Seed mat

[Gregore]

Just wanted to let you all know about a new discovery I made this past weekend.

The room that I usually make cheese in was rather cold compared to normal . I got to thinking that my wife has an electric seed mat that she rarely uses . After bringing the milk up to temp on the induction cooker , I then turned the cooker of and put the seed mat underneath  the pot , it kept the curd at a steady 89 degrees and then when it came time to put the curd into the molds and drain I moved the mat to under the drain pan and it kept the molded curd at the same temp until it was time to salt.

I am including a link to one , ours is similar but not the same  brand

http://growace.com/20-75-x-10-root-radiance-heat-mat.html?gclid=CO-Z7uCypckCFQEcaQod3TwBsw

[Kern]

Great idea!  I have several I use for spring seeding but never thought of using it for cheese.  When you think about it pots/vats probably loose 80 percent of their heat by conduction through the bottom.  I've always placed old cloth towels under my seed mats.  This makes them more efficient.  For a few bucks more you can get a seed mat with a temperature probe and thermostat and if I remember correctly mine goes up to about 90F. 

I've awarded you with a sacred cheese for sharing this great idea.   ;)

[Gregore]

Thanks for the cheese ,  I too wonder why I did not think about it before as we too have more than 1 mat just laying around .

[Kern]

I think we have to go to the PhilosophyForum.org for the answer to your question.  We get myopic about things and do not see that something that works well for one application might also work well for an entirely different one!  It helps to stand back from a problem (How do I keep my curds warm?) and look at it a different way (My curds cool because they loose heat.  Where exactly in the vat does the highest heat loss occur? What can I do about this?).  I don't know if you discovered the use of the seed mat by thinking about the problem this way or not.  Likely, you had a "flash", tried the seed mat, and presto!, it worked.

The reason I think your idea is great is two fold:  1) I was heating our entire laundry room with a little 1500 watt electrical space heater, sweating every time I went in to check the cheddar curds and pissing my wife off in the process. 2) Even though the solution was about 25 feet away in our garage I failed think of it.  My solution worked, your solution is elegant.

And that, Gregore, is the reason the cheese you got from me was the most sacred one I've ever given out!   ;)

[qdog1955]

Pretty sure seed mats have been discussed before on the forum.
Qdog

[Kern]

Qdog:  Are you next going to tell me that Santa Claus is not real?  LOL  ;)

[Gregore]

Thanks kern I will cherish it .

I got the idea looking at curds in their molds in a cold room sitting draining on a cold cookie sheet and noticed the acid curve slowing down , and had to think fast.