Hi from alabama

[FarmerJd]

I have always used a process I found on a site (http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/cheese/welcom.htm) a long time ago and the guy there recommended 10-20 psi which is around 1000 lbs for a 8" hoop. I have always thought that was a wide range so I shot for the middle. 70lbs on a 7 1/2" mold is less than 2 psi if i did the math right. One thing that has happened in my cheese making is when I switched to stacking and milling the curds instead of trying to just keep them stirred. Since then the curds are more dry and do not press as easy. But the end product is much more consistent. I am not sure why that is happening since I don't have an acid tester (I haven't figured out how to make one yet ) but I have not lost a single batch of cheese since I switched. Every batch has been pretty much the same. Is there a certain tester that everyone uses? I know I really should be using one.

By the way the site I posted may be old news to everybody here but it really bridged the gap between commercial and home operation for me when I started.

[whichwhey?]

welcome, I'm new here too and never made cheese yet. But I want to start yesterday.

[FarmerJd]

Thanks 'whichwhey'. Do you have any plans on starting soon? I think a great cheese to start with is quesa blanco. pretty much a no fail cheese that gets you excited cause you can eat it immediately. I think they have a recipe on this site somewhere.

[pamaples]

OK, so FarmerJd, I am really good at the fresh cheeses. What I have had no luck with, but was very consistant with, is pressed cheese. All of mine, without fail, dry out immediately and, if left to age even in a humid place, turns into something that resembles a block of dense rubber in texture. Again, I am very consistant in this. (It tastes good and I cube it and put it in soups, stirfry etc since it doesn't melt.) So, I can do repeatability; I just have to find a recipe that works for me. That's why I want to see your recipe.

[DeejayDebi]

Pam if you don't wax or bandage vac pack them after a few weeks to a month they won't dry out.

[Sailor Con Queso]

My 7.5 inch mold is 44 square inches so pressing at just 10 psi would be 440 pounds. My French press has a 5 to 1 mechanical advantage, so that would be 88 pounds on my lever arm. Even at 70# my curd mass is trying to escape thru the cheesecloth into the holes in the mold. With 88 pounds on the lever (440# pressing down) I would be getting cheese noodles coming out the holes.

And the U of Guelph site is really geared for commercial production. They often mention pressing for just one hour. I think what their recommendations don't take into consideration is the height of the mold cylinder. My mold is just 3" high. Yours looks like 10" or 12".

You obviously have a heavy duty setup. Most home presses can't handle those kind of weights.

[FarmerJd]

Sailor- I rounded the numbers but we are on the same idea. Like I said there is a lot of difference between 10 and 20 psi (440 vs 880 lbs) I am looking to extend my arm so I can just keep the same weight. I built the press before I started the bigger quantities but it has held up well. Your comment about the "noodles" is exactly why I am hesitant about drilling the holes. And I realize that the website I mentioned deals with many aspects from the commercial side but it doesn't just give commercial parameters in the recipe section. For instance, under the cheddar cheese recipe:

"12. After the salt is well absorbed and the flow of whey has stopped, the curd is ready for hooping. Use 20 lb (9 kg) hoops and place 22 lb of curd in each hoop. The hoops should be lined with plastic, single service press cloths.

13. Press overnight at 75 kPa (10 - 20 lbs/in2). Start with low pressure and gradually increase to 75 kPa. Vacuum treatment to remove air from the cheese and increase the rate of cooling may be applied during or after pressing. In modern commercial practice, pressing is often shortened to as little as one hour."

It sounds like he is contrasting his instructions with commercial practices to me.

The point you bring up about column height is a great one. My gut tells me your right but I can't explain it scientifically. My cheeses usually end up 4 to 10 inches high when i take them out so the hoop has to be much taller to begin with. Thanks for your input, sailor. I wish I had seen this site earlier.

Pam: I will try to post my next cheese making on line here. We will probably do it on thursday or friday. I really think the results are easier for larger cheeses. Just my personal experience. I know conventional wisdom says start small, but I threw away alot of small rubber balls!

[Sailor Con Queso]

Were you having trouble with open texture before? Is that why you are going with such heavy weights? Wayne is doing 25 gallon batches of Cheddar but I don't think he is pressing with that much weight.

The holes are really important for drainage. Otherwise you may trap whey inside.

[FarmerJd]

i am not sure if my problem was open texture. The curds just did not stick together well enough with the 12 inch hoop so i dropped back to the 8 and it was much better. My whey escapes around the top and especially under the bottom edge. He said he had a Mech Ad of 4 on his press and was keeping the pressure under 10 psi. I am still going to try it this week and I'll let you know how it works.

[whichwhey?]

Thanks 'whichwhey'. Do you have any plans on starting soon? I think a great cheese to start with is quesa blanco. pretty much a no fail cheese that gets you excited cause you can eat it immediately. I think they have a recipe on this site somewhere.

I was thinking about ordering next week. So off to find the recipe for the quesa blanco thank you.

[DeejayDebi]

Here's a simple one:

Queso  Blanco

Ingredients:
1 Gallon Whole Milk
1/4 Cup White Vinegar (see note)

Procedure:
Heat milk to 180 F (82 C) stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn the milk.
While mixing with a whisk, slowly add the white vinegar.
You will notice the milk begins to curdle.
Keep stirring for 10-15 minutes.
Line a colander with a fine cheesecloth.
Pour the curdled milk through the colander.
Allow the curds to cool for about 20 minutes.
Tie the four corners of the cheese cloth together and hang it to drain for about 5 - 7 hours (until it stops dripping).
The solidified cheese can be broken apart and salted to taste or kept unsalted.

NOTE: The juice of 3-5 lemons may also be used instead vinegar it will make the cheese tangier.

[FarmerJd]

This is the same recipe I use. You can add spices with the salt to give it a different flavor.

[whichwhey?]

I tried to find it but no luck. I will print it out and try it. Thank you Thank you.

[Sailor Con Queso]

i am not sure if my problem was open texture. The curds just did not stick together well enough with the 12 inch hoop so i dropped back to the 8 and it was much better.

Have you tried "pressing under whey"? I have no idea how you would do your big batches, but it really helps improve texture. There's different approaches, but basically you pre-press your curd mass under whey. I submerse my mold in the stock pot and scoop curds into the mold, pressing by hand a layer at a time. I then pull the loaded mold out and transfer the pre-pressed curds into a waiting cheesecloth. Then back into the mold for pressing.

[DeejayDebi]

I do the same. Pressing under whey seems to give a better press with less weight.