A two gallon recipe with a one gallon press

[CaptainYar]

I have a feeling this question will be met with a resounding no, but I had to ask. My wife naught me a beautiful Ferrari, hand-turn, cheesepress. It works great, but it's designed for one pound wheels and I  now interested in doing two gallon recipes. Is there anyway I can use my one gallon press to make two gallon wheel?

[linuxboy]

what are the dimensions of the form?

[CaptainYar]

It's  5 inches in diameter and  4 1/2 inches deep

[linuxboy]

Pretty tough. I doubt it would fit 2 lbs of curds. But you don't need a fancy press to make great cheese. You don't even need to press many cheeses at all, except milled curd types. a lot can be done through technique.

[CaptainYar]

Hmmm....interesting. Well the goal is to make cheddar. Bars on past uses, I think I could fit nearly all the curds in, my biggest concern is that this tall whee. May contain too much moisture in the center. What techniques were you thinking?

[linuxboy]

My classic recommendation is to

1) cook/stir to completion for cheese style, which is 39-42% moisture
2) gather curds, fuse under whey
3) Form and flip to create even rind.
4) Use moderate weight (1 PSI or even less) until pH is right for salting/brining.

I detail this more in my tomme thread.

milled curd needs a lot more weight to fuse very well. Likely much more than your press can deliver... at least 5-8 PSI. You can get away with less if the curds are warm.