Pressed Cheese - Checking Firmness?

[Jessica_H]

I'm trying to learn what the cheese should feel like when you're leaving the "drying" stage and entering the "aging" stage.

Tennis ball? Rubber mallet? Ripe pear / kiwi?

I will learn from experience but as of now I have none
I'm thinking of heading to the grocery store and squeezing the wheels of cheese there...

Right now I have a cheese in each stage above. I'm waiting to wax tennis ball though because theres still light moisture after a day on the cutting board. Should that be my end all tell tale?

[newbie]

Not an easy question to answer as each cheese has a different feel. For example, an Edam can be quite rubbery, where a cheddar is quite firm.
'Feel' is really not a good indicator.

[MrsKK]

Feel is hard to describe and will be something that you will get acquainted with as time goes on, provided that you make the same types of cheeses all the time.  Different cheese types, different feel.

I've noticed that you refer to "the cutting board" quite frequently when you are talking about drying your cheeses.  Are they lying flat on a cutting board to dry?  They really need to be on a mat of some kind that will allow drainage of whey and some air exposure.  I use bamboo paper plate holders (bleach them in between uses), as I don't have any official "cheese mats".

[cheezwhizz]

   Hi Jess

  I agree with Mrs. KK. Experience will be your best guide for "feel" . But i think your on the right track. I do exactly the same thing to tell how dry my cheeses are. I press on the cheese and feel for the proper give of the cheese im trying to reproduce. This gets me in the ballpark for proper moisture content. When it feels "right", I vac pack.(or you could wax) ..I never wax. But have read that cheeses that are waxed to early have problems with moisture build up under the wax. So dont be in too much of a hurry. . I would encourage you to take notes on the cheeses you are making, if you arent already.  And on future makes you wont have so much guessing.