Cloth Hoop Liner Sticking To Cheese During Pressing

[Jason M]

Hey all,  I made a Gouda two nights ago and everything went fine (my first attempt at this cheese).  My issue arose after my third press.  I was using two 6.5 gallon fermentation buckets for the press.  Picture one bucket with the cheese in the mold and a drain hole for the whey and stacking another bucket on top/inside the first and adding water to get press weight.

Anyway, after my 12 hour press at 50lbs I pulled the cheese out and noticed my follower was topped/bottomed out with the rim of the mold.  I didn't put anything on top of it to get any press  below the rim of the mold.  My bad.  That was the least of my concerns at the time but might have been a contributing factor to the issue I have.  When I went to unwrap the cheese cloth, I noticed the cheese had matted around the cheese cloth.  As I pulled the cloth it pulled cheese from the brick.  See pic.... I'm assuming this is because I pressed in the poured off whey for the first to presses (20 minutes each) and the brick was warm for the final 12 hour press.

SO I'm worried about two things.  One, did I press it enough.  When I push down on the cheese it's more giving than the other two I've made (farm house cheddar & Swiss).  I think there might be more whey to push out but how should I do it?  I was thinking of soaking the brick in warm water and resetting the press to allow more downward travel of the follower.

Second thing is the texture.  I'm worried about mold forming in the cracks.  I was thinking of cutting off the top therefore getting rid of the deepest caverns but the cheese has been through the brine already so I wasn't sure what this would do to the new surface. 

Help is greatly appreciated!  It's on the drying rack now but I haven't dropped the temp yet.  It's sitting on my kitchen counter for the time being.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I rarely give up on a cheese, but I would consider that one a lost cause. Of course you have nothing to lose, so heat the cheese up to about 90F in a covered pot in a sink full of warm water and repress with more weight. That's going to be much harder since it has been brined and is drying. What do you mean you haven't dropped the temperature???

Your cheesecloth stuck because of the dropping pH in the cheese. There are lots of discussions if you search the forum. Basically, you need to soak the cloth in acidified whey (or water) with added calcium.

[Jason M]

Thanks Sailor!  I'll give it a shot.  Like you said, I've got nothing to lose.  I don't have any whey left.  What could I substitute with high acidity to soak the cloth in?  Would the brine solution work?

[Sailor Con Queso]

Don't worry about soaking the cloth now because the pH has already dropped.

[Jason M]

You were right!  It's TOAST!  I cut the top 1/2 inch off and soaked it for a few minutes in a warm bath then wrapped it and pressed it again.  I pulled it after 20 minutes and went to re-wrap it.  The same thing happened.  Then I thought I'd press it without the cloth.  It didn't occur to me there would be a problem.  I have a small mold from cheesemaking.com and figured there wouldn't be a problem.  DOH!  I was wrong.  It's a bottomless mold.  I looked in on a few hours later and it had pressed out the bottom and was a mess at the bottom of the pot.

I'm going to spring for a PH meter and acidity test kit and a good press.  Then stick to cheddar's for awhile to get the process down.  Thanks for all the help Sailor.  I gave you a cheese!

[Sailor Con Queso]

You really need a mold with a bottom if you are pressing hard cheeses.

Sorry about the cheese - we've all been there. :'(

[rosawoodsii]

I wish I had seen this before I made Arina yesterday.  Ah, well, now I know.

Some questions (answers always generate more questions for me):

Why is it necessary to have a mold with a bottom when pressing hard cheeses? I've never used them, and rarely have a problem, but there are occasions when I have to push the cheese out from the bottom.

Would using disposable cheesecloth (i.e. plastic type) keep the cheese from sticking? Washed curd cheeses are pretty much the only ones that cause this problem for me.

How do I get acidified, calcified whey to soak cloth cheesecloth in?  And once it comes out of the whey after the first under-whey press, how do you keep the temperature (and pH) from dropping?  Shouldn't the pH drop as the cheese makes?

[Tomer1]

How do I get acidified, calcified whey to soak cloth cheesecloth in?

Its easy,
You take a portion of the whey,add vinegar untill it smells acidic (usually few drops will do) or check Ph ,I think you need to shoot for around the final target Ph of the cheese.
And add a pinch of calcium chloride.
After soaking the cloth in boiling water,squize the water out (cerful not to burn your hands,I use rubber gloves) and soak the cloth in the acidified whey.

Disposable cloths are a choice,
I prefer the use of thicker cloth aka oldschool baby diaper. 

[arkc]

I just posted this link for cheese bandaging to another post. Scroll down to cheese bandage. This stuff will solve your sticking problems and  it lasts a very long time.  I still have mine and I ordered it about 3 years ago.

http://www.glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/accessories.htm

annie

[susanky]

Long list on that link.  Are you referring to the 're-usable plastic sheet'?  Maybe someone who has ordered it can confirm, but I think this is the same thing as 'plyban'.  I use it too and love it.  Nothing sticks.  I've only been at it about a year but also have the same few sheets.  I wish they gave a price break at some other quantity before 50.   I ordered my plyban from Hoeggers.
Susan

[rosawoodsii]

Plyban!  Yes, that's what it is.  Good to know it won't stick with that. I haven't been able to reuse mine because it's gotten holes in it.  How do you clean them up well enough to reuse?

[arkc]

I believe (its been a couple of years) that I ordered 2 of the 40x40 sheets.  I am going to start
another hard cheese and I still have plenty left to work with.

annie

[susanky]

I just clean them in hot soapy water. Sometimes with a few drops of bleach.  They come clean easily.  Then I soak them in Star San befrore using on the next cheese.
Susan