Press Dutch Style - How Calculate Pressing Weight?

[Sailor Con Queso]

Judy, the way you have them stacked with the 2 molds touching, will not allow transfer to the mold on the bottom. The lower mold needs a follower and some sort of spacer, a piece of wood or a PVC pipe, so that the upper mold pushes down on the lower follower. Then whatever weight that you use will be the same for both molds.

[FarmerJd]

Ditto what Sailor said or you could put an extra follower in between the two cheeses. I have done two cheeses in one long hoop (pipe) before but it  was hard to get them out. Far easier to follow Sailor's advice. Side by side means you have to balance the two sides perfectly which can be tricky but is "doable". and yes you are right about doubling the weight.


Jaspar, you probably have an MA of around 24 or greater (not counting friction) depending on your setup. The best way to determine it is to measure the distance the end of the string moves down divided by the distance the arm moves down at the same time. In other words, with no weight on it, make a mark on the string and pull it one foot, then measure how far the arm went down and divide. Multiply this times the press MA (6:1). Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

[sstrantz]

I've been reading this post silently but now I have to ask a question for clarification.

Sailor/Farmer
When pressing using stacked molds with correct followers - are you saying that you double the pressure?  So - if the recipe asks for 35 lbs, you use 70 lbs?

I was unclear if the double weight applies to the stacked press or the side x side only.

[smolt1]

Leah's mom, Here is something that might help the weight and pressure discussion.

Weight and Pressure
When you put 1 tsp of sugar in a CUP of water it tastes different than if you put 1 tsp of sugar in 1 GALLON of water.  The difference is the different concentrations of sugar.  In the same way if you put a 1 lb weight on cheese curds in a mold that is 4 INCHES in diameter the effect will be different than if the same 1 lb weight is put on a mold that is 7 INCHES in diameter. The difference is the different amount of pressure on the cheese. To calculate the pressure you need to know 2 things. The WEIGHT(that is applied to the top of your mold) and the AREA (of the top of your mold). Then the PRESSURE = WEIGHT/AREA. The units of weight are the pound or kilogram. The units of area are the square inch or square centimeter. So the units of pressure are pounds per square inch (PSI) or Kilograms per square centimeter.

When you stack the molds you use the same WEIGHT as you would use for 1 mold. when you put the molds side by side you double the WEIGHT. In both cases the PRESSURE stays the same, which is what you want.

[sstrantz]

Thanks you, smolt.  That is exactly what I thought was the case but I wanted to be sure I was interpreting that correctly.

[Jaspar]

Farmer you are the Man! Makes prefect sense Thank You!

                                                     Jaspar

[judyp]

Can anyone share a picture pressing 2 or more molds?  I'm not picturing what kind of follower I need.  I am thinking the followers I have will not work because they are not flat.  Thanks, Judy