I could use some advice from the pros. I have access to fresh milk that has been frozen. Will it make cheese? I am also in the process of makeing cheese molds and a press. I see some volumes of pressed cheeses ie 4 gallon gave a 6x4.5 inch wheel. What I would like to know is about how much extra volume will the unpressed curd be? I would also appreciate recommendation on what type of mesophilic starter to get. Thanks. I have already learned a great deal here and had a few good laughs.
frozen milk usually separates but I dont know how fresh (raw) milk behaves. Depends were u are will depend on what is the best resource of cultures u can get. are u asking how much whey will be left over? usually u get about 1lb/4L but then depends on the cheese your making. Keep reading the old posts.
Welcome to the Forum !! glad u found us
Hey Bruce, welcome aboard. Always nice to have another input source. New thoughts, new questions to spur our thinking. Don’t know how the frozen milk will perform. My advice is to try a batch and see how it performs. I would suggest using CaCl even though its fresh milk. I have found that pasteurizing affects the calcium in the milk but CaCl is used to overcome that problem. Likely it would do the same for a frozen milk - assuming there IS a degradation.
Regarding the press, I would suggest at least double the height of your finished wheel. Too much height is never a problem, but too little is. Some cheeses have more volume of curd than others due to curd size, moisture content, etc. My 6” mold is 8.5” tall, and its worked well for every cheese I’ve done, using 4 gal batches.
Good luck and have lots of fun. And again, welcome.
Thanks for the replies. I will build molds at least twice height of finished cheeses. I see a lot of opinion promoting larger wheels ageing better but then would a 6"x6” or 8’x8” cheese be optimal? Some here who have promoted bigger cheeses being better make a 8” wheel 4” of depth. Reasoning? Does the added depth create problems? I assume that frozen milk is not a common situation. My friend has a house cow that there are milking and get 2 gallons/day more than they can use. Also just to add a note the milk price farmers are getting is around $10/100 lbs, roughly a dollar a gallon. The high prices for milk are not going to the farmer.
A thin cheese will dry out faster, (more surface area), so u have to pay more attention so it doesn’t dry out. Higher molds gives u more breathing room when pressing.
Not a contradiction, but an addition to Neil’s thoughts: A larger wheel gives you more cheese for the same amount of time and effort. You end up with enough to share, which to me is important. Besides, it is aesthetically more pleasing. As to the “optimum” size, that is going to be a personal preference item.
I am new as well. I just got on yesterday. I just started making a few wheels and have a couple of questions. First, when considering aging and moisture issues, is there an optimal ratio of height to diameter of the finished wheel? Second, I am assuming most of the recipies I see using 2 gallons milk are being pressed in 4” molds and the pressures they use are for that size. I have built 4.5”, 6.625”, 7.5” and 8” molds. I have built a chart that gives me the force required for each of my mold sizes to equal the PSI achieved using the 4” molds. Am I on track here?
Also, my first attempt at the press has been to employ springs for the pressure devise however, realizing that I am not applying constant force over the press cycle due to the fact that the spring relaxes some as the curds compress, I am considering using a lever and weight system. Using the equation F2=F1x(L1)/L2 where F1 is the pressure applied to the cheese, L1 is the distance from the pivot to the center of the pressure point on the cheese, L2 is the distance from the pressure point on the cheese to the applied weight. F2 being the weight required to apply the force F1 desired.
Does anyone feel the pressure is critical enough to make the conversion to the lever system moving away from the spring system?
I haven’t got my press built yet. I am planning on useing a system will a bolt applying pressure to the follower. I will use a torque wrench which I am going to test on a scale or convert my torque to weights. I figure as curds compress simple to simply retorque to desired. I didn’t answer your ?s but then I don’t know anything yet just ideas.
I am new hear almost as u r.
Attached is a Dutch press picture I built looking at pictures on the web. Your equation is of course right. The press i built has a 4:1 ratio, the horizontal lever is a kind of ladder with steps at each 1/2 unit where I can hang the weights. the next step is adding a wheels system with strings that will add a more X3 multiplier. I hope I explained myself good enough as my mother-tongue is not English.
P.S.-Please ignore the content pressed as this is another topic already discussed hear.
Hello Gibb and welcome to the forum. I can’t get into details of a lever system, since I don’t use one; but I can tell you that it is indeed important, if not critical, to use appropriate pressing weight to compensate for differences in surface area of your mold. I’m sure you’ve been reading some of the posts which have discussed our journey through this issue. I have come to see the value of maintaining the psi of the recipe rather than the actual pounds applied. I am seeing far better texture, more solid wheels, and not to be ignored - better looking cheeses by going with this system. Enjoy your cheese making, and keep us posted on your progress.
Thanks for the reply. One other quick question, has anyone seen problems with aging various cheeses in the same refrigerator? I mean putting waxed cheddars in with brined cheeses or cheeses requiring surface molds? Just one of many concerns I have.
the bloomed ones are what u have to worry about to make sure they dont touch the others, waxed cheese are well protected so u dont have to worry about them.
