I thought I was all ready to make my first cheese, fromage blanc, but I just learned that I have cheesecloth on hand, and not butter muslin. It’s my understanding I’d lose all my curd if I used the cheesecloth instead of the butter muslin. True?
Unless I can get butter muslin at a fabric store (can I?), I could get my hands on a new nylon straining bag more quickly than I could butter muslin, and I’ve heard such a bag would be OK for soft cheeses. Is that true?
cheese clothe comes in dif quality. The common one that one sees in the stores are the rough thin ones that they used to bandage the cheeses for storage. The better quality ones are tight nit and are like cloth. I bought mine from wallmart fabric dep, I thingk its was 12$/yard, plenty, u can use that. I wouldn’t use nylon, it gets contaminated an I put my cloth in light bleach to sterilize it.
Thanks, Neil. But to clarify, are you saying that the right cheesecloth would be OK in place of butter muslin? The cheesecloth I have on hand came in a kit that I got for hard cheese. How could I tell if that would work?
Oh, yeah, one more follow up question. I actually had the chance to buy a nylon straining bag since I made my first post. If the concern is contamination, since this is brand new, would it be safe at least for a one-off batch?
The nylon I would be very careful in keeping it clean, u can use it however it might get damed by bleaching. generaly better to use a natural product.
Yes the high end cheese cloth should be fine to use. As I said, the usual one u find in the grocery stores are very open and need several layers to actual use it to strain things.
look at the pics and u can see theirs a big dif between fine and course cheese cloth, check it out at your local wallmart if their is one.
Cheesecloth comes in many grades. The loosely knit stuff you get at a grocery store is okay for some uses, but I would double it up, or even triple it up for draining a cheese. You can also buy commercial grade cheesecloth from cheese supply stores in a couple of different densities. I usually go for the butter muslin, which is the tightest weave. It can be a bit slower to drain, but holds up for a long time and can be washed and reused over and again.
I have also used nylon cheesecloth in the past, but that is disposable. I would not reuse it. I keep some on hand for emergencies
for fromage blanc , if u have good firm clean break, any white cotton clean boiled t-shirt can do the job
i use some time metal colander, no need for cheese cloth
Found a source for reusable #90 Cheesecloth used for goat cheese and/or as butter muslin.
With the free shipping, it works out to $1.15 per yard. http://www.raglady.com
Neil, I think you misread my post. The raglady website is for new muslin. I know “raglady” sounds like used rags, but I checked out the site and they do sell new 36” wide X 60 yard rolls for $69 + free shipping.
Sorry for the confusion!
I see the problem in my previous post. In saying “reusable”, I meant that it is of a higher quality and tighter weave (90 threads per inch) which can be hemmed, re-washed and re-sterilized without falling apart like the cheap, very open weave, grocery store quality cheese cloth that everyone is saying to stay away from.
Still, the price is the best I’ve found so far if you want to keep a good supply of cloth on hand. The wife uses it also for jelly making, canning, etc. so for me, it’s a good buy.
Sorry about the misunderstanding!
LOL, no prob, maybe I should have read the site. If u can use the role then great. I would check out the actual material in a store to make sure that is what u want so u dont waste your money.
