Cheesecloth Options - Cloths, Plyban, Veggie Bags, Paint Strainer Bags

[arkc]

I haven't used 'nasty' cheesecloth for years.  This is a link to Glengarry.  Scroll down to
'cheese bandage'.  Wonderful stuff and lasts a very long time.

http://www.glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/accessories.htm

annie

[iratherfly]

Tomer - I suggest not to use window netting; not food safe, probably PVC. It's conbstruction grade material.  Use veggie bags.

Annie - Thanks! I think I should purchase some.  Which size do you find the most useful?  I really only use them for large Tomme and to drain semi lcatics. All other cheese I do directly in the mold with no need for cheesecloth. (and I do 3 times as much bloomy, washed and small Tommes than large Tommes so I never bothered investing in this too much)

[arkc]

I only purchased a couple of sheets of 40x40.   They are very durable and last for years.

annie

[iratherfly]

Do you cut them? Or, do they have seamed edges so that they won't fall apart?

[arkc]

Yes you cut them.  And do you mean do they unravel?    No, they're plasticky...(new word).

When wrapping a cheese for pressing, you just place the plyban around it as you would when
wrapping a bottle of wine.

annie

[iratherfly]

Wrinkles galore?

[susanky]

Although I haven't used as much 'regular' cheeseclcoth, I think plyban gives less wrinkles.  It is more pliable.  Attached is a picture right out of the press after wrapped in plyban.  This was one of my first cheeses.  I do even better now.  After a month or two of aging these wrinkles are gone.
Susan

[arkc]

You're right Susan.  If you fold them well, they have even less wrinkles and  they do disappear after
a bit.

You should be careful of which side you place against the cheese.  There is one side that is slightly
rougher than the other.  I think the instructions mention this.  If not, then I got the info from
Margaret Morris's Video on Cheddar.

annie

[iratherfly]

Nice! Looks like the Plyban is rather thin because you can still see all the holes in the Tomme mold. (is this about 3.5 Lbs wheel?)
I don't mind little wrinkles. I like a bit of texture too - it helps the rind start by trapping mold and moisture in those hairline scratches.

[susanky]

Yes, I think this was about a 3.5 lb wheel.  It was 4 gallons milk.  Interestingly, my 4 gallons wheels are now much smaller since switching from Jersey to Brown Swiss milk (both raw).  But expect to have the Jersey milk again sometime in June.  Yay!
Susan

[iratherfly]

Yes, I just used raw jersey for the first time on a Tomme last week. My 3 gallons have produced a 3.7Lbs cheese! I would have gotten about a third less should I have used the old pasteurized (non homogenized) Holstein milk I usually use.  It's all that fat...
In the winter some dairy sent me 43 Lbs (5 Gal) of milk to test for cheesemaking. It was organic but homogenized and HTST pasteurized. Those 5 gallons yielded a cheese the size of these 3 raw Jersey gallons have.

[Oude Kaas]

Yoav, impressive heh?

[iratherfly]

Amazing Jos; thanks a million for that milk!!! That cheese is YELLOW. I brined it in the whey of the cheesemaking which had a perfect pH (slower curve thanks to cooling). Mid way through the brining I realized that butterfat in the whey was attracted to the body of the cheese ...almost giving me an oil-smeared rind

Aging it in a special untreated wood box now at 55F. Nothing much added to it. just mycodore, a tiny pinch of geo 15 and one secret bacteria that's going to rock this cheese later in the aging... this is going to be an amazing cheese. I can tell.

[Oude Kaas]

Hope I get to taste it.

[iratherfly]

Of course you would! I wouldn't dare not giving you some.
Frankly, if I knew that the yield would be so great I would have probably made two 1.85 Lbs Petit-Tomme wheels instead of a single full size.