Pressed Cheeses - Cheesecloth Ball Method

[Buck47]

Hey Zoey:

Thanks for the heads-up on the bellybutton ridge mold issue. I would think that could be smoothed out somewhat.

I've been thinking of a simple way of balancing weight for a 8 inch round. Should be able to come up with something simple and stable.

Did you make other types of cheese using this method?

Regards: john

[Zoey]

I have to say I only used this method once - just to check if cheese making was going to be a hobby that lasted long enough for me to spend money on some moulds. Well, obviously, the answer was positive, and the next make was with a cheese mould.

About smoothing out the bellybutton ridges... I think there would be two options; proactive smoothing by placing something under the knot while pressing... maybe a smaller piece of cheesecloth or something, that would even out the wrinkles of the knot on the surface of the cheese... or reactive, as in cutting of the ridges or smoothing them out in a similar way as brine-washing unwanted microflora... I've noticed that brine/vinegar washes soften the surface so that it is easy to rub them smoother, while removing that unwanted microflora at the same time. Wouldn't do this before needed, though...

Waxing might make the whole smoothing thing unneccessary...

Somehow I like the proactive method more. You might also want to look into getting the knot as neat as possible. Twisting makes a larger knot than tying with a separate thread or so. That version of twisting that is in the east-european-woman-video earlier in this thread, seems to be pretty handy too. By twisting the knot to cover the whole surface area, you get a larger, relatively even follower that presses down the whole cheese surface, not just the knot-place. So I would imagine it to create less problems.

I would imagine that the wider twisted knot -thingie in the video would also help in making a larger surface to balance the weight on more easily. The weight in the video might also be easier than to think of balancing some kind of system on top of the cheese. But if you have a press (unlike me) then I guess it's a more press-specific question.

About other cheeses - I would assume that any cheese goes... just make sure your ball is in such a size that the knot/belly button doesn't go through the whole paste (create a hole in the middle). I'm sure this depends a lot on the toughness of the curds, but also the size of the ball or knotting method.

[susanky]

Why not wrap it such that the 'knot' is on the side rather than the top?  Then you could twist and fold the excess on the top so that the weight still holds it together.
Susan

[Buck47]

Thanks for the ideas. This is something I would want to play around with before make a pot of cheese and then trying to figure it out.

May get a few bags of dried beans,  a cloth -  and tie a few knots. 

[Zoey]

Susanky's idea seems great for getting rid of the knot/bellybutton.
I'm not sure if it would worsen the ridges problem though.

Worth trying, probably.

[DeejayDebi]

I would think putting the bellybutton on the side would encoursge a long narrow cheese?

[susanky]

Even if you twisted it tightly then flipped the tail back up on top? If the weight sat on the tail I wouldn't think it could flatten much more than if it were twisted on top.  But having said that, I haven't tried it...
Susan

[DeejayDebi]

That might make a trench, no?

[susanky]

Hmmm.  I can't picture it.  Where would the trench be?  I guess I will have to try it.  And take pics!
Susan

[DeejayDebi]

LOL we do go off on tangents sometimes!

[smilingcalico]

Perhaps an appropriate sized follower could be placed on top of the curds before tying the knot, also the cloth would have to be big enough.