Hoop - XL For Cheddar?

[Baby Chee]

Has anyone tried or heard of making larger cheeses using 5 gallon plastic buckets as their mold?

I was contemplating a possible Christmas cheddar with 20 gallons milk in my old beer brew kettle, then pressing in a 5 gallon plastic bucket drilled with holes.  I assume I would get around 20 lbs. of cheese in a nice sized wheel.

Anyone contemplated doing something like this, done something like this, or worked out the logistics of an XL wheel of cheese done at home?

[Cheese Head]

Baby Chee, member Wayne is your man, he's been building equipment towards that goal and finally made a 24 US gallon/91 liter cheddar in August 2009.

There's also a thread here with his XL home equipment.

I've never made cheddar, but I think with the forces involved it would probably split a plastic bucket.

[Baby Chee]

Ah!  I seeeee.  That is impressive, but it is far more complex than necessary, I think.

At this point I have a brew sculpture with propane that could do 30 gallons, but my problem would be once the curds come out.  I would have to do it in stages, cheddar, then press.  The plastic bucket might work, though.  These are nicely thick, but might need lighter pressure over more time.

Just an idea at this time.

[wharris]

I would offer that my mould from Ullmers:

is pretty heavy duty.  And I think that is important.

Here is why.
I used only 5 PSI in my press.  But I do not think I pressed hard enough as the curd in the middle did not knit as nice as i would have liked...  I think next time I will use a bit more PSI.  I would like to increase the PSI from 5 to to about 6-10 PSI. I really think that is more appropriate for a wheel of cheddar this sized.  So, across the surface area of my mould (83.3 square inches), that translates to 500-800lbs of totall down force. (500lbs/83.3sqin=6lbs/sqin)

I do not see a bucket being able to deal well with forces like that.  Especially a bucket that has been drilled for drain holes.  At best, I think the bucket would deform. At worst, it would split.


I've never tried it, i have no first hand experience, but that is my best guess. Sorry to be a downer..

[Baby Chee]

Aw, that's sad to hear.  I figured using the psi calculation from the simple 8" mold to an 11" bucket would give me a good 100-150 lbs.  However, if you aren't getting results in the center of your wheel, it means a need for more pressure.  Plastic buckets definitely won't take 300+ lbs. for long.

How many lbs. is your cheese after the molding?

[wharris]

23lbs final weight.

[Baby Chee]

Wow.  Nice.

I need it now.
That's a great superbowl party cheese.
Or Christmas family cheese.

I sense a lot of dieting in your family's future.

[DeejayDebi]

Baby Chee Ulmers has some really nice stainless steel molds for a good price. I got a few myself.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Web address for Ulmers???

[wharris]

http://www.ullmers-dairyequipment.com/cheesemolds.htm

[DeejayDebi]

They are very nice people to deal with also.

[FarmerJd]

New on the forum here but this topic is really why I joined. I generally make a 18-25 gallon batch of cheese each time and am trying to improve my pressing process. I made a dutch style press with a about a 3 foot arm so that 200 lbs of weight on the end of the  arm would translate to 600 lbs on the piston. It worked great when I was making 6 inch cheeses or less but now I am really at the edge of its limits with an 8 inch hoop and 350 lbs (It looks like a disaster about to happen!). I have a 12 inch hoop but it just doesn't come together good enough with my setup so I know the problem is that  my pressure is not great enough. I am in the process of designing a new one with a 10 foot arm but I just need some info about what exactly I am shooting for. I noticed that some of you mentioned needing a bigger hoop. I found a piece of pvc pipe 8 inches in diameter that I just cut to fit my press. I also had a local machinist roll my 12 inch hoop out of stainless steel. Is it really important to have holes in the pipe for drainage? I have alway just let it leak out the bottom an top and then pour it off when I flip it. Thanks in advance and I look forward to the input and interaction.

[DeejayDebi]

You will get a better press and consequentally better cheese if the whey can escape. With no holes the whey is almost forced back into the cheese.

[FarmerJd]

Thank you for the input. My concern has been getting the cheese out of the hoop if the hoop has holes. I have seen the hoops you buy with the holes in them but I assumed that the pressure would force the cheese to bulge through the holes and it would be impossible to get it out. My cheeses always bulge out around the follower already (see picture). When I take it out of the press it is already a real chore to push it out of the cylinder. Thanks in advance for the help

[wharris]

I have not had much trouble getting the cheese out of moulds with side weep holes.

Some of my cheddars have been pressed with sufficient force to create "cheddar noodles" coming out those holes.  Still, it was not tough to flip the cheese.