Pressed Cheeses - Cheesecloth Ball Method

[vogironface]

Boofer,

Her ring has a PH meter hidden within the gemstone.  Her middle thumbnail on her left hand is a digital thermometer and what looks like a bacteria laden old wooden draining table in a barn is actually new space age polymers.  This is all a clever hoax to give novice cheese makers a false sense of hope. 

[DeejayDebi]

  Your a nut Ben!

[MrsKK]

aw, I want to see her finished cheese!  Too bad they didn't add what it looks like when it comes out of the press.  thanks for posting that, Ben.

[DeejayDebi]

I guess tha proves you don't "need" fancy equipment to make cheese!

[MrsKK]

I really like the box that she's working the curd in, too.

Nope, nothing fancy there, but you can tell she eats well - her figure looks a lot like mine!

[wharris]

I guess that proves you don't "need" fancy equipment to make cheese!

True, they have been making cheese prior to new fancy gadgets. I would add that the same can be said for beermaking, winemaking, slaughtering beef, and making clothes.  Heck, most human activity.

Come to think of it, you really don't "need" fancy gadgets for childbirth either.  Heck for thousands and thousands of years it was done with no gadgets whatsoever.



I would however argue, that all those endeavors listed above, have improved greatly with the invention of fancy gadgets.

[Boofer]

Good point, Wayne. Case in point: I could be writing a letter to some folks here, it would get picked up by the dispatch rider and taken to the port, where it would travel by sailing ship to New Zealand or Israel. After several weeks, they could respond and repeat the process on their end. Instead, they see my words within minutes after I've posted my message. You gotta love technology.

-Boofer-

[DeejayDebi]

Very true. And we know I like my toys, but for newbies that are getting started I think it's very encouraging. Sorry it's the Mom in me coming out ...

[Cheese Head]

I just noticed a picture posted by member Queixo located in Spain of his pressing a Cheesecloth Ball shaped cheese which reminded me of this thread.

When I checked the link in my Original Post was broken and you can no longer get to Vella Cheese's Tour pictures from their website. I've repaired the link (for now) as they still have the pictures on their server, but in case they are deleted I've copied their pictures, labelled the files with the step, and posted below for our reference.

I've posted their aging and surface oiling pictures in this thread.

[Queixo]

Hello all,
John asked me to post advice on this method, but this is my first cheese ever, so I don't have any advice to offer 
I'm amazed to see that the Vella jacks looks a lot like my cheese. Actually, my wheel looks like a mini-jack.
Unfortunately, I don't have any pic of the belly button side, but it is nearly identical to Vella's.
I cut into it 3 days ago, after 25 days of maturation (couldn't wait any more):

It is not the best cheese I've tasted (as expected), but it is a nice cheese, better than expected, and very encouraging for my cheesemaking endeavour.

[Cheese Head]

Queixo, thank you, OK so you've started with a pressing method different to the rest of us, and it worked well, congrats!

[Buck47]

Queixo: I for one am impressed. Nice looking cheese.

Could you tell us what receipt you used?  What kind of milk, how long did you press?

Regards: john

[Queixo]

Thanks, John & John 
I used raw cow's milk that I pasteurized at home, 30 min @ 62C/144F.
Cooled the milk to 25C/77F, added 60 gr/2.12 oz of kefir and let it ripe for one hour.
Heated the milk slowly to 30C/86F, added the rennet and let it set for 90 min, then cut the curd, let it heal for 10' and heated very slowly (it took 30 min) to 36C/97F stirring occasionally. Kept the temp for 15 min and drained in my piece of old t-shirt (yes, I had washed it before ).  Then tied the cloth with a string and pressed for 15 min with 4 Kg/9 lb each side, and then 6 Kg/13 lb for 9 hours. Brined the cheese in a 20% brine made with the whey for 8 hours.
That's all, it is just a try I figured would work, based on what I read on this forum.

[Buck47]

Hi Queixo, 

What a great concept. Find  a cow a rock and a t-shirt and presto - cheese.

Want to give this a try. Like the shape and look of the finished product. Need to find a substitute from kefir.

Thanks for the receipt. Regards: john

[Zoey]

First time I noticed this thread.

I have to add, that my first gouda was made without a cheese mould, just with this type of cheese ball in cloth. I did it because I simply didn't have anything that would resemble a mould at that time, and I still very much wanted to get started.

The hardest part was when I tried to balance a bucket of weight on top for pressing (I recall using a filled 10-liter bucket). Don't remember how I got it balanced at the end.

Anyways, I don't think that the lack of a mould actually had much effect on the cheese. The knit was probably even better without mould than with one. The bellybutton inevitably has ridges that are prone to getting moldy in the aging process, so that's something one might want to take into consideration.