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

[darius]

I've noticed my washed and boiled cheesecloth gathers a lot of lint... Most of it is large enough to pick off after washing and before boiling. I'd just as soon not have it embedded in my cheese although I doubt it would harm my digestive system.

Anyone else have these concerns?

[pliezar (Ian)]

I have the same problem with mine.  I have had some issues with it being embedded in the cheese after pressing.  I just remove it and smooth things over.  After a few washes I have noticed that it goes away.  I like to air dry mine on the line in the basement.

[MrsKK]

What kind of cheesecloth are you using?  I use sheeting fabric and don't have much trouble with lint, but the dog and cat hairs still seem to find their way onto my cheese.  I use a needle and tweezers to remove it.

[darius]

I'm using some 'flour sacking' sold by Fantes.

[iratherfly]

I hate these darn things. They leave lint, and then you can't really wash them in the laundry because they pick traces of detergent and lint from other clothes, so you need to wash them by hand and boil which too often do not remove all the protein deposits, and I hate putting this kind of cheese cloth on a new cheese. I began buying them on a regular basis to use only once but it gets costly and annoying (not to mention that there is still lint on the new cheesecloths).

Then I came up with a reusable cheesecloth that does better job than any cheesecloth I've ever bought.  Those plastic vegetable mesh bags you get potatoes, onions or lemons in.  It's food grade plastic. I only keep the ones that are a bit more dense.  I can wash them with a scrubber and detergent without worry. Everything washes off them easily and they don't leave any deposits or lint. I can dry them quickly and use a no-rinse sanitizer like San Star.  Having them shaped like a bag makes them perfect for hanging or lining a colander. They are fantastic, reusable and ...free!

[susanky]

That is a great idea!  I'm going to look for those.  I also like Plyban.  I got mine from Hoeggers.  It is a sort of plastic cheesecloth.  Nothing sticks to it.  Easy cleanup. You can't boil it but I sanitize with Starsan.
Susan

[darius]

Thanks for the replies and commiseration!

I'll take a look at plyban, Susan.

Mesh bags are unlikely for me to try as my veggies are organic and come from my own garden without bags! Sounds like a good idea though.

[iratherfly]

Buying 10 lbs of potatoes in the market one time is still cheaper than reusable cheesecloth. Not to mention you get free potatoes with it!

Here's a photo. I love the selection of different densities. Try doing that with a regular cheesecloth!

[darius]

Hmmmmm, pretty AND tempting!

[Sailor Con Queso]

Try paint strainer bags from your local paint supply store.

[iratherfly]

What are they made off?

[Sailor Con Queso]

Looks like nylon or a nylon/poly hybrid. Probably not too much different than the potato bags. I have been using them for a long time. They come in 1 gallon and 5 gallon sizes. Way better than cheesecloth for simple draining tasks. In a pinch you can even use them to press cheese, but it leaves a wicked seam mark. Of course you can always remove the cheese from the drain bag and repress to remove the wrinkles.

[Tomer1]

Yoav, dont these open weave mesh bag leave imprints on the pressed cheese?
Or are you only using it for initial pressing and for final pressing go "bear naken"?

[iratherfly]

Sailor - thanks! Do you have any links to these?  Below is the marks that these leave on my cheese. They are cute looking actually but the mesh is so thin that they mostly dissapear once the rind grow.
How's the creamery going by the way?

Tomer - Every cheesecloth leaves and imprint. That's part of pressed cheese.  These plastic things leave a far nicer imprint than your regular cheesecloth though.  I actually am right now in the middle of brining a 3.5 Lbs. raw milk Tomme that was pressed in this mesh. I lifted it from the brine for a second for this photo: (this is 2nd pressing so the cheesecloth is not folded over, therefore it "resolution" is low and the mesh is big).  You can see the seam where one side of the mesh meets the other across the top of the cheese. Overall as you can see, I got a nice smooth texture and very shallow marks from the "cheesecloth" net.

[Tomer1]

Ha! cool its like gator skin.
I'l give it a try, I have a close window netting used for anti-insect window add-ons made out of nylon.