How to make cheese at home: making a cheese press

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amateur cheese, cheese, cheese making, diy, diyfood, food

A key part of the cheese making process is pressing the cheese – particularly if you’re making a harder cheese.  The purpose of pressing is to force any remaining whey out of the curd, as well as give the cheese its required texture.  At first glance it seems like a simple enough problem – you’ve got your cheese in its mould, which may have a bottom and a removable top, so exerting pressure on it is simply a case of putting enough weight on it.  But pressing cheese at home is actually quite a difficult task.

On an industrial scale, purpose-built hydraulic cheese presses exert huge amounts of targeted pressure with ease, however during my own home-cheese making experiments I realised pretty quickly that this wouldn’t be a possibility for me.

Early Cheese Pressing Experiments

My first attempts at making a cheese press were fairly basic.  Two planks of wood, held together with copious amounts of glue and a few bits of dowel, using some free weights (and apparently a couple of mugs filled with pennies!).

Cheese pressing: the early years

As you can see from the picture, there were clear physical limitations on how many weights you could actually pile on top of the cheese, and when the stack inevitably toppled over, the results were pretty disastrous.

I was never going to be able to exert the kind of pressures required for a cheddar.

Back To School

It was clear that I would have to go back to my cheese-making books and see what they advised – but the process ended up taking me back to GCSE Physics!

The cheddar recipe from Cheesemaking Practise (a fantastic, although expensive, book) mentions a final pressure of 200kPa.  Put simply, the pressure required to press a cheddar effectively is absolutely immense.

So what’s a “kPa”?  Well, it’s kilo Pascal.  And what’s a Pascal you might ask?

Blaise Pascal – mathematician, physicist and inventor

Pascal is a unit of pressure (named after Blaise Pascal, above), which can be broken down into Newton’s per square metre.  Newton’s are a measure of force which, using Newton’s second law of motion (see, physics in school did have a use!) can be broken down into mass multiplied by acceleration.  On Earth, where gravity exerts an acceleration on objects close to the surface of 9.81 metres per second squared, this ends up meaning that a mass of 1 kilogram exerts a force of 9.81 N downwards.

Breaking down a Pascal

That’s the Newton covered, but we still need to think about the denominator, that is the surface area on which the Newton is being applied.  An average cheddar cheese is around 30cm in diameter, so it’s surface area (school maths and physics in one post, how exciting!) can be calculated using pi (remember “pi r squared”?) to be 0.07metres squared.

Now we’ve got all the components of Pascal broken down, let’s get back to cheese making.  A cheddar needs a final pressure of 200kPa.  That means 200,000Pa of pressure, which equates down to almost 1,500kg of mass on our little 30cm cheddar!  Clearly we’re not going to be able to load over a ton of mass on top of a little cheese, so we need some help in the form of mechanical advantage.

Mechanical advantage means a small amount of force can be multiplied through the use of levers, gears or pulleys.  Which leads me on to Dutch presses.

The Dutch Press Dilemma

Traditional Dutch press

Many of the cheese-making websites and books I read suggest you invest in one of these contraptions (see the one I bought above).

Traditional Dutch cheese presses use a lever to create a mechanical advantage high enough to exert sufficient pressure on the fulcrum (the cheese, in this case) using a small amount of mass at the end of the lever.

Lever mechanical advantage

Which all sounded great – so off I went and ordered one of these Dutch presses and carefully assembled it at home.  But I soon found out that it wasn’t the perfect solution it appeared to be.

Firstly, the mechanical advantage is all well and good, but the practicalities of a free-standing press mean that dangling any serious amount of weight from the lever puts the whole press off-balance, and liable to topple over at any moment (which did happen!).  Secondly, the construction of most Dutch cheese presses means the whey dribbles out onto the wood base, which is quite difficult to clean without taking the press apart.

The Customised Solution

So after a lot of consideration and planning, I decided to build a cheese press that would lever directly from the wall of my cheese room, with the ability to lengthen the lever and add multiple weights to the end.  That way I could exert all the pressure I wanted, without any concerns about stability.

The general idea was to replicate the lever mechanical advantage of a Dutch cheese press.  I sketched out a vague idea on the back of a beer mat with a mate at the pub, then headed to B&Q to scout out what bits I might need.  As usual, I wanted all components to be easily accessible, without any need for custom parts.

I wanted something that had minimal impact on my existing setup, so I decided to use different sized square-moulded steel to interlock with each other, cobbled together with a few long screws, washers and nuts to ensure the joint allowed sufficient movement.

The components of my cheese press

Exerting pressure on the cheese would be done by another square steel rod, with some of the pressure being spread out using right-angle brackets.  The steel rods needed to be sufficient in size and strength to not buckle or warp under pressure.

The end result

After much hacking, sawing, drilling and filing I had what I wanted.  Smooth running joints, and a nice long, strong lever to add mechanical advantage.

Attaching the wall piece was pretty straight forward.  The walls of my cheese room sadly aren’t brick, but with a couple of good-sized screws it seemed solid enough for some serious pressure.  The main lever piece slots into the wall piece smoothly, meaning I can store it separately without interrupting my cheese making.

Mounting the press in the cheese room

In testing, laden with 1.25kg of mass, the press exerted 4.528kg of mass on the scales, so a mechanical advantage multiplier of just over 3.6.  Not a huge result, but I have plenty of good-sized 1.25kg weights, and the slot-in system has the advantage of being easily extendable with longer bits of steel if required.  I could also easily saw off a bit of the short end of the press to increase the advantage easily.

Mechanical advantage

And here’s the finished press in action!  So far it seems to operate very well indeed.  I’ve just finished making a cheddar with the new set up, and have high hopes.  Will post results… in about 6 months! (that’s a cheddar joke, that is!)

Home cheese press

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How to make cheese at home: setting up your own cheese-making room

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amateur cheese, cheese, cheese making, diy, food

About six months ago my new wife and I upped sticks from the heart of South East London, to a small market town in Hertfordshire called Berkhamsted.  Having moved into a new house, I took the opportunity to re-evaluate my cheese making set up.  It’s taken a couple of months, but I reckon I’ve now got the best home cheese-making setup possible.

Having been making cheese at home for 5 years now, and having had various home cheese-making setups, I have quite a clear idea of how I like my kit laid out, how I like the space to work, and an even clearer sense of what mistakes to avoid.

1. No highly-customised small-scale cheese making equipment.  There are two reasons for this, both of which are well illustrated by my old vat.  It was designed as a “experimental vat” for industrial scale cheese makers, which could take around 20 litres of milk.  It worked perfectly well, up until the day I knocked the drainage tap while cleaning it, and found the seal was no longer water tight.  After finding out about food-safe solder, I managed to bodge a fix, however it never sat right with me.  Also, when people asked me about how I made cheese at home, replying with “oh, I have a customised cheese vat” automatically turns them off the idea that they can do it themselves (something I’m passionate about). The perfect home cheese making setup should consist of off-the-shelf products, which can easily be repaired and replaced.
2. Everything needs to be super easy to clean.  In the early days of my home cheese making, my biggest enemy was contaminants.  I was recently asked by someone looking to start making cheese themselves whether they should be worried about dodgy moulds making them sick.  My response was that in the first year of home cheese making, I made myself sick twice, but both times were entirely my own fault.  Poor attention to cleanliness is the enemy of cheese making.  I always liken cheese making to those early school experiments where you grow cultures in a petri dish.  That agar jelly, and your “blank” cheese is a perfect place for moulds to grow, good or bad.   So minimising the “bad” is of paramount importance.
3. The whole setup needs to be relatively compact.  This is partly for ease of access, and also because I’m not about to turn my entire house over to cheese making (well, that’s the line I’m going with anyway!), so it needs to fit neatly into a small space.

So having unpacked all the rest of the house, and done all the boring but fun stuff like painting, I then turned my attentions to my cheese corner (my wife won’t let me call it the cheese room!).  I spent ages poring over the Nisbets catalogue (highly recommended!), weighing up various options, and thinking back to what frustrated me about my previous setup, and I ended up with what I think, is the perfect home cheese making setup.

The complete home cheese making set

Any room will do for a cheese room, although ideally you’d want it to be uncarpeted and easy to clean.  My cheese corner occupies an area of around two metres in length, and one metre in depth.

Storage & Sanitation

Wire shelf

Starting at the top, I needed somewhere to put moulds, racks and bits and bobs.  A normal shelf isn’t really good enough, as it needs to be easy to clean, and be food safe.

Sterile gloves

In my old cheese making setup, after washing my hands I used hand sanitiser before handling the cheese, however it always worried me that the residue would taint the taste.  Powder-free gloves, although not exactly natural, are the best way of reducing contaminants.  Obviously wash your hands first!

Towel dispenser

Staying in the exciting world of hygiene, next up is a centrefeed dispenser.  This might sound dramatic, but having easy access towels has literally revolutionised my home cheese making.  Cleaning up simple spills, and even patting down overly wet curd is now a complete breeze.  I didn’t quite read the description when buying the rolls themselves, so was a bit surprised when a box of twelve turned up, but with the amount I use them that’s a good thing!

Milk Transportation

Milk containers

Now hygiene is out of the way, let’s move on to the bits needed to actually make the cheese.  First of all, getting the milk from the vat (or cow, if you’re lucky enough to have access to some).  Food-safe containers.  Not very exciting, but worth getting a few good ones, in a variety of sizes up to around 10 litres, otherwise it’ll get too heavy to carry.  I got these ones in Dunelm, but similar ones are available from any supermarket or DIY shop.

Measurement Tools

Thermometer

Once the milk is in the vat, having an accurate temperature measurement is extremely important.  Just a few degrees too high can send acidification out of control – too low a temperature and progress will be slow.

Titration kit

Speaking of acidification, having a titration kit or pH meter is vital throughout the cheese making process.  Most industrial cheese making recipes use titratable acidity measurements rather than pH in their instructions, and for good reason.  Titratation using sodium hydroxide and phenolphthalein measures the acidity of a solution, whereas pH measures the concentration of free hydrogen ions.  There is no direct relationship between the two, and the milk acidity is what you’re trying to measure, pH changes are just a by-product, which can be otherwise impacted by the specific buffering capacity of the milk sample.  Well, that’s what A-level chemistry taught me anyway!

Do I Need A Section About A Spoon & A Pallet Knife?

Spoon and palette knife

Well, yes actually!  When I started making cheese at home, I had no idea how much a proper spoon and pallet knife would be! Stirring the milk to make sure any separated fat is thoroughly mixed through is a job for a decent perforated spoon.  I can’t say for certain that perforation makes a difference, but it seems easier to stir.  A palette knife can be used to cut the curd, ideally a completely stainless steel one for easy cleaning.

Moulds & Starters

Moulds and starters

All home cheese makers need a variety of moulds in their freezer on hand to innoculate milk depending on what’s being made.  I usually have the full colour spectrum available, to ensure I can make whatever takes my fancy: blue (top right), white (left) and orange (centre) covers just about everything.

Made up starter

As well as having packet DVI starter in the freezer, I also have a variety of liquid starters frozen from previous successful batches of cheese.  These can be used to innoculate future batches, and require food-safe freezable containers which hold around 150ml.

Natural rennet in tablets

Since I haven’t been making cheese much recently, I’d started using rennet tablets rather than liquid, and have found them fantastic.  The strength seems much more consistent, and their expiry date is years away rather than a few months with liquid rennet.

Stainless steel jug

Rennet tablets need to be dissolved in cold, filtered water, so what better to use than a stainless steel milk jug, similar to those used to froth milk in coffee shops.

Curd-handling Tools

Curd scooper

Once the milk has set, and the curd has been cut, it needs to be scooped out into moulds.  Having tried various types of perforated spoons in the past, I found that just using a small soft cheese mould actually works better than anything else.

Cheese draining system

The curd, now in moulds, needs somewhere to drain.  A perforated gastronorm, sitting on top of a clear gastronorm is the perfect solution.  It’s sturdy enough to allow reasonable amounts of pressure should the cheese need it, and the clear gastronorm makes sure that you never end up overflowing.

Storing Young Cheeses

Cheese storage

Once the cheeses are drained, pressed and fully formed, they need somewhere to live.  I’ve found clear gastronorms the best way to go, since they’re food safe, easy to clean and fit in the fridge easily.  They’re also useful for brining, as shown above.

Gastronorm shelf

The best bit about these gastronorms, is that they have a little shelf inside meaning the cheese doesn’t sit in it’s whey, as well as giving the possibility of adding a little bit of water to the bottom which with the addition of a lid, creates a nice humid little box for cheeses to live in.

Cheese Fridges! (yes, I definitely need two…)

Fridges for cheese making

Now the cheeses are ready for storage, it’s time to look at the cheese cave.  I’ve got two ordinary household fridges sitting on top of each other.  While using one fridge is fine, having two gives you the opportunity to reduce mould cross-contamination by physically separating your cheeses.

And finally… the all-important vat!

Bain marie for cheese making

Saving the best for last – the vat.  A simple bain marie, with a single full-sized gastronorm immersed inside.

Bain marie for cheese making

With temperature control up to 90C, the bain marie heats the milk up with quite incredible speed, and accuracy.  With a capacity of 20 litres, it’s the perfect size for home cheese makers.

What’s Next?

So, what’s left to do?  Well, I need to sort out the temperature and humidity controller so it’s constructed from off-the-shelf components, and also gives some historical information about how those parameters have changed over time.

Also I need to construct a press.  I’ve tried traditional Dutch presses in the past, but the cleanliness was always questionable, and the ability to apply the large pressures required for cheddars and the like just wasn’t possible on such a small piece of kit.  I’ve got a few ideas, and am planning on starting construction in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll follow up with a post once it’s complete.

How to make your own halloumi cheese

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amateur cheese, cheese making, diy, diyfood, food, halloumi

For those of you who found your way here from the Guardian article How to make your own halloumi cheese, you might want to check out some of these previous posts:

https://handyface.wordpress.com/tag/halloumi/

Halloumi

Halloumi is really easy cheese to make, as it’s very difficult to get wrong.  Plus, it’s much cheaper and tastier than supermarket halloumi!

Washed Rind Cheese

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amateur cheese, animal rennet, ayrshire milk, cheese, cheese making, diy, diyfood, epoisse, food, local, organic, raw milk, salt, sea salt, vegetarian rennet, washed rind

Inspired by my experience washing Bermondsey Spa cheese in Kernel Brewery ale with Mootown Cheese I decided I wanted to try and recreate it’s oozing, meaty goodness at home.

At the heart of any sticky, orange-coloured cheese like Milleens or Stinking Bishop is the bacteria brevibacterium linens.  This naturally occurring bacteria is present on human skin at an incredibly high concentration, and if left unchecked, can start to smell – especially on your feet!

Smelly feet or good cheese?

Just as the blue of Roquefort cheese comes from naturally occurring spores in the Roquefort Caves, washed rind cheeses are also a product of their surroundings.  Historically, sweaty cheesemakers unwittingly transferred their own strain of bacteria to the cheese which, with the right environment, caused a sticky, pungent orange rind to form.  As the cheese matured, the bacteria ate into the cheese paste, causing it to break down into a soft, meaty cheese.

Brevibacterium Linens (apparently)

Nowadays of course, the bacterial strain has been isolated and cheese is innoculated directly during the make, or propagated from an existing cheese through washing.  Even though cheese making is a sanitary process, the “smelly feet” odour remains, which sadly turns a lot of people off washed rinds.  It’s unfortunate because many – such as Stinking Bishop – actually have quite a mild flavour.

24 pints of raw Ayrshire milk

I picked up my usual 24 pints of Redlays Farm unpasteurised Ayrshire milk from Blackheath market on Sunday and got cracking!

Three cheese moulds

Having not had much success with making washed rinds in the past, I asked around a few cheese making friends and forums for any tips.  A fair number of people recommended innoculating with geotrichum candidum to create a “clean layer” for the brevibacterium linens to grow on.  So, after heating the milk to 31C, I added these, plus some DVI starter and left to acidify for 30 minutes.

Adding the animal rennet

Previous experiments into how much rennet to use indicated I should use around 0.06% animal rennet, diluted in four times as much water, to achieve a set in around 60 minutes.

Curd giving a clean break

In reality the curd took around 20 minutes longer than expected to give a clean break – I think this may be down to natural degradation in strength of the rennet, as I’ve had the same bottle on the go for quite a while now.

Cutting the curd

Using a palette knife, I cut the curd into roughly 1cm cubes, starting with large blocks vertically, then smaller and smaller, angling the knife to try and cut through the blocks.  Cutting the curd allows whey to be released from the curd, and slows down the rennet acidification.

Stirring the cut curd while heating

Once the curd has rested for a few minutes to allow it to heal (i.e. recover from the cutting), it’s time to get stirring and heating in order to slow the rennet action even further and release more whey, making a less squidgy curd.  I heated to around 35C over the course of 20 minutes or so.

Getting rid of the whey

Here’s where my lovely vat becomes really useful.  Having the tap at the front allows whey to be drained off much quicker and easier than ladelling out by hand.  Once the whey had been completely drained off, it’s time to carefully squash the curd into the moulds and add some weights on top for around 24 hours.

Curd in salt water

Then it’s time for the salting to start!  In the past, I’ve mostly used dry salting (i.e. applying salt directly to the cheese), however washed rinds are generally initially bathed in salt water to allow the salt to permeate throughout the cheese.  In this case, the cheeses floated around in a 16% brine solution for 12 hours, after which they were given a bit of a drying off, then placed in a fridge at 16C at over 90% humidity.

Unwashed cheeses (note the propagator cheese on the right)

After about a week, a light fluffy covering of geotrichum candidum had appeared, so it was time to start washing, to keep the surface moist and salty to encourage the brevibacterium linens growth.

Washing the parent cheese

First up for a wash was the parent propagator cheese.  This is one from a previous batch of cheese I’d made which had ended up with a great flavour and texture, so I wanted the strain to continue.  Washing consisted of a couple of drops of 10% salt water solution and a bit of gentle smearing.

Damp parent cheese

Washing continued roughly every couple of days.  As my experience with Bermondsey Spa had taught me, if the texture of the surface was any more moist than a postage stamp, I postponed washing till the following day.

Fully ripened homemade washed rind cheese

After about three weeks I cracked them open and had a taste.  They were really, really good!  So good in fact that I actually allowed other people to have a taste, including washed rind cheese king, Bill Oglethorpe of Kappacasein, who said:

Just polished off the cheese, it’s really good! I thought there might be too much salt and a hint of bitter but on second thoughts its fine. The contrast in textures is really nice, oozing on the edges and slightly chalky in the middle. I left it at room temperature for a couple of days and it survived very well.

I’m very happy with this recipe and the feedback.  Next time I might try to go a little lighter on the salt concentration to address Bill’s concerns, but other than that it seems like a winner!

The Grocer features my project to make cheese from discarded milk

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amateur cheese, cheese, cheese making, diy, food, grocer, underground farmers market, urban cheese

This week’s edition of the Grocer features an article on one of my latest experiments – making cheese from discarded milk.

Food waste article in the Grocer

The article was the Grocer’s pick of “the five most innovative enterprises using food waste”, which also featured:

• Espresso Mushroom Company (@EMC_espresso) – Alex and Robbie Georgiou grow mushrooms in discarded coffee grounds
• Rubies in the Rubble (@rubiesinrubble) – Jenny Dawson, who was also featured in the Young British Foodies a few month’s back, makes chutneys and jams from discarded fruit and vegetables
• FoodCycle (@foodcycle) – an inspiring initiative to use surplus food to make meals for local communities
• SugaRich – a business set up to turn food waste into animal feed

It was brilliant to be featured alongside such esteemed company, and it’s great to hear about other producers who are making food from what is perceived as waste.

I’m continuing my experiments into discarded milk – and I’m keen to hear from anyone who can supply me with milk that they can’t use or sell.  Please do get in touch.