Translating recipe pressing weights to a crank press

[zenpicker]

I have a lovely crank-style press my wife gave me as a gift. It's this one: https://www.homesteadersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=895 I've used it a few times successfully, but am confused about how to translate pressing weights listed in recipes (30 lbs for 12 hours etc.) to this device. Do I need a pressure gauge of some kind? Is there any guidance on how many pounds of pressure one turn of the crank represents? I've just winged it the times I've used it, watching the whey output and adjusting pressure accordingly, but that can't be right.

I would hate to sideline this lovely thing in favor of some functional but ugly bucket system, plus it's quite compact and easy to store. Open to any and all suggestions! Thanks in advance.

[Bantams]

The good news is that you don't really need to have a numerical value to go off of. It will depend a little on the specific cheese that you're pressing, but you'll start off with gentle pressure - just enough to settle firmly on the top of the cheese and allow a little whey to drip out. Then after 10-30 minutes, a flip and rewrap, you'll add a little more weight so that the follower is compressing the cheese just a bit and the whey continues to dribble out.
The goal is gentle pressure to allow the full wheel to slowly compress and close those internal gaps. Too much weight initially will make the outside excessively firm, which effectively seals the whey pockets off inside (not good!)
 After 30-60 minutes or so you can ramp up the pressure - it might take a few batches to figure out how much tension you need, but you'll get a feel for it.
For a cheddar type, you'll want high pressure from the start since the curd is already very firm and the main goal is melding the curds together vs driving out whey.

The bad news is that any type of screw press needs to be constantly reset, at least initially. The follower doesn't follow the top of the cheese - you'll set it at one position and 5 minutes later after some whey loss, the top of the wheel will have shrunk down and you'll need to add pressure again. So a little annoying, but certainly workable.

Essentially you want zero/minimal weight for the first session (by the time I form several wheels I go back and flip them, so just a few minutes), then gentle but increasing weight for the next 30-60 minutes, then after that you can crank up the pressure as needed for the specific variety of cheese and leave it like that for the remainder of the press time.

[zenpicker]

Bantams, that is enormously helpful! Thank you for the detailed reply. I'm so glad this thing isn't just a pretty bit of woodworking vs a pretty bit of woodworking that can make good cheese. 

Going to tackle a Gruyère next weekend and will keep your guidance at hand.

Thanks again,
Edward

[rsterne]

A screw press without a spring will unfortunately go from whatever you set the pressure at to virtually zero force with only a tiny amount of whey runoff.... This is because liquids and solids are incompressible.... I would suggest that you try and find a spring that you can place between the center rod and the follower.... If you know the spring rate (how may lbs. it takes to collapse it 1"), you can get a pretty good idea of the force by how much you collapse the spring.... For example, if your spring is 50 lbs/in, if you collapse it 1/2" you will be putting about 25 lbs. of force on the follower.... and at 1" about 50 lbs....

While the cheese will still get shorter as the whey is pressed out, the change is gradual, and you can "chase" it by keeping an eye on how far the spring is collapsed.... If you check out the press used by Gavin Webber at "Little Green Cheese" (he has a YouTube channel) you will see how this works.... Good luck with your press, it looks lovely, but a bit hard to use as is, IMO....

Bob

[mikekchar]

I have a press with just nuts that I screw down.  Although I've never tried it, I honestly don't think springs would improve my press drastically.

Here's my normal schedule (though it depends a bit): put the cheese in the press.  Tighten until whey beads up on the outside, but doesn't run.  Tighten after about 5 minutes.  Flip after 15 minutes.  Flip again after 15 minutes.  Flip after 30 minutes, with a possible tighten in the middle.  Flip 2 more times at 30 minute intervals.  That's a total of 2 hours.  By that time, almost all of the whey has drained from the cheese.  At each flip, inspect the rind with the goal to close the rind by the end of the 2 hours.  Often it goes faster, but sometimes it doesn't quite make it.  At that point you can crank up the weight to whatever you want.  It really doesn't matter because the cheese has drained.  Also, you never need to tighten it again because the cheese has drained.

If I had a spring or didn't have a spring, if I knew how much weight I was putting on or didn't know how much weight I was putting on: it doesn't matter.  With some cheeses I won't flip quite as often.  Especially with a cheddar, I'll flip after 30 minutes, again after another 30 minutes and then go for a couple of hours because there is absolutely no whey left in that cheese at that point.  You want to go in slowly to get the *air* out of the cheese, not the whey.  Also, you want to take a look at how the rind is closing to see if you need more or less weight.  A spring on this kind of cheese makes very little difference because the cheese doesn't change shape after you get the air out of it.

One of the things I don't like about Gavin Webber's videos is that he over presses his cheeses and has lots of problems because of it.  His springs and is insistance of pressing for hours on end at arbitrary weights is really not good for his cheese, IMHO.  I honestly believe that most people would be better off screw presses because it would force them to think about what they are doing and to observe how the cheese is being pressed.

[rsterne]

I agree, Mike, that a simple screw press requires your undivided attention at the beginning, which is the important part.... You are the one that taught me the importance of not pressing too hard initially, and it made a huge difference.... I tighten my press very slowly at first while the whey (and air) is coming out, gradually getting to a "plateau" (usually at about 10 lbs / ~0.5 psi.) which the springs will then hold without me sitting there staring at it.... After 20-30 min. at that plateau, I turn the cheese and move to a heavier plateau (often ~ 1 psi).... eventually getting to whatever I want for the final pressure.... Your recommendation for taking 2 hours to close the rind is my goal, even with a cheddar.... because of your warnings RE going too fast and trapping air.... Once the rind is smooth, you are right there is very little decrease in the volume of the cheese after that.... but the springs let me sleep at night instead of wondering if a bit of whey has run off and the pressure dropped off to near zero....

Perhaps I worry too much.... For sure there is little difference between a screw press and springs at the beginning when you have to constantly tighten either one.... I like the springs because you can easily calibrate a scale for different weights.... Here is my homemade press, with scale for up to 80 lbs....



Yes, I know that whey is too milky, it was my first press of my first cheese.... 

Bob

[zenpicker]

Really interesting back-and-forth, folks - thanks for spelling out all the pros and cons as well as your personal procedures.

Just as another perspective, I pinged the owner of Homesteader's Supply, who sell the press, to get the official word. The gist of her reply is that you start with very light pressure, in keeping with the discussion here, then watch the whey drain rate and the tightness of the follower over the first hour or so, adding pressure as whey is released and the follower pressure loosens. Once you turn the cheese you apply heavier pressure but not too heavy, as there are diminishing returns once most of the whey is out.

This seems roughly consistent with procedures described on this thread, though it seems like most people flip the cheese sooner and tweak the pressure more often. I'll try the press again this weekend and see how it goes. I feel a bit more confident that with some experience I can make it work. Thanks again for the input!