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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => EQUIPMENT - Forming Cheese => Topic started by: saycheese on January 01, 2009, 05:18:26 PM

Title: Homemade Cheese Press
Post by: saycheese on January 01, 2009, 05:18:26 PM
Here is a look at a cheese press my husband made for me out of plywood and a cut up plastic cutting board.  The cutting board holds a 2lb. mold in place.  The large outside box fits over the cutting board and a smaller inside box sits inside the cheese mold plastic follow.  Hand weights or barbell weights can be added to the inside box for the pressure needed for the cheese.  It's kind of funky but it works!
Title: Re: Homemade Cheese Press
Post by: chilipepper on January 01, 2009, 06:16:23 PM
That is a great idea.  I wish I would have had it when I did my last cheese as my 'stack' of weights on top decided to well... become unstacked!  Luckily I was right there and able to regroup and save the cheese but still a pain in the butt.  Your's would have certainly kept that problem at bay?  Is the inside compartment big enough to fit a 5 or 6 gallon bucket?  You could then just add water for your weight. 

Looks good!
Title: Re: Homemade Cheese Press
Post by: Cheese Head on January 01, 2009, 06:22:40 PM
OK, had to look at the pictures twice, the inside box is just a holder for the weights with the bottom cross to push the follower in the mold, and the outside box is sturdy guide for the inner box.

Inventive 8)! Looks sturdier than the more common 4 corner dowel guides that some people build, less chance of weights toppling over. If you decide to go for different sized hoops, then you can just chang out the bottom parts.

Question, what happens to the whey, will you have drain tray or just raise the white board above the "puddle"?
Title: Re: Homemade Cheese Press
Post by: saycheese on January 01, 2009, 07:35:48 PM
I have a tray underneath the whole thing that catches the whey.  The cutting board with the mold on it has some grooves in it that direct the wayward whey away from the cheese. (Sorry for the puns but I couldn't help myself :D
Title: Re: Homemade Cheese Press
Post by: Tea on January 01, 2009, 09:21:06 PM
That look good, Saycheese.  My press always wants to go lopsided, and it is a PITB.
Good to see you come up with a solution.
Title: Re: Homemade Cheese Press
Post by: saycheese on January 01, 2009, 10:22:24 PM
Thanks!  The idea came to my husband when we were struggling to balance weights on a parmesan cheese.  The cheese didn't come out well due to other issues, but the weights kept on falling off and knocking the whole mold over. Not fun, but this set up works fine.  I can probably get upwards of 150 lbs into the inside cube, if I decide to make larger cheeses.