Author Topic: method for cutting cheese. (Read 2779 times)

thezaman · « **on:** December 04, 2012, 04:17:37 PM »

a few months ago Mathew mentioned that in naples some of the pizza places use a french fry cutter to cut their cheese. i priced them thru my supplier and at over two hundred dollars i shied away. i saw one on sale at gander mountain which i think is a national account.the cutter was 79.00. as i was looking thru the store i found a cheap plastic cutter for 15.00 and decided to try this before buying the more expensive unit.it comes with two dies and cutting heads. i did a batch of cheese, fresh made in the cooling bath, refrigerated, and slightly frozen.the length of the dice is determined on the thickness each ball is cut into. the unit worked pretty good. the only problem was the plastic die pulled out if the cheeses got to warm. it snaps in place and it pulls itself loose. that only happened on the super soft cheese.and it could be easily fixed with a clip or a little bit of adhesive. it has a vacuum seal on the bottom that holds it to a table,clean up is easy.i really nice little tool that will give the pizzas a even thickness of cheese for a more even melt.also, i have problems with to big of chunks weighting down the dough not allowing it to bake thru.

Matthew · « **Reply #1 on:** December 04, 2012, 04:21:50 PM »

Glad it worked out for you Larry.

Take Care,
M

dellavecchia · « **Reply #2 on:** December 04, 2012, 04:22:45 PM »

Larry - Thanks for the review. I have been looking at a similar unit. I think I need to get my curd smaller as you have pictured.

BTW - What temp do you stretch the curd? I have been doing a few batches, and at 180 I am finding it hard to get the curd pliable enough. I am afraid to go higher, thinking it might destroy the curd.

John

thezaman · « **Reply #3 on:** December 04, 2012, 05:07:07 PM »

john, i use 185 degree water cook is 5 minutes keeping the curd moving so it doesn't over heat. i stretch it and keep it moving.discard two thirds the water and cook again. the internal temperature of your curd needs to be 135.today mine was at 129. i do not like to see to much yellow in the water. a good way to work the hot cheese is using a thin cotton glove liner covered with two plastic gloves,you can play in the hot water without pain.

thezaman · « **Reply #4 on:** December 04, 2012, 05:10:37 PM »

john, there is a 1/4 die included that may work better. i have two mobile events this week end will follow up on the performance of the different dice sizes.

Mmmph · « **Reply #5 on:** December 04, 2012, 05:14:44 PM »

I use this:

http://www.amazon.com/MIU-France-Stainless-Steel-Slicer/dp/B004W26466/ref=pd_sim_k_2

I also have the Norpro 341.

Pass through once, pick up the sliced ball of cheese, rotate 90 degrees and cut again.

It makes strips of cheese.

If cold enough, turn 90 degrees and, voila...cubes

Works pretty well.

dellavecchia · « **Reply #6 on:** December 04, 2012, 07:11:54 PM »

Here is the one I have been eyeing for ages, but have yet to pull the trigger:

http://www.amazon.com/LEM-Products-Commercial-French-Cutter/dp/B002L7V1B2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=Y209QJOH5Y0T&coliid=I31NC7U43A0WY5

John

acbova · « **Reply #7 on:** December 04, 2012, 07:57:41 PM »

Larry,

Did you run it through twice to get cubes?

Tony

thezaman · « **Reply #8 on:** December 04, 2012, 10:40:45 PM »

tony,no it is a french fry cutter.

john that is the same one at gander mountain, it is 79.00.

dellavecchia · « **Reply #9 on:** December 05, 2012, 06:37:51 AM »

Thanks Matt and Larry for the advice. I will look for the one Larry has. I want to cut curd and cheese with it. The commercial steel curd mandolin I saw was $175 alone!

John

scott123 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 05, 2012, 08:44:40 AM »

Wouldn't a chitarra work just as well, if not better? A wire tends to cut through semi soft cheese better than a knife, because there's less surface area to stick to and create drag. Also, unlike this machine, where you have to slice the cheese by hand first, you could have a second chitarra (with only vertical wires, like an egg slicer) for that purpose.

bfguilford · « **Reply #11 on:** December 05, 2012, 10:55:30 AM »

Larry: Do you think it would be strong enough to handle packaged, low moisture mozz? I've been looking for a better solution than the french fry blade on my food processor, which tends to pulverize around 1/3-1/2 of the cheese.

Mmmph: Same question for the one you use.

John: I've been looking at that one too, but (if you're close to buying it) I'll wait for you to review it first.

Thanks.

Barry

Mmmph · « **Reply #12 on:** December 05, 2012, 11:01:35 AM »

@bfg; From the link I posted, a pic of a block of whole milk mozz on the cutter.
I pasted it here.

IMO, this cutter would not last too long if used primarily for this type of cheese.

shuboyje · « **Reply #13 on:** December 05, 2012, 11:02:08 AM »

This one looks pretty similar for much less:

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-french-fry-cutter-66473.html

thezaman · « **Reply #14 on:** December 05, 2012, 09:44:32 PM »

john i have a guitarra that i got from Brooklyn it was expensive but it is indestructible. i do not think the french fry cutter will work that well for curd.you are better off just hand cutting it. did i send you a dvd on making cheese from curd? if you want one pm me.

berry, i think it would work fine.think about the hardness of a potato vs cheese. at 15.00 bucks you could try it and if it breaks gander has a extended warranty for two dollars that gives you back the purchase price plus shipping expenses.

i am using it this weekend and will be cutting a large amount of cheese i will post results.

Jet_deck · « **Reply #15 on:** December 05, 2012, 09:49:44 PM »

Northern tool FF Cutter: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200452393_200452393

dellavecchia · « **Reply #16 on:** December 06, 2012, 06:38:25 AM »

Quote from: thezaman on December 05, 2012, 09:44:32 PM

john i have a guitarra that i got from Brooklyn it was expensive but it is indestructible. i do not think the french fry cutter will work that well for curd.you are better off just hand cutting it. did i send you a dvd on making cheese from curd? if you want one pm me.

Larry - Is this what the guitarra looks like?

http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?ID=14141#.UMCCjKVTWQs

John

Bill/SFNM · « **Reply #17 on:** December 06, 2012, 07:07:09 AM »

John,

I have the Weston fry cutter:

http://www.amazon.com/Weston-Restaurant-Quality-French-Cutter/dp/B000T3OO8C/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1354794887&sr=1-5

with the optional suction feet and cutting blades. Among other things, I use it for cutting sweet potatoes which can be much harder to cut than white potatoes. Sometimes, it takes all of my strength to force a sweet potato through the blades. So far, this one has stood up to everything I have thrown at it. Biggest downside is that it usually needs to be disassembled for cleaning. This involves removing 3 wing-nuts with washers and removing and washing the blades and tray. Takes all of about 2 minutes to clean and reassemble. And it also takes up a lot of storage space.

I've never used it for cutting cheese, but I suspect a very soft cheese could be smashed by the pusher due to resistance from the blades.

pizzablogger · « **Reply #18 on:** December 06, 2012, 05:15:10 PM »

Quote from: dellavecchia on December 06, 2012, 06:38:25 AM

Larry - Is this what the guitarra looks like?

http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?ID=14141#.UMCCjKVTWQs

John

John, the ones I have seen (and used) are larger. The opening where the "strings" go across is considerably larger. The strings themselves are longer, slightly thicker and each string crosses the opening in a "single span"....there is no V shaped bridging of the gap.

They are quite strong. With a good amount of elbow grease you can put 2 one pound balls of fior-di-latte side by side on the guitar and push them through the strings into a bus pan (a lot of torque placed on the strings and they beg for more). Rotate the guitar 90 degrees and press the once cut cheese through again and you get the french fry type shape. You can cut many balls of cheese in a relatively rapid fashion in such a manner.

Of course the automatic machines used in places like Da Michele are very nice, but expensive as well. --K

pizzablogger · « **Reply #19 on:** December 06, 2012, 05:22:09 PM »

This hand cranked confectionary guitar would likely work very well with cheese, but at $3,000+ it ain't cheap!

http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?id=26597

EDIT: What I have seen is very much like just the stringed plate on the front of the machine linked above, but with the strings placed closer together. By having just the square metal plate with strings running across it, space is saved and it is easy to lay it across a recepticle like a bus pan, Cambro container, etc. when hand pressing cheese through the guitar.