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Author Topic: Cheese and Cheese making  (Read 28260 times)

Offline euge

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #120 on: November 17, 2010, 05:17:38 pm »
The cool factor carries a lot of weight in my book...
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline tubercle

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #121 on: November 17, 2010, 06:03:45 pm »
Thanks for all kind the comments. Making cheese is as fun as brewing. ;D

It told me that what happens is as the cheese becomes compressed the pressure is relieved off of the cheese. It has to be something that will drop and keep the pressure applied as the cheese compresses.

you should rig something up with CO2 tank pressure that way you can set the regulator and it will maintain the pressure as the cheese compresses.

 Cap is right. That's one of the drawbacks of the spring type presses and would be the same with a hydraulic press ( I actually considered this for a while..great minds think alike). The cheese cake compresses a good bit. At first the mold is packed full but after pressing it is only 2/3 height at best. All of the excess whey and air pockets are pressed out. The spring type contraptions have to be screwed down very frequently to keep constant pressure because as the cheese compresses the pressure supplied by the spring diminishes.  A hydraulic press would have the same effect. You need constant pressure, like weights stacked on top so as things compress the weight will follow and keep constant pressure.

  The holy grail of presses uses an air cylinder.




 It hopes to build one of these someday ;D

 
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #122 on: November 17, 2010, 10:39:26 pm »
It hopes to build one of these someday ;D
I don't see why, what you already built seems awesome enough to me :)
Tom Schmidlin

Offline MrNate

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #123 on: November 17, 2010, 10:41:51 pm »
Yeah, I was just thinking about the mechanics of this as you described, and honestly, I like your approach the best.
“If one's actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others, only their rational perception.”

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #124 on: November 17, 2010, 10:45:28 pm »
Thanx Tubercle I had not realized the constant changing as the cheese
lost moisture and airspace .... nice job on your design.
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Offline tubercle

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #125 on: November 19, 2010, 10:26:03 am »
 The one thing I like about the pneumatic press is the small foot print. The type I built is fine for me, I just set it on top of my chest freezer/fermenter and let the weight hang off the side so it has room to drop. But for someone with limited space it would be ideal.

 Plus, you know how us brewers/BBQ'rs/breadmakers are - can't leave well enough alone. Always got to be fiddlin' with the latest gadgets and making unnecessary equipment upgrades. Why? Because we can. ;D

 I'm going to stick the the lever type for now though. After 2012 when there are no lights, no phones, no motor cars I can still make cheese!
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline bluesman

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #126 on: November 19, 2010, 10:39:37 am »
Plus, you know how us brewers/BBQ'rs/breadmakers are - can't leave well enough alone. Always got to be fiddlin' with the latest gadgets and making unnecessary equipment upgrades. Why? Because we can. ;D

This is a factual statement.  ;)

Tubercle has sparked the bluesman's interest in cheesemaking.

So...I just bought this book.



...and hopefully it will inspire me to pursue this fine craft.
Ron Price

Offline MrNate

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #127 on: November 19, 2010, 11:47:43 am »
What you really need in a spring press design is constant force. But then, of course, adjustment becomes the problem.

Constant Force Springs

Actually, I think adjustment could be solved pretty easily. Just mix & match various tensions according to need.

Here's what I'm thinking:

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« Last Edit: November 19, 2010, 11:55:56 am by MrNate »
“If one's actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others, only their rational perception.”

Offline euge

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #128 on: November 19, 2010, 11:54:08 am »
Plus, you know how us brewers/BBQ'rs/breadmakers are - can't leave well enough alone. Always got to be fiddlin' with the latest gadgets and making unnecessary equipment upgrades. Why? Because we can. ;D

This is a factual statement.  ;)

Tubercle has sparked the bluesman's interest in cheesemaking.

So...I just bought this book.



...and hopefully it will inspire me to pursue this fine craft.

Is this the best book?
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline tubercle

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #129 on: November 19, 2010, 12:07:40 pm »
This book by Ricki Carrol is the one most referred to @ the cheeseforum.org. Kind of like we recommend John Palmer for brewing. However, the "experts" on that site point out some discrepancies from time to time but everyone agrees it is the best starting point as far as books go.

 I learned every thing I know (so far - which is actually very little :( ) from just reading the forum. The experts on there are Linuxboy (He's like our Kai - knows all the science stuff), Sailor Con Queso (He's like our Denny (easy and cheap) and Majorvices and has recently started his own professional operation).

 I suggest reading over the forum to get an idea if you want to get involved in this adventure. It has a good beginners & recipe section plus a good search feature.

 Bluesman - welcome to another obsession ;D
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline euge

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #130 on: November 19, 2010, 12:10:26 pm »
Thanks tubercle. Another forum...

I will be making cheese. No doubt about that.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline MrNate

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #131 on: November 19, 2010, 12:51:38 pm »
How much pressure does your average cheese need to be pressed with?

I'm tempted to build a CF spring press just to test the theory.
“If one's actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others, only their rational perception.”

Offline tubercle

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #132 on: November 19, 2010, 01:32:00 pm »
How much pressure does your average cheese need to be pressed with?

I'm tempted to build a CF spring press just to test the theory.

 Seems to be 1.5 to 4 psi depending on the style. Also, the greater the psi the "dryer" the cheese. The more liquid is expelled per time. Still trying to figure all of this out. I read that some of the pro cheddar makers use 10psi+ but they are trying to get the molds emptied a quickly as possible to refill  them for production purposes. I've used 4 psi for a cheddar style for ~ 12 hours and the texture seemed to be OK.

Most recipes use pounds, ie 15lbs, 50 lbs, etc,  but are geared to 4" molds which seem to be the standard for home use. The professionals use a psi factor which is scalable regardless of the mold diameter.

 50 lbs on a 4" mold is ~ 4psi
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline MrNate

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #133 on: November 19, 2010, 01:38:41 pm »
Awesome. Definitely doable and no conversion needed. I'm going to give this a try.
“If one's actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others, only their rational perception.”

Offline tubercle

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Re: Cheese and Cheese making
« Reply #134 on: November 19, 2010, 01:41:55 pm »
What you really need in a spring press design is constant force. But then, of course, adjustment becomes the problem.

Constant Force Springs

Actually, I think adjustment could be solved pretty easily. Just mix & match various tensions according to need.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Code: [Select]
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 @ |----| @
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============

 OOOOO :o Is this horizonal with spring at each end?
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee