Workhorse mold

[not_ally]

Hello all,

I am finalizing an order of things that will allow me to make a limited variety of cheeses here in India, where there are no sources for cheesemaking supplies.  I'm getting everything from NECC,  as they seem to have all the things on my list, at least for now. I've made easy fresh cheeses, chevre, and feta a number of times (although at the moment I have a feta in the pot which is stubbornly refusing to coagulate), but I really miss a number of other cheeses, so my only option is to make them.  Or at least try.

The cheeses on my list to try over the next year and a half or so - ie; until air travel to the US seems a bit less scary - are bloomies (cams/bries/cambozolas) blues, tommes, jarlsberg and havarti. Mostly in the 2 gallon range, as that is likely the upper limit of what I can eat or give away. Not many cheese lovers here, everyone just eats paneer.

Although I am not planning on making many hard cheeses, I was thinking of getting this mold, NECC's medium hard cheese mold. https://cheesemaking.com/products/hard-cheese-mold-2-to-4lb

It makes a 2-4 gallon batch of hard cheese, has a follower and a closed bottom.  The size is 5 5/8" W x 6 5/8" H. It seems like it will take enough pressure to make most hard cheeses in small wheels if I decide to branch out and make a press. Also, it seems like it might be a good size for making lots of kinds of other cheeses, including small wheels of tommes, blues, havartis, jarlsbergs and bries. I am ordering cam molds, so will have those on hand for smaller, non-brie, bloomies.

Sorry for all the background, I just wanted to make sure I included enough details. I really need to get the right things on this order because shipping is so expensive I don't want to do it more than once. So questions:

(1) Wanted to confirm with wiser/experienced heads that the size and design of this mold will work for small wheels of tommes, blues, havartis, jarlsbergs and bries? It doesn't look like it has a ton of holes, although it does have some.  Will that impede the kind of draining that is required for some of these cheeses? Are the dimensions problematic for any of them?  I'm sure there are questions I am not thinking to ask so any input would be gratefully received. The buyer comments on the mold are all pretty good, but people are generally talking about using them with harder cheeses.

(2) A specific question about tomme and rind development.  Many of the tomme threads here discuss, at great length, using PLA, MVA,  mycodore, geo 15, etc. in washing these rinds.  How critical are these cultures/mold to tomme rinds/flavor/texture?  If any of them (or others) have made a huge difference it would be really good to know. 

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[Bantams]

For softer cheeses like blues, Brie, etc, you'll want an open bottom mold, or one that's designed for fast drainage as the one you linked just doesn't have enough holes to allow fast enough whey drainage. It will work nicely for cooked curd pressed cheeses though.
You'll want a wheel that's shorter than it is tall. 3 inches is a good height for a small wheel. So I think this mold would be best when used for a 2-3 pound batch. Cheddar or other curd salted cheeses can be made taller than they are wide and so you could use the full 4 gallons or whatever the max is.
NEC used to have a nice 4-5# capacity stainless open bottomed mold that works well for soft drained cheeses as well as pressed wheels. I can't seem to find it though...

For natural rind you can either let nature take its course, or inoculate. I personally like adding a bit of DH as it discourages blue molds.

[not_ally]

Thank you, Bantams! I kind of thought that would be the case (regarding the drainage on bries/blues) but you decided it for me.  I looked at the DH, do you use it on a lot of things, or only when rinds are more likely to go wild as with smeary/washed rinds?  I have put it in my cart, but that thing is getting very scary (the cart, not the DH.)

Where are you in the PNW?  My sister used to live in Portland, the people there were so nice, and they have the best bookstore in the world (Powell's).

[Bantams]

I add the DH to our natural rind (brushed rind) Tomme style.  I have also used DH + Mycodore but didn't see much of a difference vs only DH. It really does help combat blues.
Your rinds will consist mostly of what is naturally present in the cave/air so inoculating doesn't always make a huge difference in the rind composition. Maybe if you add a whole slew of mold species to cover the entire spectrum of rind development... but I haven't tried that.

For washed rinds you don't necessarily need to inoculate because you should be able to encourage the proper yeasts just by washing with a light brine. But there are many options if you do want to encourage a specific rind flora. Here's where I buy my cultures - showing you simply so you can see how they all compare to each other.
https://cheeseconnection.net/product/bacteria-linens-for-washed-rind-cheeses/

I live on Vashon Island near Seattle, where we run a tiny Grade A dairy and cheesemaking operation.

[rsterne]

I just purchased this mould, and since we only make 9 litre batches (2.4 gal.) I shortened it to fit my press by cutting 1.75" off the height of the mould and follower.... It is still 5" high inside....

Bob

[not_ally]

Thanks for the input, Bob. I wish I had a handy person at home to make me a cheese press!  Bantams, thank you for your helpful posts as well.  I have read a number of them in response to other posters queries, and you are always so kind with your advice.  Your life sounds sort of idyllic (says a person who is not up at 5 to milk ).

[Mornduk]

... I was thinking of getting this mold, NECC's medium hard cheese mold. https://cheesemaking.com/products/hard-cheese-mold-2-to-4lb
... I am ordering cam molds, so will have those on hand for smaller, non-brie, bloomies.
...(1) Wanted to confirm ... that the size and design of this mold will work for small wheels of tommes, blues, havartis, jarlsbergs and bries? ...

I have the large version of that form. It is very sturdy and I use it for hard cheeses like parmesan and cheddar. Looking at the volume I doubt the medium can handle 4G except in very specific situations, but should do 3G fine.

You will not have any issue doing semi-hard cheeses like tommes, havartis, jarlsbergs.

I do not think you will have problems for soft cheeses like brie, and if you do you can just turn it into camembert with your other forms
For blues, crescenzas etc. I use the large blue form from the same site sitting inside the large manchego form (because this one has a bottom). The holes in the manchego form are even scarcer than the one you are considering, and I have no issues with drainage.

[not_ally]

Thank you, mornduk! I just realized that you, Bantams and I have the same PH meter. Actually I am eagerly awaiting delivery of mine although I have a feeling I am going to be a little scared of using it when it gets here, those things generally seem so delicate and fidgety.

Will the mold produce accepable form factors for 2 lb tommes and alpines, do you think? I am guessing so but you know, noob.

You make crescenzas!  Not many posts on crescenzas/stracchinos here but a couple of days ago I fell into a youtube rabbit hole about them. Lovely videos of Italian nonnas effortlessly cutting huge glossy curds, it looked fun. Another to add to the list!

[mikekchar]

I am another crescenza devotee!  The recipe on cheesemaking.com is great, however I tend to use about 7 grams of salt per liter of milk (a lot!) in mine -- which somehow my Bulgarian yogurt culture can tolerate.  I find the salt pretty much all comes out in the whey.  Man, I have to makes some soon!

[Mornduk]

You'll love that pH meter. To make cleaning and calibration easier I got some of these. You fill it with the calibration solution and just insert the pH meter when you need to calibrate. Two of them at 4.01 and 7.01 plus a drop bottle for the cleaning solution fit in the box the meter comes with (replacing the instruction manual). That and a few kimtech wipes are all I need.

The form factor looks good. For Crescenzas I think you want to tap into mikekchar. The main advice I can give is pick a yogurt you like... first time I tried to track all the bacterial cultures that might be useful and which commercial yogurt starter to get. I ended up picking a vegan one that checked more of those strains than any other one... once the cheese was done, it tasted like Sorrow, Heartbreak, Irritation, and Torment. Next time I just used a bit of the yogurt I make for my kids and it was great

[not_ally]

Mornduk, you are funny, I have never heard the expression Sorrow, Heartbreak, Irritation, and Torment before.  I am intimately familiar with situations involving FUBARs, SNAFUs and other (usually self-created) PITAs, but it is always good to have new acronyms for them, they keep coming up

That is a good tip on the dram containers for buffer solution, thanks, I was thinking that the solution would be expensive in the long run. I just ordered some. One thing you've probably seen recommended here, but just in case, is using contact lens solution for cleaning protein deposits rather than the expensive branded stuff.  Originally suggested by Linuxboy, who seems to be the unimpeachable source for just about everything here.  From this thread, which contains other useful PH meter info. http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6917.0.html

I got the Kimtech wipes already after somehow coming across meter maintenance advice from that other patron saint, Gianaclis Caldwell

Mike, I think  one of your posts about crescenzas started me down the rabbit hole!  I wanted one or two fresh cheeses to do in the next week.  Those curds look so deliciously unctuous in the videos.  One of the women actually cut them into big pie size slices!  Also interesting to see people putting curds into ovens (for the stuffatura (sp?) phase). 

I have become obsessed with cheese over the last month or so.  Hours every day on this forum.  I don't know if this is healthy