What wood are these molds made out of?

[kad]

I've seen the molds in the attached photo sold in a number of places, but none of them say what type of wood they are made out of. From the color/grain I think it's ash, but I'm not certain. Does anyone know for certain what wood they are?

-K

[hoeklijn]

Looks like beech to me. I've seen similar rings in a dairy in the Austrian Alps and they also seemed to be made from beech.

[awakephd]

Related but not directly answering your question -- I've read / heard somewhere that of all the hardwoods, beech is the most neutral in terms of affecting the flavor of whatever is stored in it.

[kad]

The folks over on LumberJocks.com concur that it is beech, probably European Beech. Although I got an interesting reply from one of the vendors that sell them:

Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, the manufacturer will not give a specific answer to this question for some proprietary reason, but is it is supposed to be similar to white pine.

-K

[qdog1955]

I knew a guy that made these of Baltic birch veneer. But agree it looks like beech. Ash works really well for steam forming.
  Qdog
 

[Alpkäserei]

These are made generally from Beech in Austria and in Switzerland Fir or spruce is used.

The Swiss use fir and spruce for most things that are made of wood. So we will have forms, press tables, vat lids, press plates, curd scoops, etc. made of fir and spruce.

Maple and Beech are good hardwoods for using in food contact. Fir and spruce are good softwoods. These are neutral in regards to flavor, and not overly hospitable to microorganisms.

But my forms like this are made of high density plastic, and if you can get plastic hoop forms do so. They are easier to take care of. The wood ones need re-shaped every few years and absorb the whey.