Press under whey?

[JerryP]

Morning everyone, and a happy New Year to you all.

I'm preparing to make my first Manchego at the weekend, and have been reading the recipes in this link: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,16800.msg128875.html#msg128875.

One of the steps is to 'press under whey' - can anyone tell me what that means? It comes before the step to place the curds in the mold, so I'm a bit confused (easily done, some would say  )

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry.

[mikekchar]

My impression was that you squish up the curds under the whey by hand before moulding.  Some people do a similar step when making gouda, I believe.

[River Bottom Farm]

Search the forum particularly posts by linuxboy. Basically you press the curd under warm whey with your hands (or some do it with a mold and follower) and form it into a mass the size of your mold this helps expel whey and form the curd while it is still warm

[JerryP]

Thanks guys. Makes sense, just never come across it before (ok, I've only made half a dozen cheeses so far...still got my learner plates on  )