I. Love. Cheddar. My wife's lucky it's not legal to marry cheddar, for if it were we might find ourselves embroiled in some straight up polygamy! The sharper the better (the best cheddar I think I've ever eaten was Heluva Good's Super Extra Sharp Cheddar, aged so long it's crumbly and actually has some crunch to it - only available at their Country Store).
So I started reading blogs and books and watching videos on how to make cheddar. I compiled a short list of things I was going to need to investigate/purchase to get this project rolling. They include:
- Whole Milk, Organic if possible, Unpasteurized if I'm feeling saucy
- Rennet
- Starter Culture
- Cheese Salt
- Cheese Wax (or a vacuum sealer)
- A mold
- Cheesecloth
- Calcium chloride if I'm using pasteurized milk
- And last, but not least, a press
I haven't been able to find anything but the milk and cheesecloth in any local store, but I have a call in to a local dairy farmer and relative of mine to sniff out where I might fill out the rest of my list.
In the mean time my investigation has continued. Big on the list was that darn press. I couldn't find anything locally, but there are several online retailers including Amazon who sell cheese presses. STARTING AT $75!! The sky is the limit from there ($300+ for stainless steel). I quickly realized that if I couldn't find a cheaper alternative this may be a non starter.
Sooo, I began asking around. One of my good friend's husband is a wood-worker so I thought maybe he could make one. The conclusion was that it would cost more but would be much nicer, but that ultimately this wasn't something you needed to be "nice." So then, this same friend, recommended I search for DIY alternatives. Brilliant!! I immediately found this little gem:
$10 Cheese press, niccccccce. Right in my budget:) So I watched and became inspired. I ran to Home Depot and picked up some supplies, and hours later I had a home-made press (for cheese, or whatever!).
My cost was closer to $30. I used nicer wood (red oak) but even without that the bolts alone were $12. The dude in the video must have a better nuts and bolts supplier.
Here's what I picked up:
- 4x 1/2"-8" Galvanized Hex Bolts
- 4x 1/2" Galvanized Hex Nuts
- 8x 1/2" Zinc Coated Washers (why I didn't go with straight galvanized here is beyond me
- 35"x10"x3/4" Red Oak Scrap (although when you pay by the inch the fact that it's scrap doesn't really matter)
The oak was poorly cut so I cut off the ends, then cut it into two 16" lengths. A table saw, ban saw, or even a radial arm saw would have been great for this. Lucky me, I don't have any of those, so I was stuck with either my manual wood saw or my circular miter saw. I went with the power option and as this wasn't something that was going to be shown off in the kitchen didn't worry too much about imperfect joins in my cuts.
Next I drew a line 1" from each edge, the plan being that at each intersection I'd drill the holes for the bolts. I put both pieces in my vice and proceeded to drill pilot holes with a 3/16" bit.
And last, but not least, I borrowed a 1/2" bit, drilled the holes (had to wiggle the bit around a bit to widen the holes so the bolt threads didn't stick), and assembled it.
And viola! It's got about 6" of head, so a 4" mold should fit in there perfectly. If you can get longer bolts I'd recommend it, but 8" was the best I could find.
Thanks and credit go to TN Gun Guy! I think you might be a little bit crazy, but in a good way.
