Author Topic: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist  (Read 3330 times)

meyerandray

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My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« on: March 15, 2013, 04:29:29 PM »
I made my first Caerphilly yesterday, following the recipe posted by JeffHamm in his "my 9th Caerphilly" post.  As I was draining and twisting, it seemed too wet to me, so I ended up draining and twisting for about 1 hr 24 min instead of 1 hr.  It has now been in the press for about 20 hrs, I keep turning it every so often, it is still really wet to the touch, and the wood under the press is definitely wet, as is the cheesecloth (which I have been changing with a clean, dry one every so often). 
Is this cheese supposed to come out of the press super wet?  I was thinking of leaving it in the press up to 3 days like that article that JeffHamm posted, before trying to dry it out.  Any suggestions?
Here's a photo

bbracken677

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2013, 04:42:21 PM »
It should come out a bit over or right at 1 pound of cheese per gallon of milk. How many gallons in the make and how much does it weigh?

I think the caerphilly should be a bit more moist than a regular cheddar, but not by much at all.

Also...not sure what you meant by twisting... I assume you cheddared the curds..

JeffHamm

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2013, 05:20:26 PM »
Hi,

It shouldn't be spongy or soggy.  I think you have to work most of the moisture out during the stirring, and the twisting in the cloth and leaving it for awhile is effectively cheddaring the curds (keeping them warm to acidify and pull out moisture).  My make ended up at just over 1400g from 11 litres, where one might expect a 10% yield (so around 1100g), the extra being moisture.  I only left mine out to air dry for a day, which wasn't long enough and I should have left it for 4 days probably.  So, if yours is still feeling a bit overly wet, stir longer and a bit more vigorously next time (reverse direction when you're stirring, etc, the collisions between the curds helps expel the whey).  For this one, air dry it for a few days until it recovers.  Should be fine.  I'm going to be cutting mine today I think, so I'll post later on how it turned out.

- Jeff

meyerandray

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2013, 09:15:58 AM »
Thanks for your response Jeff!  I took it out of the press and it is feeling much better, still moist, but I think I will just dry it for a couple of extra days.  I have never even seen/tasted a caerphilly before, but you had written that it is in the cheddar family, which is a cheese I miss living abroad, and it doesn't have to age forever, so I though I would give it a try.  I'll definitely let you know how it tastes in about 4 weeks. 
One question, from what I understood from your recipe, you don't put it in brine, or wrap it, or wax it or anything, right? 
Thanks, Celine
« Last Edit: March 16, 2013, 09:26:20 AM by meyerandray »

JeffHamm

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2013, 06:48:16 PM »
Looks good!  The salt is added to the curds before you press it, rather than brine.  If you want, you can brine it instead of adding salt to the curds.  Another good, and fairly quick, cheddar family cheese is Lankashire.  It's ready in about 2 months, so a bit longer, but not a year or anything like that.

- Jeff

BobE102330

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2013, 10:14:16 PM »
The recipe in 200 easy cheeses calls for brining, so if you didn't add salt before pressing all is not lost.  I made a brined Caerphilly and it came out great. 

meyerandray

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2013, 02:28:21 PM »
I did add salt, so I think I will leave it as is.  It seems to be drying out well, a lot better, and faster than I expected, but I have already put a cheese in the cellar before it was dry enough, so I am going to leave it to dry at least 5 days just to be safe before moving it.

meyerandray

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2013, 04:49:14 PM »
So after all of my concerns that it was too moist, I have a crack!  It is still drying, what should I do?  It still needs to dry a bit, I am wondering if putting it near water won't couteract the drying process?

BobE102330

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2013, 04:55:57 PM »
Somewhat counter intuitive but you need to dry it in a more humid environment.  A container of some sort with a loosely fitting lid.  Leave it rather open, you just want to get the RH up around 50-60%.  My RH is around 35% because of the cold snap requiring more heat. 

meyerandray

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2013, 05:27:47 PM »
Ok, I will try that.  My solution was to put it over a bowl with a small amount of water in it (obviously not touching the water) but I think this idea sounds much better!  Before I put it in the cave, do I need to do anything to the crack to protect it from letting unwanted molds in?

JeffHamm

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2013, 05:41:43 PM »
Hi,

You can put some salted butter into the crack to prevent moulds from getting.  I've not tried this myself, but this was a tip given by others on the board whose advice I've found trustworthy. 

And yes, cracks mean it is drying too fast, so moving to a ripening box will slow it down.

- Jeff

meyerandray

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Re: My first Caerphilly, I think it is too moist
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2013, 05:46:35 PM »
ok, i'll try the salted butter trick and let you know!