Pressed Cheese Slumping When Air Drying - Causes & Recommendations

[judyp]

Howdy!  I made a batch of Manchego cheese yesterday.  I let it press overnight because I didn't want to get up in the middle of the night to get it out of the press.  The instructions said to press 6 hours @ 30 lbs.  I pressed 10 hours @ 30 lbs.  I took it out of the form and it looked really good.  I set it on the mat to dry and it started to get wider at the bottom, as if it were collapsing.  I put it in the brine bath for 4 hours (recipe called for 6 hours) but I was afraid if I left it for 6 hours it might get too much moisture. 

After the brine bath, I thought I would dry it in the dehydrator....not such a good idea.  I had it on 90 degrees for about 1 hour and when I checked it was getting more squatty.  I decided I better put it back in the press and get the shape back before I lose it completely.

Right now, I have it wrapped in cheese cloth in the mold and in the press @ 30 lbs. 

Does anyone have any ideas what might be going on?  It actually feels like there is too much moisture inside the cheese because it is getting wider at the bottom as it sits. 

Thanks! 

[Cheese Head]

Hi Judy

Pressing initially removes excess moisture, primarily from the surface resulting in a dehydrated surface which is the start of your rind. Further pressing then releases less moisture and really primarily helps the curds to knit. For your pressed cheese to sag, the paste is too moist as you said, thus the curds were too moist before pressing. Basically you can't press the moisture out of cheese due to the above effect.

Brining cheese in addition to putting salt into the cheese, further dehydrates the surface resulting in a tougher harder rind. My cheese weigh less after brining than before, so brining does not add moisture.

The best solution is to air and then cave dry in a slightly lower humidity to dehydrate your cheese, be careful, too low a humidity will result in surface cracks of which there are many examples in this forum. For next batch you need to reduce the moisture level in your cut curds before pressing.

[linuxboy]

Your paste has too much moisture. Either it sat too long before cutting, the curds were not cut small enough, you did not cook/stir long enough, or some combination of those.

When you heat the cheese back up, it will be softer and plasticize. If you want to dry it, put it in a ~60% RH room at 55-60F.

As for what to do now, leave it in the mold so that it retains its shape. It will stabilize in 2-3 days, then you can move it out. Brine this the full 6 hrs.

[judyp]

Great idea about leaving it in the mold.  Thanks. 

How can I tell if the curd has too much moisture in it when I am getting ready to press it? 

[linuxboy]

How can I tell if the curd has too much moisture in it when I am getting ready to press it?

Without using a meter with sensor on it, or taking a sample and determining MFFB in an oven, the only way I know how is through experience. When you make enough cheese, you will know when the curd is "right" by feeling it in your hand, squeezing it into a ball, and checking for the moisture level.

The is one more geeky way... you can determine the target yield based on your milk and optimum MFFB, and then you can either evaluate how much whey you have drained, or the weight of the drained curd. That's somewhat a pain, though.

The much easier way without a mentor is to follow the flocculation method and stir schedules in recipes, and then take careful notes, and compare final cheese with your sensory memory until you can connect the way the curd feels with the final moisture.