7 Best Cheese Presses For Home Use That Preserve Traditions

There’s a moment in cheesemaking, after the cutting and stirring, when you pack the curds into a mold and apply the first weight. It’s a quiet, hopeful step that connects your kitchen directly to centuries of tradition. Choosing the right cheese press isn’t just about buying a tool; it’s about deciding what kind of cheesemaker you want to be. Your press determines the texture, density, and aging potential of your cheese, turning fresh milk into something that can last for months or even years.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

The Homesteader Press: A Classic Hardwood Design

A classic hardwood press looks the part. Often made of maple or oak, these screw-style presses feel like they belong in a farmhouse kitchen, connecting you to the aesthetics of the past. Their simple, manual operation is straightforward—you turn a handle to apply pressure, tightening it incrementally as the whey drains away.

The beauty of wood is also its biggest challenge. While undeniably traditional, wood is porous. It requires meticulous cleaning and sanitizing to prevent it from harboring bacteria or absorbing off-flavors from the whey. You have to be diligent. For someone who values the tactile experience and visual appeal of traditional tools, and who is committed to a strict cleaning regimen, a hardwood press is a beautiful and functional choice.

New England Cheesemaking Press: For Durability

If you prioritize food safety and ease of use over old-world aesthetics, a stainless steel press is your workhorse. The press from New England Cheesemaking Supply is a prime example of function-first design. Made entirely of stainless steel, it’s non-porous, won’t crack or warp, and can be sanitized with confidence every single time.

This press is built for cheesemakers who see this as a regular part of their food production, not an occasional hobby. It’s the kind of tool you buy once and expect to hand down. While it lacks the rustic charm of a wooden press, it makes up for it in sheer reliability and peace of mind. You never have to worry about what might be hiding in the grain of the wood—you just wash it, sanitize it, and get back to making cheese.

The Cheese Press Shop Dutch Press: High Pressure

The Dutch-style press is a different beast altogether. Instead of a screw, it uses a long lever arm and weights to apply pressure. This simple mechanical advantage allows you to achieve incredibly high and consistent pressure with minimal effort. This is the press you need for crafting dense, dry, long-aging cheeses like Parmesan or Romano.

The tradeoff is space and setup. A Dutch press has a larger footprint than a compact screw press, and you have to provide your own weights—buckets of water, gym weights, or even bricks work well. It’s a bit more of a project to get going, but the results are undeniable. For the serious hobbyist aiming to replicate classic Old World hard cheeses, the consistent, heavy pressure from a Dutch press is non-negotiable.

Lehman’s Spring Press: Consistent, Easy Pressure

A spring-loaded press offers a brilliant solution to a common cheesemaking problem: maintaining pressure over time. As curds expel whey, the cheese shrinks, and the pressure from a standard screw press lessens. This means you have to return every so often to give the handle another turn.

Lehman’s spring press solves this with calibrated springs that deliver continuous, even pressure as the cheese settles. You simply tighten the press to the desired weight marked on the frame, and the springs do the rest. It’s a "set it and forget it" system that’s perfect for the busy homesteader who can’t hover over the press for hours. While it may not reach the extreme pressures of a Dutch press, it provides more than enough force for excellent cheddars, goudas, and Swiss-style cheeses with far less fuss.

TSM Products Press: A Heavy-Duty Steel Option

When you’re ready for a serious upgrade in build quality, the TSM press stands out. Constructed from heavy-gauge stainless steel, this thing is built like a tank. It’s a professional-grade screw press designed for people who make a lot of cheese and demand absolute durability from their equipment.

Think of it as the intersection of durability and precision. The heavy frame won’t bend or flex, even under significant pressure, ensuring your cheese is pressed evenly every time. This isn’t a beginner’s press; it’s an investment for the dedicated cheesemaker who has worn out lesser equipment and is ready for a tool that will last a lifetime. It’s simple, powerful, and incredibly reliable.

Grow Your Pantry Kit: The All-in-One Starter

For someone standing at the very beginning of their cheesemaking journey, the sheer number of choices can be paralyzing. An all-in-one kit, like the one from Grow Your Pantry, removes that barrier. These kits typically include a simple press (often made of bamboo or a basic hardwood), along with the essential molds, cultures, rennet, and cheesecloth to get you started.

The press itself is functional but basic. It’s not designed for high-pressure hard cheeses or decades of use. But that’s not its purpose. Its purpose is to get you from milk to your first wheel of homemade cheese with minimal confusion and investment. You may outgrow the press quickly if the hobby sticks, but a starter kit is the perfect, low-risk way to find out if cheesemaking is for you.

Fromagex M4 Press: For Small Commercial Batches

There comes a point where hobby production starts to look more like a small-scale enterprise. Maybe you’re supplying a few neighbors or thinking about a farmer’s market stand. The Fromagex M4 is a pneumatic press designed for exactly this scale. It uses air pressure for perfectly controlled and repeatable results, and it can press up to four cheeses at once.

This is a significant leap in both capability and cost. It’s not a tool for the casual hobbyist. But for the micro-dairy or serious homesteader who needs efficiency, consistency, and the ability to scale up production, the M4 represents the next logical step. It bridges the gap between a simple home press and true commercial equipment, offering professional features in a manageable size.

Kadova Cheese Molds: The Professional Standard

While not a press itself, the mold you use with your press is arguably just as important. Kadova molds are the professional standard for a reason. Made from durable, food-grade plastic, they come with a follower and a built-in micro-perforated mesh liner. This brilliant design eliminates the need for cheesecloth entirely.

Using a Kadova mold transforms the pressing process. You get a perfectly smooth, professional-looking rind every time, and cleanup is incredibly simple. They are an investment, but pairing a high-quality Kadova mold with any of the presses on this list will immediately elevate the quality and consistency of your cheese. It’s the single best upgrade a home cheesemaker can make to their setup.

Ultimately, the best press is the one that fits your ambition and your reality. Whether it’s a simple wooden press for making a wheel of cheddar a few times a year or a heavy-duty steel model for weekly production, the right tool makes the work a joy. It allows you to focus on the art of cheesemaking itself—transforming the simple gift of milk into something truly special.