Cheese press

A cheese press is a device for pressing whey from curds when making cheese. Pressing influences the cheese's hardness and texture and will also determine the shape of the block or wheel of cheese.^[1]

A cheese press at the Hadley Farm Museum in Hadley, Massachusetts

Some sources state that Hazel Irwin, who received a patent for a cheese press in 1808,^[2] was the first American woman to receive a patent,^[3] although others state that Hannah Slater in 1793,^[4][5] or Mary Kies, in 1809, was the first.^[6][7]