My new cheese press

[Windflower]

I built it out of food grade PVC pipe. The follower is a piece of a new cutting board that I cut to the inside diameter of the PVC.

Second pressing at 20#


Final press at 50# for 12 hours


Close up of PVC mold


It's pretty basic, but by golly, it works!

[susanky]

Simply beautiful!  It get's the job done!  What kind of cheese do you have in there?  Where does one get 'food grade' PVC?  Is this the same PVC you buy at Home Depot?
Susan

[ConnieG]

Oh!  That is very like my cheese press!!  We started with plastic sprinkler risers for the uprights but they sheared off on the second press (big crash!) and so we went to metal.  I used a metal riser for the pressing arm but am not  happy with the hardwood on the follower.  I use weights for the weight and am scouting yard sales for the round disc weights that fit nicely over the risers.  What fun!

[Windflower]

I actually got my PVC pipe from a hardware store because they would cut it into lengths that were shorter than 10'. I just want to make cheese, not lay down household plumbing! Food grade means that it is designed to handle potable water. You don't want the stuff that's rated for sewage.

I figure that I have enough cast iron cookware to do the job for weights, but I had to add a 30# free weight on the top. I need to re-think that. I lifted the weight off of the top of the press this morning to remove my farmhouse cheddar, and I felt something snap in my back. If the press were lower, the weight would be fine, but I have to keep it up on a counter top or the dog drinks all of the whey out of the pan. *sigh* Making cheese in a house with dogs and cats and maintaining the sanitary requirements isn't easy, considering it has to sit out in open air.  Some day... when the planets align... I'll have a room that's all mine where I can make cheese and make soap (not at the same time) and no one has access but me.  Now if I can get one of the kids to move out....