The cloth split ?? does not sound right, too much pressure/cold curds ? Crappy cloth?

It may have been degraded cloth.  It was an older one, and had been soaked in bleach several times.  But in any case, the point illustrated is that there is a lot of upward pressure on the mold - certainly enough for it to move upward and allow the curd to start seeping under it.  Once that happens and there is a “path of least resistance” a disaster is almost inevitable.

bleach will destroy fabric, maybe stick to vinegar to sterilize. What I do is wash cloth on warm soap water, then hot water when no milk solids are left. The I have vinegar water with a pinch of bleach in a spray bottle and spray the cloth lightly, wring it then let hang to dry.

Green Cheese Maker - 11 March 2009 09:59 PM

Nabil - 11 March 2009 08:15 AM

Sandor - 10 March 2009 04:08 PM

Nabil,

your problem is that u did not use cheese cloth .... am i correct?

cheese cloth will hold the curds and not let them escape under the mold when u press it

Not so, Nabil.  I had a Monterey Jack come out of the bottom of my press, and it WAS in a cheese cloth.  The cloth actually split open and the curd spilled out under the edge of the mold.

As cheese cloth tear, this means the curds escapes, u need to use firmer cheese cloth, i only boil mine and dry them in sun

Rich, escaping issue never happened to me, and my mold is free to move, i guess ur curds is very soft, and the cloth was very old

Finally I cut the “accident Cheddar”. It doesn’t look Cheddar and it doesn’t taste Cheddar. But…...I am not disappointed at all, it tastes much more like an Emmenthal with little holes. At least I’ve learned a lesson how NOT to press cheese.

Glad to hear that its not wasted.  Hang in there - when you get it right it will be worth the effort.  Experience is frequently a very hard teacher.

Looks like a Havarti good job !

It has a sweetish taste when you put it in your mouth, and a piquant after taste. As I said it reminds me Emmenthal, I never made Havarti but it’s on my schedule.

U know whatn U are describing my Swiss I just cracked from march, it looks like yours too, Sweet and strong, flexible. Reminds me of a bit od Parmesan as well, has some pockets.
Mine never seen a fridge, put it on top of the cupboard and let it sweat.