# Cheese molds?



## DownHome (Jan 20, 2006)

What is the difference in a strainer that has the right shape and a bonafide cheese mold? 

Downhome


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## JamieCatheryn (Feb 9, 2013)

Some kinds need to stand up to a lot of weight squeezing the cheese and have been designed and tested to do so.


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## Awnry Abe (Mar 21, 2012)

Aren't cheese molds and info about them the most difficult thing to google for? "Gaaaah. Not that mold!"


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

If you spell it mould, you would get more search hits. The two spellings make it clear what you're looking for.


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## Leggaj5 (Jul 6, 2014)

Can I use a coffee can and 28 oz tomato cans for Brie cheese molds. Packaging says they are made of steel, just wondering if there is a risk of reaction with the cheese. The tomatoes are pretty acidic leading me to believe there wouldn't be a problem with those. Thanks!


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

A steel mould can rust. Tetanus comes from rusting steel and iron. You want *stainless steel *for cheese moulds, if going with metal. Stainless doesn't react to anything, and is not porous, so can be cleaned superbly, but don't use a harsh scrubber on it and make scratches. 

The size and thickness of brie needs to be pretty accurate for the white mold to grow and penetrate the cheese correctly. Growing the mold is the hardest part, even if you have proper humidity and temperatures when aging.

Don't use regular PVC pipe for moulds, it will leach bad tastes into the cheese and cannot be sanitized sufficiently. If a company is selling moulds made of PVC, they are in violation of food safety laws, and endangering people's health. PVC is for water, not for the pH of cheeses and their components. Chemicals from it will leach out into the cheese.

Safe cheese moulds are made from HDPE, *h*igh *d*ensity *p*oly*e*thylene. They can be cleaned thoroughly and have a smooth surface. There is also LDPE, *l*ow *d*ensity* p*oly*e*thylene. 

PVC is *p*oly*v*inyl *c*hloride, a completely different animal. These plastics are not interchangeable in use.

You can get proper moulds from http://www.cheesemaking.com/

*Surface ripened cheese* (red and white molds and yeast) such as *Camembert/Brie Munster* and some of the moister *Tomme* styles, etc will need a lower format where the height is much less than the diameter. These are all higher moisture cheese and the primary reason for this is that the surface growth produces enzymes that need to move to the center of the cheese for ripening results. The shorter the height the more efficient this can be done.
Tomme (Large)​ 
Tomme (Small)​ M19







​ 
​ M20







​ 3-4 Gallons of milk​  .
For Larger Tomme style cheese such as
Tomme De Savoie 
and small Alpine style Cheese​ ​ 1 Gallon of milk​ .
For smaller washed and surface
ripened cheeses such as
Reblochon and Munster​


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## Leggaj5 (Jul 6, 2014)

Thanks for the thorough response. Sounds like stainless steel is the way to go for repeated use which makes sense, but rust shouldn't be an issue if I've never used the cans before right? I can cut the cans to be pretty much the same dimensions as the ones from NE Cheesemaking Supply.


QUOTE=IowaLez;7141242]A steel mould can rust. Tetanus comes from rusting steel and iron. You want *stainless steel *for cheese moulds, if going with metal. Stainless doesn't react to anything, and is not porous, so can be cleaned superbly, but don't use a harsh scrubber on it and make scratches. 

The size and thickness of brie needs to be pretty accurate for the white mold to grow and penetrate the cheese correctly. Growing the mold is the hardest part, even if you have proper humidity and temperatures when aging.

Don't use regular PVC pipe for moulds, it will leach bad tastes into the cheese and cannot be sanitized sufficiently. If a company is selling moulds made of PVC, they are in violation of food safety laws, and endangering people's health. PVC is for water, not for the pH of cheeses and their components. Chemicals from it will leach out into the cheese.

Safe cheese moulds are made from HDPE, *h*igh *d*ensity *p*oly*e*thylene. They can be cleaned thoroughly and have a smooth surface. There is also LDPE, *l*ow *d*ensity* p*oly*e*thylene. 

PVC is *p*oly*v*inyl *c*hloride, a completely different animal. These plastics are not interchangeable in use.

You can get proper moulds from http://www.cheesemaking.com/

*Surface ripened cheese* (red and white molds and yeast) such as *Camembert/Brie Munster* and some of the moister *Tomme* styles, etc will need a lower format where the height is much less than the diameter. These are all higher moisture cheese and the primary reason for this is that the surface growth produces enzymes that need to move to the center of the cheese for ripening results. The shorter the height the more efficient this can be done.
Tomme (Large)​ 
Tomme (Small)​ M19







​ 
​ M20







​ 3-4 Gallons of milk​  .
For Larger Tomme style cheese such as
Tomme De Savoie 
and small Alpine style Cheese​ ​ 1 Gallon of milk​ .
For smaller washed and surface
ripened cheeses such as
Reblochon and Munster​[/QUOTE]


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

Coffee cans will rust. They are coated with tin, and anywhere the tin is compromised even a smidgen, the steel will rust. So if you cut one up, you have bare steel on those edges. The rust will contribute some not so nice flavors to any foods it contacts, that's prolly more worry than the tetanus thingie I mentioned before, to be honest. From what I know, some modern "tin" cans are now coated inside with that BPA plastic stuff, and I don't know how you feel about that plastic being a suspected carcinogen, I do know I can taste it in bottled water. I wouldn't like that in an artisan cheese. 

Actually, there are prolly some better brie moulds out there than the one link I sent you. My brie/camembert moulds are different than the one shown on the homecheesemaking website... Or maybe their mould supplier has changed and my model isn't stocked any more. I know mine don't have bottoms, I rest them on bamboo sushi mats to drain the curds while in the moulds. I have 2 of them, so I can do a whole 1 gallon of milk batch. So you might poke around some other online cheesemaking suppliers to find more variety. I just don't remember now, it's been a good 8 years since I bought them. 

I suppose if you could find a food-grade coating of some type to put on the cut edges of the cans that might solve the problem, but I have no experience with that - I had wanted to find one to prevent the steel lid on my antique tea pot from re-rusting (in a few small spots) after being cleaned with naval jelly. But I haven't had the time to do that.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

Collapsible slicon berry strainer


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