Is cheesecloth reusable?

I made ricotta cheese. I hand washed the used cheesecloth and I'm air drying it right now. Can I use it again?

mrslarkin
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5 Comments

hardlikearmour October 11, 2013
Yes. My sister has the Artisan Cheese at home book by Mary Karlin (who recently posted a small batch recipe for feta) and she recommends re-using cheese cloth. Definitely wash it, though.
 
trampledbygeese October 11, 2013
The old books, aka, pre 1950, say you can wash and boil your cheesecloth, then hang to dry, for many years of use.

Though personally I wonder if the cheese cloth they had in their day was anything like the flimsy stuff available now. I'm lucky if my cheese cloth survives three uses, no matter how gentle I am with it. I'll have to look up a cheese making house like paseo mentions above.
 
paseo October 11, 2013
Of course you can if it's well washed. Get real cheesecloth - not the loose stuff. It's a denser weave and made specifically for draining whey from curd. It's obtainable from cheese making supply houses. Good and versatile fabric and worth having on hand.
 
Dana October 11, 2013
I would have you wash it once or twice before using it again, however, if you were putting a blue cheese on it I wouldn't. If it's not blue cheese then yes you can use it again. Just make sure you wash it.
 
ChefJune October 11, 2013
I've never tried reusing it after making ricotta, but I have reused cheesecloth. I don't see why you couldn't. You would know if it didn't get clean enough to reuse.
 
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