Stoneware Cheese Draining Pot
This beautiful piece has been made by artisan Jessica Thorn, to replicate an antique southern french drainer. Also used for the resting of meats and collecting the juices of vegetables and roasts, we have recreated them for our courses and home use as they are the perfect platform upon which you can drain your cheese of its whey before and after salting. Made by hand in stoneware, this larger draining pot is designed to hold average tomme or toma style cheeses of up to four kilos, or serve as a drainer for up to six smaller camembert sized forms. The stoneware is perfect for the task as it can remain unglazed, with the high firing temperatures vitrifying the clay and giving it additional strength and the salty whey from the cheeses flows straight into the pot with no issues of collection or corrosion. The lip is attentively shaped by hand ensuring an incredible pour, meaning you can pour off whey to use separately whilst the cheeses drain. Celebrating natural materials in cheesemaking in the ages before plastic, this is an excellent piece of kit for your home cheesemaking and a wonderful new old addition to kitchenware.
Diameter 305mm // Height 50mm // Weight 2.9kg
Made in Bristol, UK
THESE ARE MADE TO ORDER BY JESS IN HER STUDIO AND WILL TAKE UP TO SIX WEEKS TO MAKE, FIRE, PACK AND SEND
THE ARTISAN
JESSICA THORN
Jessica Thorn is a UK based ceramic artisan specialising in porcelain and stoneware kitchenware.
Having shared many passionate conversations through the years around functional and farmhouse vernacular kitchenware, Jessica has teamed up with Up There The Last on a beautiful project centred around the production of natural cheese. Using the template of a found french antique, Jessica has riffed on this to create sturdy cheese drainers for the home, specifically embracing natural materials over plastic or stainless steel.
“Max sent over a picture of the broken earthenware dish for me to remake. Unfortunately the top had snapped in two. This was due to the fact that the earthenware would have soaked up a lot of liquid over the years, being a porous material. This essentially weakens the clay, and unfortunately causes it to become more fragile.
I knew It would be ideal to make piece in stoneware or porcelain to give it longevity. These clays are fired to a higher temperature to vitrify and become non-porous, allowing the body to remain strong after many years of use. Essentially these pieces are made to last, to pass down the generations with the cheese recipe for the tradition to continue.
The cheese drainer has been made in my signature style, showcasing the craftsmanship of working with these clays for over ten years. In this case highlighting the natural colours of the cheese and the wheys. Due to its non-porous nature I can also leave the outside and the draining plate unglazed, which allows for a natural texture.
The stoneware drainer was made to capture the essence of the original piece, making it feel that it has been passed down for generations. The pot of the cheese drainer is thrown on the potter's wheel, and the top is slab built to get a lovely thin draining disc. “
★★★★★
“One of the finest bits of kit in my cheesemaking arsenal. So wonderful to have a designated draining system that is not plastic or steel, the natural quality of Jess’s work just makes so much sense when I see my little cheeses sat on top, doing their thing!”
MJ