Pillow-like

[Gobae]

For the past 6-8 months I've been making feta using the recipe from "Artisan Cheesemaking at Home" by Mary Karlin with reasonably good results. But there's a line in the recipe that says "Gently stir the curds until pillow-like". What does "pillow-like" mean?! Can anyone give a better description of a "pillow-like" curd state?

[John@PC]

When you first cut the curds they are all square-sided.  As the whey is expelled the curds shrink and densify and the edges become more rounded.  I likened the "pillowy" curds to miniature marshmellows as far as size and shape.  I have Karlin's book but haven't noticed her using that term for other cheeses and while descriptive I'm not sure how helpful it is compared to other metrics for checking curd readiness.

[Gobae]

Ah, mini-marshmallows! I know what THOSE look like. Karlin should have said so in the first place

[John@PC]

Could also be mini-chiclets .  However I haven't figured out how to get multi-colored curds .