Hello Everyone!

[Firefly Haven]

I keep a tiny herd of goats (tiny in number) and I love using their milk. I've made feta, chevre, farmhouse, mozzarella, and ricotta. Now I'm ready to venture into hard cheeses and at the suggestion of a friend, joined here. In trying to find a cheese press, I'm lost. In trying to figure out exactly what all I will need for hard cheeses, again I'm a little lost. So I'm here to learn all I can. 

[tashad]

Hi!  Welcome.  I'm pretty new here (and to cheese making) too, sucking up information like a sponge.   You can definitely learn a lot here.  I have had a ton of questions, but have so far been able to find answers to the majority of them by reading through past posts.  I'm envious of your tiny herd of goats.  That's my fantasy, moving out of the city, having a great big garden, some chickens and some goats.

I have a press that was built for me as a gift, it's a screw type with springs.  If I had it all to do over, I think I would want to go with a dutch press because the pressure stays constant (at least I presume that it does) as the cheese compresses.

[H-K-J]

Welcome to the forum
What you will need for hard cheese and what you will want will be two totally different things.
Good luck and have fun.

[Kern]

I keep a tiny herd of goats (tiny in number) and I love using their milk. I've made feta, chevre, farmhouse, mozzarella, and ricotta. Now I'm ready to venture into hard cheeses and at the suggestion of a friend, joined here. In trying to find a cheese press, I'm lost. In trying to figure out exactly what all I will need for hard cheeses, again I'm a little lost. So I'm here to learn all I can.

Welcome to the Forum.  You will find in this book just about everything you need to know about seriously making cheese.  I'd put my money here rather than the "recipe" based books, which at first glance seem simpler but whose recipes rarely work out the way you'd hope they would.

[awakephd]

Yes, a lever type (dutch) press will give a consistent pressure, while a spring type will supply less pressure as soon as the cheese compresses. What's more, a lever type is simpler to build and maintain, at least in my ever-so-humble opinion.

Do a search here on the SturdyPress, or check out the website here: sturdypress.com. Bob, the owner/designer, is an active participant on this forum. Disclaimer: I have no financial interest, and in fact don't even own a SturdyPress, having made my own frankenpress design instead -- but in my opinion, if you are going to purchase a press, it would be very hard to beat the SturdyPress for ease of use, available pressure, and price.

Note that if you are interested in making a press, rather than purchasing one, there are various plans here on the forum and elsewhere on the web.

[Al Lewis]

Welcome!

[lovinglife]

YAY another goat milk addict!  I have 4 in milk right now so I need to start gearing up for some cheese making again, I have several more still to kid so still pretty busy with everything.  Have you ever tried making butter?