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Quote from: cuttingcheese on January 12, 2015, 01:51:02 AM
Thanks pastpawn... I'm trying to find a decent press so I can be prepared for cheddar!!!  I want to do parm as well.

Yea parm is on my short list.  I think it takes a long time to age to get that flavor though, so no instant gratification there.  When you get started you really want to sample the results of your efforts, so quicker cheeses are a good way to start.  Gouda might be a good choice there. 

I have a new press showing up today.  I might knock out a parm this week and start the 1-yr timer.

I suggest Jack. All you really need is two boards, a weight and some plastic wrap.

Quote from: cuttingcheese on January 08, 2015, 04:17:47 AM
Can any suggest a good cheese press?  One that I dont have to guess how many lbs I'm pressing down on?

I crafted my own press, but the Sturdy Press has been popular.

I have also used just a large cutting board and some barbell weights or just the barbell weights back in the early days.

Except for a couple lactics, I've never made fresh cheese...or mozz. Tried mozz once, maybe twice, and then focused on easier cheeses.

Search on Jeff Hamm's cheeses...he includes all the make details and is very good about providing additional detail to clarify.

-Boofer-

Boofer, the problem I always had with directly pressing, as shown in your picture, is that inevitably the balance would be off just a tiny bit, leading to more compression of the cheese on that side, and more imbalance, and ... before long, a loud thump as everything fell to the floor!

There's my madness, aka safety rigging on a brick-shaped mold. Let us simply say that wights falling onto the floor was not good, and an improvement was needed and found. This hasn't fallen down yet. Except for when I derped and took the wrong weight off first.

Quote from: awakephd on January 13, 2015, 01:41:39 AM
Boofer, the problem I always had with directly pressing, as shown in your picture, is that inevitably the balance would be off just a tiny bit, leading to more compression of the cheese on that side, and more imbalance, and ... before long, a loud thump as everything fell to the floor!

That's why I built my press. No more toppled weights or wedge-shaped cheeses.

I wouldn't say that I'm completely free of failures, but the situation is improving.

-Boofer-