If you are making a semi-hard cheese, the curds should be a bit soft, but not weeping whey prior to pressing. Finally, if you are making a hard cheese, it is very important that your curds are well drained and already somewhat firm prior to pressing, otherwise trapped moisture in the cheese may ruin your cheese. After the curd mass is cut, curds and whey are then heated to over 100f(37.7c) sometimes as high as 125f(51.6c) for hard dry cheeses like the Parma cheeses. Thermophilic Starters are designed to work in milk which is heated to 88f(31.1c). After the curd mass is cut and stirred, the curds and whey can be heated to higher temperatures which will make the final cheese dryer and firmer. Mesophilic Starters are designed to work in milk which is heated to 86-90f(30-32.2c).
Using either a Mesophilic or Thermophilic Lactic Starter, one can change the final moisture level inside the cheese. The dryness (moisture level) or hardness of the cheese is more determined by manipulating the temperature of the curds/whey, the size of the curds while stirring and the milling (size) of the final curd prior to pressing. The cheese press is used to keep the curds whole or stuck together. IMPORTANT NOTICE: A simple misunderstanding of using cheese presses is that one must press the curds with much force to obtain a hard cheese. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW BEFORE USING YOUR CHEESE PRESS.
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