cantal question

[mrsick44]

Hi all,
I've made a cantal which has been pressing about 24 hours now. I'm using the "200 Easy..." book. All things are going well, cheese smells fantastic, and according to SCQ's comments, the rather "pockmarked" looking hard press knit is to be expected. One problem: I set my press incorrectly last night at 6:46pm when I flipped the cheese. I  set the handle too low and now I'm sure that the 306lbs/7.5 psi that I was targeting didn't get met. Not sure what it pressed at, as I went to check it at the 17 hour mark and noticed that it was set incorrectly. My recipe says to press for 24-36 hours at this psi, so should I just let it press (now that I've corrected the press settings) for another 12 hours? I thought it looked relatively unchanged this morning with no whey seepage. As soon as I got the press corrected, small amounts of clear whey were expelled. I think it will still turn out (i suspect perhaps my best make to date), but I'd like to hear from a more seasoned cheesemaker.
p.s. has anyone ever made a colonia? if so, when does the rind develop? this cheese was made on 8/17 and it doesn't seem to be drying very much. mold growth is not horrible, but I just cant seem to get a good feel for this one.

[Cheese Head]

I'd leave it pressing as not much other choice.

Pressing in my mind does three things: 1) causes a dehydrated surface layer, the start of your rind, 2) knits the cut curds, and 3) initially expells whey, primarily from betwen your cut curds, that is until the rind forms.

So it's no surprise that you are now getting no further whey expulsion after 17 hours of pressing. If after pressing and air drying your cheese is not firm enough for you, then air dry some more or carefully dry in a slightly lower humidity, just watch for any drying cracks!

Never heard of your second subject, rinds develop from dehydration with during pressing and during brining or surface salting, after which it depends on your aging humidity. As you are getting surface molds, so you may want to lower your aging humidity a little to induce rind formation. Note, natural rinds are very hard to achieve which is why most people oil or vacuum bag their cheeses.