Marking cheeses

[steffb503]

I need some ideas on how to mark my cheese. I typically do any where from 2-4 cheeses, 10-20 gallon batches,  at a time. When I am in peak production I will do 4 every other day.
My problem comes in when they are air drying, on my rack I have 8 shelves that hold 2 cheeses each. So neeedless to say i see the possibility of confusion. I now put a tag on the shelf, but I can see them falling off.
i would love to come up with something I can press into the cheese at pressing time.
I am sure some of you have figured this out already.

[ArnaudForestier]

Interested as well, Steff.  I know Oude Kaas has a system of marking his cheeses with stencil, and I believe it's simply by batch number.  I tend to note my makes by type and date (e.g., "T44") is a tomme from 4/4 of the current year, "BF44" would be a Beaufort (I no longer call them Beauforts, another story) from the same date, and so on.  But curious on what others use.  I like Vermont Shepherd's - with their flagships sheep's cheese, it's simple - a really cool sheep symbol and then some kind of numbering system (looks really simple, like "47," which leads me to think it's simply day/batch 47 of their production season) (they produce only on pastured milk).

As to stencils, I'm sure this is an easy one, but I personally don't know what people use.  I'd also like to know, thanks for the thread. 

[steffb503]

The problem with the stencils is they tend to be very thin. By the time it comes out of the brine and gets waxed I can hardly see it.
We have been throwing this around all morning and came up with a solution but i am not sure if it will be OK.
Can I use copper wire or nickle wire?
If so I can form wire of the correct thickness into letters and numbers. I can have as many of each as I want and can always make up more.
So I only need to know if copper and or nickle is safe.

[Sailor Con Queso]

If you are producing commercially, you need to be using lot numbers or some other system to identify a specific cheese. In the event of a problem or recall, that's how you know which cheeses are the problem.

[steffb503]

Correct, but I only need to identify them until they are packaged for sale.
The how has been the issue.
I want to identify them from pressing on. I can use food grade ink but not until the rind is dry. I can label under the wax but again not until I wax.
What do you do Sailor?

[jwalker]

How about something like this:     http://brandingirons.com/oscommerce/

[Oude Kaas]

http://heinennellie.blogspot.com/2009/11/batch-101.html

Number your batches and cut corresponding numbers out of plastic (bucket lids) and lay these under the cheese after the last flipping. Good luck

[elkato]

I use the plastic letters and numbers that where used in hotels and restaurants (almost nobody uses now) you cut the 2 extensions that where to stick in the board. I use a letter for type of cheese and a sequential number for the make, and it goes with its make sheet.
I place the letters in the last flip on the press under the follower, in long aged cheeses you can barely see the number but it has helped me a lot to identify makes that had problems.
I do 50 gal batches so i have a lot of wheels in the boards without a permanent mark I would loose their ID in a week
In the future I will do small 2 lb wheels (lots of them) and I don't  know what to do then, The casein stickers are probably the best commercial solution.
regards
Luis.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Correct, but I only need to identify them until they are packaged for sale. What do you do Sailor?

Not true. The lot number needs to be on the package cheese at the retail level as well. You have to be able to demonstrate exactly which levels need to be recalled as well.

We log everything in by sequential lot numbers. We simply use a folded card with the cheese name, lot number, and production date placed beside the cheese. We vacuum pack at about 10 days and that info gets written on the bag. When we package a cheese for resale, that lot number gets put on the cheese as well.

[steffb503]

Sailor, my point was once it is sealed and wrapped i can place a sticker with the info on it.