Hi, Im try to find a container/saucepan that can hold up to 5 gallons of liquid, for me to coagulate my milk in etc.
Though I'm having hard luck finding one :(
Where did you get yours?
I feel your pain. A larger pan is on my wish list too. I currently have a 3 and a 4 gallon size. The 3 gallon one was purchased at a local restaurant supply years ago for general cooking, and the 4 gallon was a lucky yard sale find I forgot I had. Just yesterday I made a 'two pot' parmesan, totalling 6 gallons of milk split between the two. While not as difficult as I had envisioned, it was much more of a hassle than a one-pot cheese.
While most of the time I am happy with 3 or 4 gallon size cheeses, it makes more sense to me to make larger sized ones that are supposed to be aged 6 months or more. I want more than a thick rind at the end of the aging process. :o
Since I'm still a beginner, I just dont know what size pot I'll want in the end. I'm waiting to see what direction my cheese-making will go before I commit the funds to a larger ss stock pot. I also want to be able to still use my current tools in any new pot. ::)
I've moved to SS rectangular restaurant 10 gal pots but this was where I got my first one.
http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/kitchen/stainless-steel-stock-pots/c1995.aspx (http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/kitchen/stainless-steel-stock-pots/c1995.aspx)
Great selection and fair prices, I got lucky and found used rectangular which I find easier to cut curd in.
I would suggest checking home brewing stores/websites. I was able to get a great deal on a 6 gallon SS stockpot at a local brewing supply store. Good luck :)
Thanks very much for the advice!
I would love to make a 5 gallon cheese, but since i use the double boiler method, I could never lift that 5 gallon pot into the water pot. I would have to do a lot of whey transfering. google on stockpots if you'd like to see really big pots
For a while there, I used a food-safe 7 gallon bucket for my cheese vat.. I simply tied the handle of the bucket to small clothesline rope, and strung the rope through a pulley on the ceiling. I was able to simply raise or lower the bucket of milk in the water bath below. Actually, my avatar is a picture of me doing just that.
I do essentially the same thing now, just scaled up a bit. Folks here refer to my rig as the "dungeon..."
I never could figure out why though....
So, how were you heating and maintaining temp control of the water in the water bath?
I use a 22-quart (5 1/2 gallon) SS canning kettle. The SS is rather thin, so it works best in my utility sink as a hot water bath. I pour the milk into the kettle after it is in the sink, as 5 gallons of milk is quite heavy.
Karen, I have a 22 qt ss stockpot and with 4 gallons it is very heavy! I've never tried 5 gallons for fear that there wouldn't be enough headspace for stirring. How do you manage it?
Christine
Quote from: Chris_Abrahamson on August 18, 2010, 10:09:20 PM
So, how were you heating and maintaining temp control of the water in the water bath?
If you look close, i use five, 2000watt immersion heaters. They are hanging in the water bath.
I control temp of the cheese by turning on the heaters individually. Need more heat? turn on more heaters..
Also, i can crank the cheese vat in, or out of the bath by raising or lowering it.
I get very fine control of my heating protocol. i can consistently achieve temperature control to about 1 degree in accuracy.
But its all very manual. Cannot let it be for even 2 min...
Quote from: Wayne Harris on August 19, 2010, 01:34:01 AM
But its all very manual. Cannot let it be for even 2 min...
But still, a thing of beauty.... ;)
-Boofer-
Quote from: Mondequay on August 18, 2010, 11:16:21 PM
Karen, I have a 22 qt ss stockpot and with 4 gallons it is very heavy! I've never tried 5 gallons for fear that there wouldn't be enough headspace for stirring. How do you manage it?
Christine
22 quarts is 5 1/2 gallons. Five gallons in the pot doesn't leave much headspace, but I never stir vigorously when making cheese anyway, just gentle stirring. I put the stockpot in the utility sink and add some milk to the pot, then start filling the sink with hot water as I fetch the rest of the milk and pour it into the stockpot. I don't ever have to lift the pot when it is full of milk because I ladle off the whey to the level of the curd before lifting the stockpot to dump the curd into the colander for draining. By that point, the pot is about half empty, so not quite so heavy.
Well, Karen, you must be stronger than me and taller too! ;) I think I'll give 5 gallons a go when I have someone home just in case. Thanks
I'm only 5'5" tall, but I am quite strong. I move our feed sacks (50-lbs) around without too much trouble and can even throw a few 60-70 lb haybales, but prefer not to, of course!
At 8 lbs per gallon, a 5 gallon SS pot of milk would be just over 40 lbs. But, as I said, I don't normally lift the pot out until it is about half emptied, so about 20-25 pounds.
My largest pot is 4 gallons and I dont lift it when full either. Since it's relatively small in cheese-making terms, I fill as close to the top as possible, allowing room for adding things of course, but sometimes the liquid is almost at the brim. I also stir slowly, and only rarely have spill accidents. I am short (5'4"), but also strong, though I would not risk lifting the pot because it's usually too full. Also the stove-top (I use direct gas heat) is a bit too high for me to try to lift something so heavy safely. When I use my 3 gallon stock pot, I dont lift it when full either.
Like Karen, when it's time to move the pot, lots/most of the contents already have been removed. I use a nice 1 quart all metal ss 'pot' - similar to a large measuring cup - to more quickly ladle things.
I found a good quality 22qt stock pot, with 3 ply metal bottom - which distributes the heat fairly evenly, at Walmart
I make 24 gallon batches and never have to lift the pot when full. I drain the whey down with a gallon pitcher then scoop the curds out with a giant screen scoop. But I still really want a chain hoist like Wayne's just for the aesthetic value.
Quote from: FarmerJd on August 19, 2010, 07:36:03 PM
But I still really want a chain hoist like Wayne's just for the aesthetic value.
I think the best part, is the ratcheting sound as i crank it under load. It sounds truly medieval, like something straight out of the Spanish Inquisition.
So the MacBeth witches were cheese-makers? Who knew???
Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and rennet bubble...
(http://www.madametalbot.com/pix/posters/macbethposter1.gif)
Quote from: Wayne Harris on August 19, 2010, 07:48:08 PM
I think the best part, is the ratcheting sound as i crank it under load. It sounds truly medieval, like something straight out of the Spanish Inquisition.
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Round about the cheese vat go:
Raw milk fresh and white as snow.
Powdered creatures in death's moan
Ransomed through the frozen zone
Young calf stomach sleeping got,
Mix thou first i' the charmed pot.
Double, double, toil and trouble,
fire burn and rennet bubble
Calcium chloride, just a flake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Pinch of pepsin from a hog,
Save the whey for a hungry dog,
Lipase for an extra zing
Gather up the curds and wring
'till in twain and twixt they cling
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble,
fire burn and rennet bubble
Pack the curds into a loaf,
Shape and mold that tasty oaf
Waiting slyly for the dark
T' slather it with salt and marc
Bitter herb of ghostly brew
Stinging nettle, sprig of rue,
Slivered in the moon's eclipse,
Pepper dust and blackened tips,
(Finger o' whiskey for the lips)
Tongue of truth and gift of gab
Make the gruel thick and slab.
Add thereto an enzyme's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.
Let the coolbot work its good,
Then the charm is fit for food.
:)
LOL, who needs the Spanish Inquistion when we have Linuxspeare? ;D
Linuxboy, this is clearly a sign that you don't have enough to do. Unbelievable. LOL :o ;D
I love it. What melody goes with those lyrics?
It really entices you into taking some cheese, crusty bread, and wine, ale, or stronger spirits (brandy...perhaps?) in hand.
Thank you for that, linuxboy!
-Boofer-
Quote from: FarmerJd on August 20, 2010, 12:48:25 AM
Linuxboy, this is clearly a sign that you don't have enough to do. Unbelievable. LOL :o ;D
Sometimes, my friend, writing poetry is the only thing that keeps me going. :)
Boofer, that's me taking liberty with Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 4. I preserved the entire rhyme scheme and meter, and reused words and phrases where possible. Sadly, I think none of the original scores from those Elizabethan times remain.
Absolutely awesome Linuxboy.
Very good, LB!
Quote from: linuxboy on August 19, 2010, 08:44:07 PM
No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
...
Double, double, toil and trouble,
fire burn and rennet bubble
It takes real literary courage to mix Shakespeare and Monty Python.
Words fail me. Suffice it to say that was an impressive post.
That's better than mixing religion and Monty Python. ;)
(Warning, video contains blasphemy, strong language, violence, and humor.)
"Blessed are the Cheesemakers"
Life of Brian- Sermon on the Mount Scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiDmMBIyfsU#)
Quite good Linix! A pleasure to read.
I got a 13 gallon Amish canner and I use it with a large cooler.
Ive made two 10 gallon makes with it, all seems to be going well.
The first time I did it on the floor, to low, this time I spanned it over two folding chairs and it was much easier to work with. The cooler also doubles as a storage chest for the other equipment.
Here is a link to the post on the first make.
Jaspar
https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6741.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6741.0.html)
http://www.explorearmfield.com/data/ft2020a/ (http://www.explorearmfield.com/data/ft2020a/)
That's interesting though it's only about 2.5 gallons I think....wonder how expensive it is??
I got a 5.5 gal stockpot from Walmart. Tramintina (spelling?) brand. It was under $50.
PS: Stainless steel with a heavy ss encapsulated bottom.
I went looking in Walmart online and found this. I was looking for a larger pot. Perhaps this is it.
-Boofer-
I've been super happy with my hotel pan set up. I can heat 6 gallons slowly with ease for hard cheeses, keep the temp steady overnight for soft cheeses, and clean-up is no problem. The whole set up cost me $150
http://www.katom.com/370-ECFRWP.html (http://www.katom.com/370-ECFRWP.html)
http://www.katom.com/175-90082.html (http://www.katom.com/175-90082.html)
http://www.katom.com/175-93100.html (http://www.katom.com/175-93100.html)
I use a bottom of a pressure cooker for my milk and a large granite pan for the water bath, it works well and holds at least 5 gallons.