Author Topic: Workable blue cheese mold/form?  (Read 1634 times)

not_ally

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Workable blue cheese mold/form?
« on: October 26, 2020, 05:29:45 AM »
Another mold/form question, guys, sorry. As I previously posted, I ordered a bunch of stuff from NEC for delivery here in India. I did not buy a blue cheese mold. Checking on Amazon India, I found a round paneer maker which I think might work. The dimensions are 5.3 inches x 2.4 inches (h). As the pic in the link shows, it comes with three pieces, a hoop, removable base and pressing lid/"follower".  This picture is of a different brand, mine has a higher rating and is bigger, but this looks the same and shows all three pieces, which the picture of mine does not.

It roughly conforms with the form factor for NEC's much larger mold for unpressed blue cheeses, which is 7 7/8 x 3 7/8. I went ahead and ordered it (it cost the equivalent of $4 USD!) and it is made of good quality, fairly sturdy stainless steel.  Strong enough that if I removed the handle on the lid I could press at light weight if I wanted to, I think. I would want to do 1 to 2 gallon makes although maybe 2g would be pushing it with this size, especially with softer curds. The type of blue I'd like to try are the softer, creamier, semi-firm ones like castle blue, gorgonzola dolce, bleu de queyras.

If someone would be willing to take a look at the link and opine on whether there is something that would be problematic for making unpressed blues it would be really helpful. In particular, I am wondering about the size and if the holes are too big/numerous for draining these kinds of blues effectively. Thanks for any input!

https://www.amazon.in/Expresso-Stainless-Steel-Paneer-Strainer/dp/B07NFZSSNT/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=expresso+paneer+mould+750ml&qid=1603698874&s=kitchen&sr=1-1
« Last Edit: October 26, 2020, 08:08:15 AM by mexicalidesi »

Offline Bantams

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Re: Workable blue cheese mold/form?
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2020, 06:05:13 PM »
I think the holes/drainage will be fine, but the ideal mold for a soft cheese will be quite tall to accommodate the large volume of curds/whey that will then condense down to a short little wheel.  It really depends on the recipe - for a Camembert style, zero whey is drained off before the curds are scooped into the molds. And so a 6-7" deep form full of curds then shrinks down to an inch tall cheese. 
In contrast, a higher temperature cooked curd cheese only shrinks by a little bit and so your mold only needs to be a couple inches taller than the finished wheel (say, 7" height to accommodate a 4-5" finished wheel). 
Blues fall somewhere in-between, but I think you'll want a taller mold.

not_ally

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Re: Workable blue cheese mold/form?
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2020, 01:32:31 AM »
Rats, foiled again (that's the biggest one they have.) I guess it's petite blues in the cam mold as mornduk suggested. That is good information generally, though, and you saved me from making a pancake blue.

Bantam, thanks for helping avoid mistakes before they happen. I know there will be plenty to spare once I get my package, but advice from you and others (and the tremendous amount of information here on the forum) are amazing resources for a newbie in the middle of nowhere. I don't think I would even be able to start on this without it.