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I have a quick query about whether draining and pressing a curd cheese that would normally be done in Cheesecloth would need any alteration to timings when pressed in Butter Muslin?

I am planning to make a Feta and have been advised to use a coarse weave Cheesecloth but my supplier has not dispatched my order in time so it won't be here till well after Christmas now. I do have Butter Muslin so I was thinking of maybe adding half an hour to the pressing time to give the whey time to escape before brining. Does that sound reasonable?

Daniel, I go back and forth between using molds/forms and butter muslin when making feta (dozens of batches made over the last few years, it's the cheese I use the most and I can't buy it here).  It doesn't seem to make much of a difference, so hopefully you'll be fine using the butter muslin, I don't know if I'd even vary the amount of time unless it seems like it's draining super slowly.  I've never pressed it, so not sure about what changes that part of your recipe would result in.  Sorry, reading this I'm not sure if it will be helpful. 

I use Gianaclis Caldwell's recipe, here's what she says about draining feta: "Scoop curds into a well perforated form or pour into a cheesecloth lined colander. Drain in form, without pressure, for 6-12 hours. Turn after 1 hour and again in 2 hours. If draining in bags, tie cheesecloth into a knot and hang for 6-12 hours. The goal cheese pH at the end of draining is 4.6 to 4.8. Flavor should be tangy but not sour."  If you have a PH meter or sticks you could just go by that regardless of what type of draining you do.

Many thanks. In that case I'll just stick to the method in Gavin's "Persian Feta" recipe since I will be using cow's milk and leave the time alone.

I use fine cheesecloth/butter muslin for everything - no problem whatsoever.

You don't even need cheese cloth for feta if you have a basket.  I've pretty much stopped using cheese cloth to strain *anything* any more.  The only think I use it for is to wick away whey for high moisture cheeses.  You can literally just use a kitchen colander or salad basket for making feta.  If you use a colander and flip the cheese every 15 minutes or so, it takes on a kind of flying saucer shape :-)  What I tend to do is to ladle off the whey in the vat and then move the curds in clumps to the basket.  This also reduces number and size of holes in the cheese.

Mikechar,  I like your idea of ladeling off the whey, but what about those curds that are still floating on top? how do you keep those in the cheese?

Gavin Webber shows putting a sieve into the pan and ladleing off the whey that flows into it thus avoiding the floaters.

Next (related) question... how do you clean and store your used brine?

I have about 2L of 10% brine that has been used for one batch of Feta. It is cloudy and has some persistent bubbles/bits on the top. Does it need straining and keeping in the fridge or is room temp OK? I can't pour it away easily because it is so salty and we are on off-grid waste treatment.

Yep, the sieve trick is awesome.  Brine should be pasteurised before use.  I was surprised to find that listeria will survive in even a fully saturated brine.  Filtering it up to you, I think.  I never do it -- just decant it.