Cheese cloth is a piece of equipment that is used in the majority of cheesemaking recipes. It’s relative inexpensive and can be washed and re-used over and over again.
Here are some recommendations for washing your cheese cloth:
1. Rinse with cold water:
Rinse thoroughly with cold water first. Remove all noticeable chunks of cheese but also rinse thoroughly to remove the residues you can’t see as readily. Hot water tends to make those residues stick like glue, so cold water will remove more of the excess.
2. Wash and sanitize:
There are several options for this step:
- Place in a pot of water and boil while stirring the cloth. If the water turns cloudy, pour it out and replace with clean water and boil again until the water runs clear; or
- I put my cheese cloth on the top shelf of the dishwasher. I run it through the wash, rinse, dry, and sanitize function (along with the rest of the dishes); or
- Some people put cheese cloth in a garment bag and run it through the washing machine. I find this method results in more fraying of the edges.
3. Dry:
I usually set mine on a clean pot or bowl to air dry. Some people put it on a clothes line to let the sun bleach it a bit.
4. Store:
Store clean dry cheese cloth in a baggie or storage container until ready to use again.
5. Final tip:
I like to moisten my cheese cloth and pop it in the microwave for a minute before using it again just to give it another little zap of sanitation.
There ya have it – buy one package (my favorite brand is at New England Cheesemaking Supply) and use it over and over and over again!
submitted by Kate Johnson, May 2020
