Pressing Weight
Not all cheeses are pressed at the same weight. Stiltons are pressed very lightly to enable air pockets that help develop the blue mold. Goudas aer also pressed at only 20lb as to create that specific texture where cheddars and grouyeres are pressed at 50lb giving them an overall firmer lower moisture pate. Dutch style cheeses are also pressed at high preassure in order dry and hard rind to protect them from external changes in enviroment.
Pressing methods vary depending on wheese if being made. Try to keep the curds/cheese warm while pressing as it helps to get a good knit. Cheesecloth sticking to the cheese means the PH of the cheese is low (High calcium cheese) or the cloth isn't fine enough. To prevent this soak the cloth in why with some additional calcium chloride and vinegar.
- Prepare a hoop on a cheese mat to allow drainage of whey. The holes in the hoop will allow drainage from the sides
- Cheese cloth is placed inside the hoops to help prevent loss of whey through the holes
- Place the curds gently inside the cloth lined hoop and place the follower on top (this is only needed for the first and second pressing)
- To prevent the cloth being pressed inside the cheese, make sure its pulled as the follower is pressed
- Start with a light pressing to remove the excess whey. If a heavy weight is applied too early the curds become damaged and can leak out from the holes within the hoop. Butterfat can also be lost and if the the cheese is pressed too early, excess whey can not escape from the center of the cheese giving a undesirable defects
- After 30 minted of light pressing, the cheese can be unwrapped and turned and redressed. This can then be pressed with a heavier weight. The reason for turning is the allow uniform dehydration of teh cheese (the top always loses more whey than the bottom). During pressing the cloth tends to stick to the cheese so unwrapping helps prevent this. This can be repeated depending on the cheese being made.
