I have been experimenting with a slightly different method of pressing, adding a follower at the bottom of the mould.
I had been concerned for sometime about the bottom of the mould and the cheese sitting in whey pressed out. Even if you put a lean on the press to drain the excess, there is still some trapped in the mould.
All my followers are cut from PVC cutting boards using a router and a circle cutting jig and are a close fit. I then drilled holes in the followers with a 1/16th drill bit to provide drainage holes and also in the body of the mould which is PVC pipe.
To use, I place a follower on the bottom covered with cheese cloth, wrap the curds in cheese cloth, then wrap the top follower as well.This configuration is used on the first two quick presses, then the center cloth is removed and final presses are made with only the top and bottom cloth covered followers.
On flipping the cheese it is much faster without the centre cloth, less chance of damage on reversing, just flip and push on the top follower and the cheese will slip to the other end of the mould.
The main purpose is to drain the bottom of the cheese through the holes in the follower, plus to eliminate the cloth marks which are normally created when pressing.
Try it I think you’ll find there are advantages.
