This is the Caerphilly approx. that I had ready to post only to have my cat Cotton delete it so I went on to other things. However the cheese turned out great so I thought I'd go back and document it.
2nd Caerphilly Chived (Mary Karlin’s recipe with toasted chives added to curd before pressing)
Ingredients
2 gal. whole cow’s milk
¼ tsp. MA 4001
¼ tsp. TA 061 (substituted for Aroma B)
½ tsp. CaCl diluted in ¼ cup cool non-chlorinated water
½ tsp. single-strength calf rennet (diluted as above)
1 Tbs. fresh chives, toasted
2 qts. Med. Heavy brine
Making
Sprinkled DVI starters, re-hydrated 5 min. and stirred in
Let ripen 1 hr. holding 90 deg.
Added CaCl, gently stirring for 1 min.
Added rennet, gently stirring for 1 min.
Covered and maintained 90 deg.
Clean-break @ 55 min.
Cut curds in ½” pieces; let sit for 5 min.
Stirring, increased heat to 95 deg. over 20 min.
Turned off heat and let curds rest 45 min.
Draining / Pressing / Aging
Drained whey
Transferred curds to cloth-lined 6” polycarbonate mold; let drain 5 min
Added top cloth and follower; pressed at 8 lbs. for 30 min.
Flipped and redressed cheese and pressed at 10 lbs. for 12 hr.
Placed in birne for 8 hrs., flipping once
Removed cheese from brine, dried with paper towel
Air-dried for 2 hr. (recipe calls for 24 hrs. but I prefer a softer rind).
Ripened at 55F and 85%RH
Washed every other day with b Linens in salt solution for 2 weeks*
*recipe calls for allowing a natural “dry” rind but I wanted to try the wash
Aged for 7 weeks
I would have aged it another month but I had a friend come by on his 70th birthday so decided to cut it. The b. Linens wash kept almost all other molds at bay (I was out of town for over a week) and definitely provided it's aroma effect. As you can see in the last picture it had a very soft paste and (aside from the color and taste) an almost undetectable rind, perhaps due in part with the short air drying period. Mary Karlin likens Caerphilly to cheescake and this one came closest to that consistancy and look than the first ones.