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Cheese Press - with 5 FREE Cultures (C1,C101,C2,C201,C21)
Item #:E28 |
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We proudly make these in the USA!! This press is handcrafted to last a lifetime. With this press you can easily press a variety of delicious hard cheeses including, but not limited to, Cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan and Monterey Jack. DESCRIPTION: The stainless steel mold and drip tray sit on a hard wood base with rubber feet to protect your kitchen counter. Pressure is regulated with a stainless steel gauge measuring from 0 to 80 lbs. Easy to use, this press makes a great addition to your cheese making kitchen. Comes assembled and ready to use. PRESS INCLUDES: 1-Stainless Steel Mold (2-4lb cheese), 2-Polypropylene Followers, 1-Stainless Steel Pressure Gauge, 1-Stainless Steel Separating Disc, 1-Stainless Steel Drip Tray, 2-Press Locks and A BONUS of 5 FREE Cultures - C1, C101, C2, C201, C21 (a $29.95 value) RETURN INFORMATION: This item is warrantied for 1 year from date of purchase against manufacturing defects. We do not accept returns of any used equipment. For our full return policy, please click here.
Proper Press WeightsThe proper amount of weight for pressing a cheese should be to initially follow the cheese making guidelines for the particular cheese. However this can sometimes lead to over or under pressing the cheese due to the final cheese moisture or fat content.
- Over pressing can be recognized by excessive cloudy/milky whey or even butterfat leaking with the draining whey or on the cheese surface when turning. The higher fat cheese also requires less weight in the early pressing stages when butterfat is still in a liquid state.
- Under pressing is the cause of unconsolidated curds in the final cheese. This can be identified with open curd spaces on the rind or excessive open spaces in the cheese body.
- A tight smooth rind with open spaces in the cheese body. Can be an indication of excessive press weight initially sealing the surface and trapping moisture inside. This is usually accompanied by a cheese leaking moisture in the aging room.
When unpacking the press, the scale may not read '0' This may be the result of spring compression during shipping. Simply release and remove the locking blocks and allow the springs to decompress. Do not store the press with springs compressed. There is also a small amount of movement in the scale strip and this can be adjusted slightly to the '0' mark by loosening the screw adjusting the strip and re-tightening the screw. Our springs and scale strips are designed to work together for the proper press weight.
1. Why do we use cheesecloth when we are pressing the cheese?
Cheesecloth is essential in molding. Its purpose is to wick the moisture from
the surface of the cheese to the drainage holes during pressing.
2. Why am I supposed to start with less weight and then add as I
go?
The low press weight to start with begins to consolidate the curd and will
not block the whey release. By the time you add the highest weight, most of the
whey has been pressed out.
3. If I cut the recipe in half, should I use the same pressing
weight?
We discourage folks making cheese for aging from using less than two gallons
of milk. The reason for this is that the smaller the cheese the higher the ratio
of rind to body. This, among other things, tends to allow the cheese to lose
moisture too readily.
The simple solution to this is to make a larger cheese and when it approaches
its targeted age of ripening, cut it into smaller sections and re-wax the
sections you are not using.
 If you do plan to go ahead and use the curds from a
smaller batch and use the same mold as our recipes call for, you can use the
same amount of weight because pressing is more a matter of surface area and that
remains unchanged.
4. How do I press my cheese when I have increased the recipe
tenfold?
If you are making a larger cheese and keeping the height to width ratio the
same (as you should) simply increasing weight proportionately should work.
However, many people decide to use a differently shaped mold where the height to
width ratio is not kept the same. In this case, the important factor is surface
area. Keep the press weight proportionate to the change in surface area. Our
recipes are designed for our small mold (2 lb.) with a surface
diameter of 4.5.”
5. How do I keep the temperature and humidity up while pressing?
One method is to place the cheese and forms with weights back into the curd
pot that has been emptied and cleaned and immerse that in a large pan or sink of
water. Then hold it at 95F until pressing is finished.
Or, some of our customers make insulated hot boxes that have a heater and can
be kept warm. This requires creativity! No air vents are needed but it will be
very humid in there, especially if you are using pans of hot water to keep the
temperatures up. Your insulation should be something that will not absorb this
moisture. We find that the foil faced rigid insulation is best.
6. When I pressed my curds, they remained separate. (They didn't meld
together.)
The curds you made turned out too dry for some reason. This could be due to
using milk that isn't fresh, using too much culture, cutting the curds too
small, ripening too long, cooking at too high a temperature, or stirring the
curds too long.
The focus of your next attempt should be to watch the moisture of the curds,
keeping in mind the above points and trying for more moisture in the curds when
done.
7. My cheese had cracks in it after it had been pressed.
It was too moist going into the press. Stir it longer before molding and
pressing.
8. My cheese is dry and I think I might be over-pressing.
Dry cheese is rarely due to over-pressing. You might look at your final curd
moisture here. Too much stirring or too high a temperature will produce a very
dry curd. Also, low humidity during aging will cause dry cheese problems.  
Please put detailed use instructions here for some of us have old ones that we got from others.
This is a well made unit, I just dont know how to use it.Thanks for any help.
I bought mine a couple of years ago and have given it plenty of use. This time of year (spring) I make cheese 3-4 times a week from our goats' milk. I highly recommend this cheese press. I had (still have) another cheese press that was less expensive (not cheap!) but I prefer this one as I like the stainless perforated form, and I like the fact that you can easily gauge how much pressure you are putting on the cheese and the curd drains much better. I have used mine to make Manchego, Cheddar, Parmesan, Romano, etc. If you are considering this press, go for it! Money well spent in my view.
I bought mine about 8 years ago and will be buying another one so I can make 2 batches of cheese. You can really tell this is made in the U.S.A., great craftsmanship. I have looked at what others are offering, and they dont come close to matching the wormanship of this. I highly recomend this.
Before I got this cheese press, it took 3 people to lift the weights and place them evenly on my old cheese mold & follower! Now I can easily press the cheese myself, and the finished cheese is SO much smoother and prettier!
Thank you for making this wonderful press! It is made so well, and is definitely something that will be passed on to future generations!!
I bought this press from you ~20 years ago and use it for parmesan, emmental and cheddar cheeses. I have a parmesan pressing now. It is simplicity to use, and still works and looks like new. Kudos to the designer and maker. Thank you.
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The Cheese Queen is in Food and Wine and Barbara Kingsolver's
book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle!
Thanks for joining our cheese making family, keep those stories & photos coming. We love to hear from you!
In Peace,
Ricki, the cheese queen | |