Cheap Cheese Vat

[Tatoosh]

I am looking for ideas on a cheap cheese vat, 10 to 20 liter capacity.  I have been brimming with admiration at iratherfly's amazing turkey roaster modification.  If only they sold turkey roasters in the Philippines, I would be delirious with joy.  But browsing the home wares and restaurant suppliers sites, no turkey roasters to be found.  However, MikeRadio pointed out the intriguing temperature controller at Aubers.  And I do see some pretty hefty sized rice cookers here in the Philippines.  30 cup plus size and they use a 6 ounce cup for rice measure in Asia.  I think I even saw a  50 cup one advertised somewhere, but it might be too big for the unit Aubers sells.   We are on 220v 60 cycle current here (or purportedly we are ... getting clean power requires buying and installing your own transformer).  So the Auber's unit handles up to 240v and 50/60 cycle so that looks good, very good.  They do mention the limit is 3300 watts for us 220v users.   

Do you think a larger rice cooker with a temp control that regulates the heat well could be used as a cheese vat?  Either with milk poured in directly or, as a secondary tactic, using it as large double boiler, inserting a narrower 10 liter stainless pot and filling that to the same level as the water in the rice cooker? 

I checked out the roaster, even found one 18 quart unit that Amazon will ship to the Philippines.  But by the time I get it here, I'm out 300 bucks (the roaster costs all of 60 bucks) and I have read about similar roasters getting the heck beat out of them just being shipped to Canada, not half way around the world on a slow container ship and then banging around in a delivery truck as it climbs the mountains to the boondocks where I live. 

If I was in the States, I'd buy one, repackage it so that it was inside a slightly larger box and surrounded by foam peanuts, and maybe get a cheap bit of plywood to reinforce the bottom and top so any pointed packages arriving on top of it  would have the impact spread out.  But I won't be back in the USA for a couple more years.  So I need to cobble something up that will let me process 10 liters of milk, though I will be using only 1 to 5 liters as I learn the cheese making process. 

I'm pretty sure I will probably pop for one of the temp controllers from Aubers later this year since it doesn't require me using nonexistent wiring skills or coordinating all the components of an assemble-ur-self system.  But ideas and input is sought and appreciated.  My cheese making will start with Queso Blanco, move to Feta, then to Mozzarella.  Once I can do Mozzarella consistently, I will try Gouda/Edam and Provolone, but those require a cheese cave.  I'll cross that bridge down the road. 

Thanks!   

Edited for slight content clarification.

[mikeradio]

Hello Tatoosh

I would think the rice cooker would work well for you just make sure it has the mechanical switch type.

I have been using a 18 quart roaster which I purchased from Amazon, it works very well, I just place the temp probe right into the milk
and the controller does the rest.  You do have to be carefull cutting the curd as not to cut the probe wire.  If you do order from Amazon
make sure the Roaster is a 220V Roaster, must everything I see on Amazon is 120V.

Mike

[Tatoosh]

Thanks for your reply Mike!  I was thinking I would run a 220 - 110 volt converter between the Aubers unit and the rice cooker/turkey roaster, when the time comes.  I have a few I use for various US wired appliances. I don't know if a power converter would cause problems for the controller or not.  I would hope it simply did its thing and went on/off based on the controller power input.  I did a search for 220v turkey roasters at Amazon, but didn't find any. 

As to the rice cooker, do you think milk directly into it or should I use it as a double boiler?

I am still lusting over iratherfly's roaster and the Aubers unit you pointed out.  What a perfect solution for the budding cheese maker.  I am faced with normally having only 10 to 15 liters of milk available per day once I get my Mozzarella making down.  I can do this as either straight cows milk or up the amount by adding up to 5 or so liters of buffalo milk, which is harder to come by and more expensive, but has a higher fat content. 

And on a somewhat different topic, all my milk will be raw.  Since making Mozzarella requires I heat the milk, does it need to pasteurized prior to making for safety?  This being the Philippines and the trust factor in raw anything is low.     

[mikeradio]

Hello Tatoosh

I think a rice cooker or roaster would run fine on a 220-120 converter, it is a resistive load like a hair dryer, just make sure the converter
can handle the wattage.

I would think just put the milk right into the rice cooker, I find with the roaster I need to stir it often , cause the milk on the outside would tend to scald.  In the beginning the heater is on full to heat the milk, once it reaches the temp, then the heater is turned on and off to just maintain the set temp, and the milk wont scald.

I have never used raw milk, but I would think you should pasteurize it, to make sure its safe.

Mike

[KosherBaker]

I would think just put the milk right into the rice cooker, I find with the roaster I need to stir it often , cause the milk on the outside would tend to scald.

Hi guys. Thought I'd chime in here, with my 2 cents. Every rice cooker I have seen cooks the rice in the aluminum insert. Making cheese in an aluminum vessel is not recommended as aluminum is highly reactive.

[Tatoosh]

Thanks for reminding me of that.  So if I go 33 or 50 cup rice cooker, I will need to use it as a water bath and put the milk in a stainless pot of some sort.  Ah, for one of those 18 or 20 quart turkey roaster.  <re-figuring shipping costs> <sigh>

[KosherBaker]

Steve, I'm not sure how far into the archives you've gotten, so if I'm repeating things you've already seen just ignore it. But there are a few other inexpensive possibilities for a vat.
1. DeejayDebi - uses a hotel pan as her vat. They are sold online or at a restaurant supply store, here in the US. If you can find a restaurant supply store in Philippines you can see them in person. They are made of Stainless Steel.

2. I purchased a 20 quart salad bowl for about $13, also at a restaurant supply store. It too is made out of stainless steel. And I use in a double boiler setup.

The above 2 options are best for low temperature cheeses. Because for higher temperatures you'll need a cover for those or else a skin will form on top of the milk.