Author Topic: My 11th Caerphill  (Read 6698 times)

Ananke

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #15 on: May 10, 2014, 09:28:17 AM »
Jeff, sorry to be a pain with the questions.  I'm just about to start this cheese and have read through the recipe a few times.

When the curds are placed in a cloth, in the tilted pot with a 2lt jug of water on top, is there any reason why this is done in the pot and could this be done in the press? 




JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #16 on: May 10, 2014, 06:07:20 PM »
I suppose you could do it in the press.  If it's in the pot, you can put the pot in a sink with some warm water to keep the curds a bit warmer.  That will help when you later press them.  Other than that, no reason you can't use the press.

- Jeff

Ananke

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #17 on: May 10, 2014, 06:15:52 PM »
Thanks so much Jeff :)

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #18 on: May 10, 2014, 06:50:14 PM »
No problem.  Don't forget to start a thread on your make and post your notes and photos, etc.  Will be useful if you have questions later, and also for those who find the boards in the future (and those of us here now). 

- Jeff

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #19 on: July 25, 2014, 06:58:07 AM »
This is probably the oldest caerphilly I've ever made!  Normally these are long gone by now.  But, this one struck me as a good one to age out during the make, so I thought I would see how it goes.  It's now around 5 months, nearing 6.  Might age it out to when my parents come to visit in late November.  Rind is coming along quite well (primary reason for updates today is just documenting the wild rind progressions of a few cheeses).

- Jeff

Spoons

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #20 on: July 25, 2014, 11:53:43 AM »
Wow, looks great! I once got some store-bought caerphilly for comparison purposes and it tastes the sames as a typical recipe aged for about 6-7 weeks. Now I'm REALLY curious about a 6+month old caerphilly. 

Nice job! keep us posted.

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
  • Posts: 5,015
  • Cheeses: 344
  • Contemplating cheese
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #21 on: July 25, 2014, 05:25:14 PM »
Boy, Jeff, you've got some color there!

You're targeting a possible 10-month affinage? Have any of your Caerphillys gone out that long?

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #22 on: July 25, 2014, 06:54:59 PM »
Thanks guys!  I've read caerphilly can be aged up to a year, and this make just had a feeling it would be a good one for longer storage.  I think the longest I've ever aged a caerphilly was 3 months, so we're already at the "vintage" stage for me with this cheese!   10 months sounds good, though, as it will be close enough to a year to know how it does with a bit of time under its belt before going under mine!  (or is that over mine?)

- Jeff

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #23 on: September 06, 2014, 05:14:12 AM »
Hi,

Well, this is now 216 days old and we needed some cheese to take to a friends so cut into this.  I was a bit disappointed when I first tasted it, but that was when it was still a bit cold and fresh cut.  After it warmed up, the flavour started coming through properly and it seems to be ok.  I do think there are better cheeses to age out, and I'm now quite sure that Caerphilly as a young cheese is the way to go.  It's not a bad one at this age, but my view is that if you are going to take the time to age a cheese out, go for a Cheshire, Derby, or Cheddar, etc, but use your Caerphilly when young.  I'm sure I'll change my tune in a few days.  I find most cheeses improve a great deal after they've been cut and had time to breath, but right now, my call is, this is ok, but not the best long aging cheese.

- Jeff

Offline scasnerkay

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Sunnyvale, California
  • Posts: 853
  • Cheeses: 197
  • Default personal text
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #24 on: September 06, 2014, 02:15:32 PM »
Jeff, I am curious, do you like the flavor of the rind when it is like that, or do you trim it off when you eat the cheese?
Susan

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
  • Posts: 5,015
  • Cheeses: 344
  • Contemplating cheese
Re: My 11th Caerphilly
« Reply #25 on: September 06, 2014, 03:24:48 PM »
Kudos again, my friend.

Looks great from this viewpoint, Jeff. Starting to count on my toes now. 11! Wow!

I see the rind has some depth to it. Have another polished cheese! :)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #26 on: September 06, 2014, 10:30:36 PM »
Hi scasnerkay,

I cut the rind off.  The wild moulds don't taste nice, but they do impart nice flavours to the paste through their activity. 

Boofer, the paste looks good, and has good texture, etc, but I think because this tends to be a young tangy cheese, reflecting the acidic whey and moisture, it doesn't really age as well as it could.  I thought this one was overly dry when I made it, but it appears not.  Has a curious sweetish flavour, slightly sour (but not off tasting) rather than sharp.  I know some cheeses go through a period where they aren't that great, and perhaps this improves again at a longer interval.  I think I'll reserve my caerphilly for short and quick, and will concentrate on other cheddar types for longer aging as that seems to work for me and my set up.  I'm making one of fied's cheshire today.  That ages really nicely.

- Jeff

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #27 on: September 29, 2014, 06:00:40 AM »
Had some of this yesterday, and the flavour is improving quite a bit.  But, while it is getting better I'm still thinking this is better at a young age.  I think my harshness is because I like young caerphilly so much.  If I didn't have that expectation, I'm sure I would be much more pleased.

Offline Boofer

  • Old Cheese
  • *****
  • Location: Lakewood, Washington
  • Posts: 5,015
  • Cheeses: 344
  • Contemplating cheese
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #28 on: September 30, 2014, 01:08:51 PM »
Has a curious sweetish flavour,
Interesting....

My Beaufort #9 has something similar. Part of the reason may be because it doesn't have the level of salting required. It was brined for 12 hours and probably could have used 16. The pH seemed spot on when it went into the brine. Perhaps when I next attempt this I will brine and dry-salt. It's a year old and does have some appeal so it's not a dump candidate. Its best hope may be in cooking or cheese toast.

So I'm assuming that your Caerphilly hit their pH and salting targets, right? What else could possibly account for that sweetish character? Is this a washed curd Caerphilly? ::)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

  • Guest
Re: My 11th Caerphill
« Reply #29 on: September 30, 2014, 08:03:51 PM »
Hi Boofer,

Couldn't tell you about the pH levels (no meter I'm afraid).  But, the make went similar to others.  Undersalting is usually not a problem with caerphilly, so I'm not quite sure.  This is the longest I've aged one out by far, so I've not really go anything to compare to.  Might just be the development trajectory.  I bet if left for a year it would take on a different set of characteristics.  It's improving a lot since I cut it, so I suspect it has something to do with getting air into the bacteria, and now they've entered a different cycle. 

That, or it's magic.