OK. I'd say my idea was a partial success and that I have bugs to work out. I did get the whey to drain off as it broiled, but it was not without some issues. The bottom of the springform pan fit too snugly to allow the whey to drain quickly. I even loosened the ring a bit, and it didn't help. So I slid the juustoa directly onto the air crisping pizza pan, keeping the ring around the curds. And then, I continued to broil. That seemed to work well.
Unfortunately, when I flipped it over, the curds had begun to ooze slightly through the holes in the pizza pan at the bottom. I used the original springform bottom to aid me by placing it on top of the now browned juustoa. The pizza pan did release easily from the cheese, but I had dozens of tiny "nipples" on the surface since the quarter inch that oozed through, which remained attached to the juustoa, sliding back through the holes as I removed the pan. It made for an interesting effect once it was broiled, but really not bad. So, no big deal.
So, what did I learn from my experiment? It works. But, I absolutely have to cut a circle out of the pizza pan to fit in the springform pan. Either that, or drill smaller holes throughout the original bottom of the springform pan. But that's more labor intensive. With a holed bottom, I won't have to set up a contraption to suspend the pan. I can then use the original bottom of the springform pan to aid in flipping the juustoa to broil the second side. I also learned that I should scrape off the "nipples" before removing the holed bottom. There really won't be much waste, since it only oozed a quarter of an inch or so through the holes. Then I'll only have a subtle pattern, not tiny brown raised nipples all over the surface.
Interesting idea with the pizza and springform pan. I've heard of a recipe where you drain the curd in a cheesecloth lined colander to get it as much moisture out of it before "packing" it into a 9" round cake pan. I've never tried it but it may solve your excess whey problem. I try to drain as much whey as possible before putting in the pans but I still have to take it out and pour off the excess at least twice per side.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on your wine fridge. I too have a dorm fridge but it won't go to 50 degrees. I could get voltage regulator (or whatever it's called) but it would be cheaper to get a wine fridge from WalMart. My long term goal is to make parmesan and I need to cure that cheese for 9 or more months.
My first batch of farmhouse cheddar is in the press! It took about 4 hours to get 2 pounds into the press stage last night.