 08:10:43 AM »
I remember that the French government about 15 years ago pulled Barbie off the shelves because it was made with PVC and kids were sucking on it and aside from cancer and migraines they were developing a strange skin disorder. PVC was also in the barbie clothing. They pressured Mattel to remove all PVC out of the toys. Next thing you know, Adidas, Puma and Nike shoes have a PVC-FREE symbol on the box and labels...

Mighty Mouse

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #19 on: December 04, 2012, 03:52:36 AM »
I remember that the French government about 15 years ago pulled Barbie off the shelves because it was made with PVC and kids were sucking on it and aside from cancer and migraines they were developing a strange skin disorder. PVC was also in the barbie clothing. They pressured Mattel to remove all PVC out of the toys. Next thing you know, Adidas, Puma and Nike shoes have a PVC-FREE symbol on the box and labels...

I saw a documentary a few years ago that looked at things containing lead. Among those items containing lead (as in, levels which could be detected using a basic $5 lead detector kid from a hardware store) were several children's toys including a Dora the Explorer toy for young children. What the heck would ever convince people that such a thing is a good idea?!

Even worse, when I took a class on basic nuclear physics, our instructor was kind of a radiation freak. He had a collection of "household items from hell". Basic houseful items which contained detectable radioactive material. Every day he would bring in things like salad bowls dyed with Uranium paint, and camera lenses coated with Iridium. He would start his Geiger counter at the start of lecture- at the end he would tell us the total collected reading. Scared me enough to go out and get my own Geiger counter!

Mighty Mouse

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #20 on: December 04, 2012, 03:59:30 AM »

rosawoodsii

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #21 on: December 04, 2012, 05:55:40 PM »
You really shouldn't be using PVC; it should never come in contact with food.  Frankly, a commercial creamery-grade, food-safe Brie hoop, imported from Europe - costs less than the milk of a single Brie -and can be used daily for 15 years. (not to mention it gives you proper drainage speed and makes a beautiful cheese). Isn't it worth it?

All the water pipes in my house are PVC.  If it's safe for water--and water does stand in the pipes for hours at a time--why would it be unsafe for cheese?

bbracken677

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2012, 06:11:09 PM »
acidity for one...

Otherwise, that is an excellent question.

Mighty Mouse

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #23 on: December 05, 2012, 01:23:49 AM »
You really shouldn't be using PVC; it should never come in contact with food.  Frankly, a commercial creamery-grade, food-safe Brie hoop, imported from Europe - costs less than the milk of a single Brie -and can be used daily for 15 years. (not to mention it gives you proper drainage speed and makes a beautiful cheese). Isn't it worth it?

All the water pipes in my house are PVC.  If it's safe for water--and water does stand in the pipes for hours at a time--why would it be unsafe for cheese?

Two thoughts:
1) Perhaps the chemicals in PVC which leach into food are not water soluble (I do not know this I am just throwing out a possible hypothesis), bbracken's idea sounds plausible as well. In general, I would wonder why PVC is considered safe for water but not food (assuming it is- see point 2).
2) Is PVC really still considered safe for potable water lines, or only considered safe for grey/waste water.

Again I do not know the answers to these, they are just questions which I would consider.

rosawoodsii

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #24 on: December 05, 2012, 01:38:30 AM »
PVC is considered safe for water. My brother-in-law is a plumber and that's what he uses for standard installations.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #25 on: December 05, 2012, 03:07:49 AM »
I think you'll find that the PVC water pipes in your house are for the drains and not the feed water.  Those are normally copper or steel to hold the pressure and heat.
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Mighty Mouse

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #26 on: December 05, 2012, 07:11:14 AM »
I took a real quick look on the web, I get the impression that PVC is in fact used for feed water. Types of PVC are used for both cold and hot water in fact.

rosawoodsii

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #27 on: December 05, 2012, 01:30:10 PM »
When I moved into my house several years ago, I had to have the galvanized pipe from the water lines replaced.  They used all PVC pipe.

Tiffany

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2012, 10:31:44 PM »
So many interesting arguments for this crazy topic I started.   Yep its my fault.  I have eaten cheese made in it with no bad flavor.  I too checked with my BIL, and he too said pvc for water.  And some water remains in the pipes at all times, so if there is any leaching happening, you all better quit drinking water from the tap.  We had our water tested for the milk processing facility, also thru pvc, and it tested negative for everything. No lead, no chemicals, no nothing cept a little iron from the shallow well.  We passed with flying colors so.... I guess this was the thought behind the pvc.  It clear many of you disagree.  I will eventually get the other molds, but only because they are lighter and thinner.  I matched the hole pattern and my cheese drains real well.  Sorry.... Guess I'm cheap and irresponsible....

rosawoodsii

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Re: Brie hoop vs. beaker mold
« Reply #29 on: December 06, 2012, 12:51:29 AM »
So many interesting arguments for this crazy topic I started.   Yep its my fault.  I have eaten cheese made in it with no bad flavor.  I too checked with my BIL, and he too said pvc for water.  And some water remains in the pipes at all times, so if there is any leaching happening, you all better quit drinking water from the tap.  We had our water tested for the milk processing facility, also thru pvc, and it tested negative for everything. No lead, no chemicals, no nothing cept a little iron from the shallow well.  We passed with flying colors so.... I guess this was the thought behind the pvc.  It clear many of you disagree.  I will eventually get the other molds, but only because they are lighter and thinner.  I matched the hole pattern and my cheese drains real well.  Sorry.... Guess I'm cheap and irresponsible....

I'm glad you got it tested, because now I have testing and not just logic behind my decision. :D  I guess I'm cheap, too, but $2.25 per mold rather than $6-$8 plus shipping...  And the cost of an occasional drill bit.

BTW, what does "BIL" stand for?