I made a 5 gallon colby last week and liked the process so much that I made another yesterday.
My problem arises from the fact that it had been over 3 months since I'd last used my press, which is two wooden boards with holes drilled in each corner for wooden dowels. Evidently, the wood warped just a bit and didn't allow for freedom of movement for the top board. So my colby from last week wasn't pressed nearly as well as it should have been. I pressed according to directions, ending up with 50 lbs pressure overnight, but the curd was still not knit very well.
I sanded out the holes for the dowels some more, then pressed the cheese for another 8 hours at 60 lbs, at which point the curd looked well knit. However, it has been out of the press for 8 days now and still gets wet on the bottom. I am turning it every day.
I'm thinking that not enough whey got pressed out - will this cheese ever dry out enough to coat (I'm planning on a lard coating for aging) or should I just eat it as a new cheese? I expect it will be quite bland.
Any advice/input is appreciated.