# Hard Aged Cheese without pressing?



## goto10 (Oct 5, 2009)

I am not sure if this is called something but I think this is a thing to make hard aged cheese without pressing it in a press. I pretty much make only hard cheeses and I use a homemade press. Recently I was watching a show where a small artisan cheesemaker made their cheese by scooping up the curds in colanders, draining them a bit then turning them out. Letting them dry out a bit more, then they went right into their cheese cave to be aged. They ended up looking like those round loaves of bread but covered in mold. Is this a type of cheese or method with a name? It seemed like a very old style of cheesemaking and also very time efficient. I am having a hard time finding any recipes using this method. 

I made a batch of cheese today but the curds weren't working with me so I threw them in a ricotta mold and let it drain and I took it out after a few hours of draining. It was much firmer than I expected so I was just going to see if I could age that bit of cheese just the way it is. But I am wondering if I am missing something, if it will all go bad because there is still too much water in it.


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## Phil V. (May 31, 2013)

www.curdnerd.com should help you on what you are looking for.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

http://www.cheesemaking.com/BasketChz.html


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## goto10 (Oct 5, 2009)

Thanks Alice, this is exactly what I was looking for. I even strained my curds in the woven canestrati that my aunt brought me from Italy last year. I had no idea I was making an actual type of cheese named after those things. I see myself using that canestrati a lot more in the near future. Especially since my family is from southern Italy and they'll love this style of cheese.


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