My 10th Caerphilly

[JeffHamm]

Hi jwalker,

Yes, you can wax it if it's not too moist still.  I find that if I wax a cheese younger than 2 months (there abouts), it weeps whey under the wax.  So, when you return you might want to check yours to see how it is doing.  But waxing is a good way to deal with hard cheeses when you're going to have to leave them to their own devices for a bit.  Look forward to hearing how yours turns out.

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

A final update on this.  I'm down to the last wee wedge and it's really held up and continuously improved over time.  I'm quite pleased with how this make turned out.  But, now I'm just about out of caerphilly!  Sad.  Still, I have that gouda balloon that I should open and check out.  Could be scary, but could be fun.  Will post a photo when I cut into it.

- Jeff

[Tiarella]

Jeff, please wear safety gear when opening the Gouda balloon.  You're too great of a guy for us to lose to such an unfortunate accident!   :o.  :'(

[JeffHamm]

Thanks for the concern Tiarella!  I've pierced it today, and I have survived to this point.  It looks like a swiss, and tastes like one too.  I'm thinking it picked up a wild PS somehow.  After having a small nibble, I'm waiting to see if anything untoward occurs.  Vanessa has ventured a taste as well and quite likes it, so I figure it is safe (she has a good "off taste" detection skill).  Still, we'll wait it out before letting the kids try.  It's quite tasty, though a slight bitterness on the finish.   But not as much as I get on some other cheeses, so nothing surprising.

- Jeff

[Tiarella]

Thank Goodness you survived!   :o.