The Ultimate Guide on How to Clean Cheesecloth Properly

Cheesecloth is a multipurpose fabric, usually made from light cotton fibers. Cheese makers commonly use it to protect cheese, such as cottage cheese, during its aging process.

To make the best fresh cheese, it is important to keep the cheesecloth clean. So, in this article, we will show you how to clean cheesecloth properly.

Why Do You Need To Clean Cheesecloth

Cheesecloth is usually made of buckets or linen fabric. So, where is cheesecloth in the grocery store? The answer is easy, at the baking station or cooking station in the market.

At first glance, many people will confuse them because they all share soft, light, and safe characteristics. Both have their own strengths.

But the difference is that the buckwheat fabric will be better in its lightness, fluttering. And linen fabric will score absolute with its durability and good heat resistance. Linen is woven more firmly, so it does not need to be preserved as well as Bucket fabric.

During the cooking process, the cheese cloth’s fabric surface is in direct contact with the food, so they are also most susceptible to dirt. Dairy products to make soft cheeses, like sour buttermilk or nut milk, often contain bacteria on the inside. As these bacteria build up over the long term, they ferment and cause intestinal illnesses like food poisoning, stomach pain, or even worse.

Therefore, it is best to wash cheesecloth before use and encourage deep cleaning once a week with more specialized methods. However, the cleaning should pay attention to suit the fabric, use acidic or solvent-based cleaning chemicals that affect the kitchen materials.

How To Clean Cheesecloth Properly

Method 1: Washing By Hand

The laundry has become more and more convenient since the advent of washing machines and dryers. As a result, hand washing has been forgotten. However, for cheesecloth, hand washing is optimal and recommended.

Step by step instructions:

1. Wash cheesecloth under the tap in the sink: The purpose of this is to let the large residue go away immediately and not stick to these pieces of fabric, making washing more difficult.
2. Choose a suitable washing temperature: For hand washing, you can use a thermometer to measure the water temperature or simply use your hands to feel it. The suitable temperature for washing cheesecloth is about 30-40 degrees Celsius. This stage is often overlooked as many people shrug them off unimportant. However, paying attention to the washing temperature also brings a clean washing effect. If the water is washed too hot, the fabric will easily shrink, and the stains on food grade cheesecloth still remain lingering with too cold water. This is one of the reasons why modern washing machines add a convenient warm water washing function!
3. Add detergent in the cheesecloth: When washing cheesecloth by hand, avoid choosing a machine detergent as they generally have a higher bleaching strength but less foam than hand ones. Besides, you can choose specialized detergent to bring better performance, dissolve more quickly than laundry detergent, so it does not leave soap residue on fred meyer cheesecloth, affecting food safety and hygiene. You can add a little baking soda or lemon juice to your laundry detergent for a cleaner wash during the washing process.
4. Scrub the cloth vigorously several times until you feel it is completely clean: After the clothes are washed with soap, you need to push them up and down in a gallon of water until the soap is gone.
5. Drying And Storing: At this point, the last thing you need to do is bring the cheesecloth to dry. It would be best to dry these wet cheesecloth pieces in a sunny and well-ventilated place so that the fabric does not appear to have a musty smell. If possible, use a dryer specifically made for clothes. Plus, if there is not enough sunlight and ventilation, it will be susceptible to bacteria invasion and cause unpleasant odors. Once it is dry, fold it up and store it in a damp airtight cabinet to keep the cheesecloth clean and fresh as new.

Method 2: Washing By Machine

Because cheesecloth is softer than normal clothes, so when you use washing machine to clean them, you need to pay more attention on them. Let’s follow my proper instructions below:

Instructions:

1. Similarly to when washing hands, you should wash the cheesecloth under the tap of the water in the sink first.
2. Put the cheesecloth in the washing machine, It is best to wash cheesecloth along with other soft clothes. You must discard the correct number of clothes specified in the machine because if you overload or not enough load of the product, it will also cause damage to the machine. Not only that, when you put too little laundry, the machine will find it difficult to move the clothes in the washing bucket, making the detergent-insoluble as well as unable to go to each one. On the other hand, clothes pushed on one side of the washing bucket cause the machine to tilt and shake vigorously will also damage the product.
3. Fill the drawer with a sufficient amount of detergent. The drawer of the washing machine usually has the max line that you should not overflow. For washing machines, you should use liquid detergents for a better dissolving effect.
4. Close the lid of the washing machine and press the power button on its surface; then, you choose the right course on the control panel for different clothes.
5. Drying And Storing: It is same process with the method of washing by hand above.

Conclusion

Quality cheesecloth is very convenient in the kitchen because it allows air to circulate without changing its flavor. However, to make the best dishes and keep your family healthy, it is important to know how to clean cheesecloth.

We hope you found these pieces of information helpful, and thank you for reading.