As a rookie cheese-maker I hope you will give some kind-hearted advice on this:
How do you get your curds cut evenly in the 'third dimension' - if you will?
It's pretty obvious how to cut the curds on a grid pattern (as you're looking down into the kettle); cutting in the up-and-down-plane is what I'd like to hear about.
I have been doing my best to get some diagonal slices going into the curd but I think I'm ending up with pretty small curds and too many little pieces. When I'm stirring the curds later on, I well find a few larger curds that I cut in half.
I've seen cheese harps that have horizontal wires, but for the home-based cheese maker who uses a long-blade cake frosting knife, how can I get even sized curds?
thanks; HOPPY
Try a whisk and insert it and use a rolling motion while moving. Works pretty well. You can find a large whisk that reaches the bottom for about $10 at a restaurant supply store.
When I made small batches in a 4 gallons pot, I made an L shaped wire from a coat hanger. The bottom of the L was half the width of my pot so I just lowered it in into the pot half an inch and rotated around 360 degrees then dropped another half and so on til I reached the bottom. Now I use a grill rack purchased form Sports Academy which only has wires running one way. It is a lot like this one on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/Barbeque-Grill-Basket-Non-Stick-Adjustable-Locking-Lid_W0QQitemZ250600364983QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a58f21bb7#ht_1638wt_939). I took it apart and used the side with horizontal wires. Just set it in the milk and rotate once.
Thanks
I have used a large whisk once or twice; I like the L-shaped coat hanger too.
I'm just trying to get the curds a consistent size.
I find the whisk the most consistant. I cut front to back, then left to right wait 5 minutes then slide the whisk straight down and straight up. Fater it cooks for a while I do the rolling technique.
I got a nice 12 inch long whisk with a botton the size of my fist from Job Lot for $4.