Author Topic: Gloucester 4  (Read 4067 times)

Offline awakephd

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #15 on: May 05, 2016, 06:55:10 PM »
Ann, Cantal is a special case -- I would think it wins the award for the hardest-to-press cheese. By the time that it is pressed once, milled, salted, and then, 24 hours after being made, pressed again, it has absolutely zero inclination to stick together. Thus, when I made a 6-gallon Cantal, I went up to 900 lbs (!) for 12 hours before it really began to close up the rind completely. That was using an 8" mold, so let's see ... 4² * 3.14 ≈ 50 in², and 900 lbs. ÷ 50 in² = 18 psi.
-- Andy

wattlebloke

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #16 on: May 05, 2016, 09:44:09 PM »
Quote
Personally, I wax mine but that is because I have not yet resolved my humidity problems and I don't want it to dry out too much.
Hi Andrew, have you tried using humidity buffer slurries? Potassium chloride (KCl) slurries have been working well for me, for my smaller cheeses (Cams, etc), but there's no reason they shouldn't work for larger ones. In theory one would just need to make a large enough slurry...For my mini caves I use 3 tablespoons KCl, to one of water. The little hygrometer in the lid of the Decor container came off ebay for $4...

Offline Andrew Marshallsay

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #17 on: May 06, 2016, 01:52:54 AM »
Hi Ann, Andy.
Cantal certainly do seem to be exceptional. This article may interest you. It outlines a commercial make for Cantal. Conversion of the numbers indicates pressures up to 25.6 PSI.
I must have been lucky with the one Cantal I made. I got away with 6.4 PSI but I did maintain that pressure for 37 hours. Total press time, after working up through lesser pressures and then pressing naked for a while at the end (the cheese, not me), was 54 hours.
 
Hi Wattlebloke.
No, I haven't used slurries but thanks for the suggestion. I do use aging containers for a lot of my cheeses and also a hygrometer like the one shown. Your idea of mounting the hygrometer in the lid of the aging container is a good one.
At he moment I am waiting for a humidity controller to arrive from China (ebay again), with a view to cobbling together a humidifier.
I am also in the process of testing my hygrometer. It looks like it's reading low by 8% or more.
- Andrew

Offline awakephd

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #18 on: May 06, 2016, 03:08:11 PM »
Wow, 25+ psi -- I did consider going up to 1200 lbs on my Cantal, which would have put me close to that, but was not sure my press would survive. I may have to make yet another press just for this purpose, this time made out of steel ... or maybe a steel / wood hybrid.
-- Andy

Offline Boofer

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #19 on: May 06, 2016, 03:23:43 PM »
18 psi.
Very impressive. 8)

I've never had occasion to press that heavily. I think the most I ever did was 575 pounds (13.7psi) on my Double Gloucester.

Wow, 25+ psi -- I did consider going up to 1200 lbs on my Cantal, which would have put me close to that, but was not sure my press would survive. I may have to make yet another press just for this purpose, this time made out of steel ... or maybe a steel / wood hybrid.
When I designed my press, I wanted to ensure I could apply whatever force was needed to make a successful cheese. So far, so good.... ;)

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Offline awakephd

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #20 on: May 06, 2016, 07:36:08 PM »
Hi Boofer,

Yes, I was likewise wanting to be able to go as high as I could imagine going. 1200 lbs was my target ... and it might actually be doable. The lever and ram parts I have no concerns about; it is the frame that I'm not sure would make it.

With that long span on your main lever, how much does it bend when fully loaded? (Bending, of course, is no problem, so long as it doesn't deform!)
-- Andy

AnnDee

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #21 on: May 07, 2016, 12:55:29 AM »
I pressed my cantal with 180 lbs for 3.5 days (84 hours), it knit together but I can still see the jointed curds. This is a 5 gallon (20 liters) batch and already it took so much effort to press it. This might be the only time I make this type of cheese for the fear my press might not be able to handle very heavy weight.

Offline H-K-J

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Re: Gloucester 4
« Reply #22 on: May 07, 2016, 03:33:29 AM »
My press will do it >:D
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