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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => EQUIPMENT - Aging Cheese, Everything Except Caves => Topic started by: Chris K on August 06, 2010, 01:21:14 PM
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Where can one purchase straw mats?
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http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/p/67-Cheese-Mat-1-mat.html (http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/p/67-Cheese-Mat-1-mat.html)
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Thanks Alice :)
Hoping to find straw.
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I've found these very cheap ($1) at Asian markets. Also, dollar stores, grocery store in Asian section. You'll save on the shipping too! :D
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I've found these very cheap ($1) at Asian markets. Also, dollar stores, grocery store in Asian section. You'll save on the shipping too! :D
Great tip-
I have many asian grocers and stores nearby. Thanks
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Why is rye straw better? I can't find it at all.
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Why is rye straw better? I can't find it at all.
This is as much for aesthetics as for function. ;)
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I've found these very cheap ($1) at Asian markets. Also, dollar stores, grocery store in Asian section. You'll save on the shipping too! :D
Aren't the ones in Asian markets (used for sushi, etc.) made of bamboo?
I started out with the rollup bamboo mats and found early on that they harbored nasties that were hard to get rid of. I soon moved to plastic matting which has proven much better. Aesthetics?
-Boofer-
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I'm am switching to plastic as well. My bamboo mats get funky.
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You're right, they are bamboo. I've only been using them for 3 months for cheese but they are holding up nicely. After washing with soap and hot water, I let them dry then spray with vinegar and peroxide. Word has it that the vinegar and peroxide kills more nasties than bleach. I guess time will tell but in the meanwhile they look so nice!
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Aesthetics?
-Boofer-
For the display of finished cheeses in a commercial setting.
For example:
(http://www.london-grub.com/resources/fromagerie-london-su06-de.jpg)
I'll probably just work locally to have somebody make a few.
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Hey, that does look nice. For finished cheeses with hardened rinds, that shouldn't be a problem at all.
Moist cheeses in process...well, that's maybe another story.
The vinegar and peroxide treatment does sound like a workable solution, but plastic cleans so easily. ;)
-Boofer-
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I've been using wooden chop sticks (washed and boiled) to drain, and have decided to give pieces of flat wood a try. My cheeses tend to be relatively small, so something 5" X 5" X 1" thick should suffice. They don't have large nooks and crannies, can be cleaned and sanitized easily (scrubbed, boiled and/or heated/dried in the oven), they absorb moisture, and are cheap and easy to make. In many of the videos I've seen wood planking used, so why not scale that down for the home cheesemaker?
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SOmeone here, and I honestly can't remember who, advised to put the bamboo mats into a container of boiling hot salt saturated water, and leave soak. Then when using to lightly rub salt into the mat before use. I have done this to a couple of mats and I have found that it definately helps keep the mats from getting mouldy.
HTH