cheesecloth n : a coarse loosely woven cotton gauze; originally used to wrap cheeses

English

Noun

1. A loosely woven cotton gauze. Originally used to wrap cheese but now used for many tasks including in cooking used to strain liquids or make sachets and by farmers to shade crops and keep birds off.

Cheesecloth is a loosewoven cotton cloth used in cheese making, such as to press cheese curds for poutine. Cheesecloth is also used in straining stocks and custards, bundling herbs, making tofu, and thickening yogurt. It can be used to strain liquid drugs to obtain higher purity, filtering out unwanted or possibly dangerous chemicals. http://www.ayahuasca-info.com/chemistry/

Cheesecloth was very popular as a material for blouses and shirts during the 1960s and 1970s. http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/pop/fashion70.htm, http://allcheeselovers.com/?p=10

Cheesecloth is available in at least seven different grades,from open to extra-fine weave. Grades are distinguished by the number of threads per inch in each direction.

Cheesecloth can also be used for several printmaking processes, including lithography for wiping up gum arabic, and in intaglio for wiping away excess ink from the printing surface

References