French? Italian? Dutch Kadouva?
Which one to choose?
And then even when you narrow those down, you still find yourself having to pick and choose between which to get via SIZES and SHAPES.
Me and John already tackled the size part of this discussion in an earlier thread, now I'm onto the shapes.
Which shape-type molds are the absolute necessary for which cheese?
Taking a look at this site:
http://glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/wax.htm (http://glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca/wax.htm)
There almost over 40 Italian and French cheese molds on this page. But most peculiar how almost none are specified for their purpose (i.e. which type of cheese they are supposed to be for).
I mean-- I dont have a problem buying ALL of them, but I am pretty sure buying over 36 cheese molds is just over-kill, when I'm sure some cheese can be re-duplicated in the same moulds as others.
What a brilliant marketing strategy in trying to leech as much money as they can from unsuspecting customers, without informing them of what their actual mold use/purpose is for.
Margaret has the descriptions for the cheese styles suitable for most of the molds she sells. If you need guidance, ask her for recommendations.
Mold selection is often about preference... i.e. using a 200 mm vs 280 mm. The rest of the time it's about tradition. For example brie vs camembert. Same cheese, different size molds, or soft goat cheese shape: buche, pyramide, etc. Not sure how else to contribute because it seems the descriptions are right on the page.
I will say some cheeses do better in specific sizes. I like my 4-gal batches of stilton to be in a 4" (as opposed to 6") cylinder, for example, and I like an emmenthaler to be a 6-8" by 4-5" tall.
It's not a marketing ploy. There are literlally thousands of different mold types and configurations.
Also, as I have stated before, I think Kadova's are useless. I much prefer cheese cloth molds. Kadovas are really designed and intended for industrial settings where it is much more efficient to boil the hoops in caustic and acid rinse.
Why do you not like kadova molds? how you press cheese with out them?
Kadova's are expensive, difficult to clean at home and when the screens fail they are expensive to replace. People have made cheese for thousands of years without Kadova's, it's quite easy (and I think easier) to press without them.
We are both talking about these right? http://thecheesemaker.com/images/large_mould.jpg (http://thecheesemaker.com/images/large_mould.jpg)
That looks like a 8" St Paulin mold. Kadovas has a built-in net and come in a rounded gouda shape or cylinder shape. It's the plastic net that makes them distinctive.
Oh well I was thinking about buying some of the above mold for aged hard cheeses mostly cheddar and gouda? Is this a good idea?
Quote from: Minamyna on May 30, 2010, 06:46:41 PM
Oh well I was thinking about buying some of the above mold for aged hard cheeses mostly cheddar and gouda? Is this a good idea?
Depends on what size batch you are doing. I have that mold and I do not like the large, short rounds that come from 4 gal batches. I think 6 gal would be much better for this mold. I don't know if you could do more than six, but the more, the better, I would think.
Would I be better off trying to get kaldova molds if i want to make hard cheeses? How do you make hard cheese if you don't press them? I am really confused...
Minanyna
I have that mold and used it for a 4 gallon batch of Raclette. For that if was okay but a chedddar or something you really need 6 or 7 gallons to be viable.
The first picture is how short the 4 gallon Raclette came out
The second picture is a 7 gallon Reggianito much fuller
I have the smaller version of this mold, and it does produce shorter cheeses. I can only make a 3 gallon batch at a time now and it does fill the mold until pressing and then I end up with about a 2 7/8" x 7" wheel weighing about 3 lbs. I thought that I would do my next cheddar in a spring press with 4" hoop which will make it taller. Gotta build a lever press soon!