I made a small batch of chaource 3 weeks ago and decided to pre-drain half the curds and ladle the other half directly into the molds. I thought I would show you a couple pictures of the progress. The first picture shows the molds shortly after they began draining. The curds that I ladled directly filled two crottin molds and you can see the soft consistancy. The other half I ended up pre-draining for about 40 minutes. Too long, I think, but I was getting ready for work in the morning and, well, just didn't keep track. those curds were much more dense and only filled one crottin. The second picture is the three cheeses out of their ripening box. The tallest one is the pre-drained one. Other than that, they seem to be progressing the same but I'll definitely take photos when I cut them open. They don't really feel ready yet though, so I'll wait maybe a week more.
Dinerdish
This isn't a cheese that I've ever made before, but I enjoy your experimentation. Just make sure to keep good notes so that you can replicate the "best" process for yourself.
Here are the little Chaources I experimented with. The taller cheese is the one I pre-drained, the shorter was direct ladled. The shorter one seemed riper but also had a lot of liquid around the edges. The taller one was firmer and younger tasting. My daughter, who doesn't like my "stinky, gooey cheese" tried the the tall one, liked it and said it was sort of like cheesecake. The shorter one was tangier (more acid?) and the body was slicker. The taller one was milder tasting, drier and had almost a cakey, pleasant texture. But slightly different from the "chalky" center of not fully ripe cheese. Interesting result although my usual chaources don't turn out quite so runny as the short one. The evening I started this batch it was so cold in the kitchen that the empty oven I usually leave the ripening milk in was only 60 F so I left the light on in the oven overnight, thinking that would warm it up a little. In the morning the temp had risen to 76 F! Whoops! I had a clean break, whey over the curd and it was pulled away from the sides of the pot so I ladled two molds worth and but the rest in a cheesecloth lined colander to drain while I got ready for work. 40 minutes later I filled one more mold with the rest of the curd. I let them drain at a cool roomtemp of about 62-64F. The pre-drained one was ready to pop out of the mold the next morning, get salted and into the cheese fridge at 52F. The other two drained for another day after that. I would imagine the high ripening temp had some effect on the cheeses but what do you old cheeses have to say? I think a pH tester is in my immediate future.
Dinerdish