My first aged cheese; Caerphilly

[Flound]

This weekend past I attempted my first hard cheese; a rough patch, some valuable lessons and in the end, a passable effort from the aesthetic view. I reserve judgment on taste and texture 'til later.

I posted this in introduction, but figured this was a more appropriate location.

http://dylsexic.ca/?p=460

[JeffHamm]

Hi Flound!

Good to see you've made it here.  Nice looking caerphilly.  Should be about a week old now, so only a couple more to go and you get to find out how it tastes.  Nice.  Photos can be attached to your post too, so don't forget to update the thread with a photo of the cut cheese and tasting notes. 

You'll find lots of really helpful people here, and lots of great tips and tricks.  I highly recommend just browsing through the boards and reading all threads that relate to a cheese you're thinking about making, and reading the threads from start to finish.  Often there are really good tips hidden in there, with respect to how to age, store, etc.

Anyway, nice looking cheese.  A cheese to you.

- Jeff

[John@PC]

I posted this in introduction, but figured this was a more appropriate location.
http://dylsexic.ca/?p=460

I missed your introduction so hi Flound.  I was amazed with the detail you went into for your Caerphilly make.  I'll take time to read it in more detail over the weekend (kind of like looking forward to reading a good novel) .   

[Flound]

So after 96 hours of drying, this is the result.

I suspect my household humidity isn't that low, because covered with a bowl, with airflow, there was no appreciable rind formation. After covering for the first 60, the last 36 hours have been uncovered and the rind appears to be forming.

[JeffHamm]

Once the down side is dry when you flip it, you can shift it to the cave and age around 10 C.  Put it in a ripening box (i.e. a big tupperware thing), and adjust the lid.  Keep the cheese off the bottom so that the condensation that runs down doesn't leave the cheese sitting in a puddle.  Wipe the box down if it gets wet, though some moisture on the sides is good.  If it's dripping from the lid, prop the lid open more, if there's no moisture, close it up a bit. 

Looks good.

- Jeff

[Flound]

3 weeks.

Couldn't resist any longer.

Cut it, ate it.

Two words.

Yum me.

[JeffHamm]

Well done!  A cheese to your successful first cheese.  Do you have a photo of the cut cheese to show the interior?  Did it have a bit of a tang to it?  How was your salt levels?  Was it moist?  Crumbly?  Was the rind edible (wild moulds are often dusty, and not so nice on the rind, but will flavour the paste nicely).  Does it melt?  We need more details! 

- Jeff

[Flound]

It had all of that.

Seriously, I had the luck of an outhouse rat.

Nice tang, good balance between salt and acidity, edible rind with no mould, not too moist and a bit crumbly.

The only thing was that it melted in my mouth....

I took a chunk to a friend of mine who operates a charcuterie for his and his assistants to sample. One of them has her Masters in cheesemaking, having studied in France. (She's just here for two months before setting up shop in Ontario).

All three were impressed and the wedge was devoured. It was quite clear they liked it a lot. Toasted baguette was brought out and a light snack was enjoyed by all of them. Woohoo! Professional validation!

Here's their site. http://ratinaud.ca


I'm on cloud 9 right now.

[Flound]

Here's a pic...

[JeffHamm]

That's a fantastic result!  The texture looks spot on for caerphilly as it should be both moist but crumbly (unlike Canadian cheddars, the traditional UK cheddars are often crumbly).  That's really good.  This is also one of the reasons I recommend caerphilly as a first make.  It's fairly forgiving (so as you tweak your technique you won't really risk ruining a cheese), it's quick to provide feedback, so you can work on things in a short period of time, all the steps are ones that transfer well to any other pressed cheese (although others will include new things to learn, like washing the curd, heat ramps over 40 minutes, cheddaring (though some caerphilly protocols include cheddaring), and so forth), and mostly, it's just a really nice tasty cheese!  Well done. 

Now, hopefully the other two will dry out and behave as well. 

- Jeff

[John@PC]

Seriously, I had the luck of an outhouse rat.

Took me a minute for that to compute but being of an age that remember outhouses it finally hit!  .  You're description is spot on for what I've made so my question to the experts on the forum is why does a Caerphilly have such a distinctive taste-and-paste at such an early age? 

[Spoons]

I'm on cloud 9 right now.

Congrats! and I know that feeling all too well. A cheese maker's first successful aged cheese is a proud moment. Congrats for that, and nice pic! It looks just like a caerphilly should look like.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I believe the taste is due to it's young age.  The tang is like a cream cheese type thing, and that fades if you age it.  Possibly due to some whey still in the paste?  The texture is, I think, results from the combination of the floc multiplier, acidity during the make and press, and the press weight?  I'm not sure though, and those with more knowledge about the factors that influence these sorts of things may correct me. 

- Jeff

[Flound]

Well, the accolades continue.

At a dinner party last night, I made a cheese platter. I used the Caerphilly and a fromage blanc I made a few days prior. I supplemented it with a store bought Havarati and jalapeño Monterey Jack.

Red grapes, walnuts, rambutan and toasted baguette as accompaniments.

Nothing left of either of my cheeses.  The store boughts? Had to be wrapped and put back into the cheese drawer.

Lovin' it.

[Denise]

Nothing left of either of my cheeses.  The store boughts? Had to be wrapped and put back into the cheese drawer.

Isn't it great when that happens?

A cheese to you and your pretty Caerphilly.