Beginner Pressed Cheese Type Recommendation

[CarterFarm]

I just finished making a cheese press, and I have the set up for a cheese cave.  I haven't made but two soft cheeses: paneer and queso blanco.  I was wanting some ideas on what pressed cheese to try for a beginner.  Thanks.  I will put pics of my press up later on in the day.

[sstrantz]

Here are my thoughts...

I always encourage people to start with a queso fresco since you press it but you don't have to age it before eating. 

I recommend queso fresco because you can learn the basic cheesemaking techniques and "work out the bugs" on a cheese that you don't have to wait for weeks or months to taste.  The Queso Fresco recipe I use utilizes many of the same processes/techniques as an aged cheese without having to wait through an aging process to determine if you need to make changes to your process or have a failed cheese.  When I started making pressed cheeses, I think I probably made at least 20 of these before moving on to aged cheeses and it gave me a really good foundation due to the opportunity to learn what the issues were when the cheese was too dry, too moist, rubbery, etc.  After having that experience, I started making some recipes that required aging and they have all turned out quite well.  I attribute that to the early queso fresco making.

There are various queso fresco recipes out there and they are QUITE DIFFERENT.  If you would like, I could send you the recipe and procedures I use through a personal message.

Let me know if you'd like the recipe - and hope you enjoy cheesemaking as much as I do!

[smilingcalico]

I believe there was a recent similar topic that suggested either Gouda or a tomme. Type beginner in the search box and see what comes up.