Author Topic: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold  (Read 4010 times)

Offline awakephd

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My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« on: June 10, 2014, 03:51:49 PM »
Here are some pictures of my second Caerphilly, out of the press and starting to dry. Also shown is my new home-made mold. I made this Caerphilly using 3 gallons of milk, and didn't have a mold large enough. I did, however, have this sturdy HDPE plastic container on hand. I drilled holes and cut some followers out of cheap Walmart cutting boards, and voila! I was afraid it wouldn't stand up to the press, but so far it has worked well. I don't care for the conical shape, but the price was right. :)

For this Caerphilly I'm using the recipe that Jeff Hamm has posted a couple of times -- 90 degrees F incubation, cook to 92 degrees, hold 40 minutes, then cheddar for 10 - 30 minutes (I did 20 minutes). I was pushed for time due to an unexpected meeting that I had to go to, so my pressing procedure was not entirely what it should have been; that may account for the fact that the top and bottom came out with a not quite closed knit -- or it may be that I just need to press at a higher weight. The sides, however, are nicely closed.

I'll update in 3-4 weeks to report on the taste, and how it compares to the Caerphilly made using the 200 Easy Recipes book.
-- Andy

JeffHamm

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2014, 06:52:53 PM »
That looks pretty good!  Increase in the weight and keep the curds warm by putting the mould in a pot in the sink with hot water while pressing (for the first hour or two) will help the knit.  I've been trying to make some smaller homemade moulds, but every time I try to drill through the plastic the container splits.   

- Jeff

Offline awakephd

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2014, 10:53:18 PM »
Yes, the first hour or two of pressing was definitely problematic -- as I said, I had an unexpected meeting, so I had just enough time to throw it in the press and dash off, returning nearly two hours later. Ah, well -- it is not too bad, and since it will be eaten in just a few weeks, it will hopefully do just fine.

The plastic in this container was definitely of a better quality than most. I don't recall what came in it, or where we got it; the lid disappeared years ago, and yet it remained in our storage container cabinet all this time, very annoying and in the way. Now, of course, I'm glad it was still there!

Based on the make yesterday and the Lancashire that is in the mold today, this mold seems to be just about the right size for a 3-gallon make. In terms of pots that I have available, I could possibly increase to 3.5 or maybe even 3.75 gallons, but if I do that, I'll have to find something just a bit larger -- the final product would fit, but getting all the curds into the mold to begin pressing would be problematic.
-- Andy

Offline Schnecken Slayer

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2014, 07:58:18 PM »
Jeff, you should try using a cone or stepped drill. They are much easier to use for sheet metal and plastic.

-Bill
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JeffHamm

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2014, 11:08:19 PM »
Those might be worth a try! Thanks Schnecken Slayer.

Offline awakephd

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2014, 11:46:52 PM »
If you try this, make sure to set a depth stop -- it is far too easy to pop through the plastic and drill the next higher size. Use a sharp bit at the highest rpm you can go.
-- Andy

Offline awakephd

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2014, 04:27:01 PM »
The Caerphilly is only 3 weeks old, but I'm out of cheese, so ...

This one, made to Jeff's recipe, came out a good bit different than my first Caerphilly (made according to 200 Easy Cheeses) in texture -- the latter was much more moist and crumbly; this one is much drier. Nonetheless, I can see the resemblance in taste, though I (intentionally) cut back on the saltiness of this one. And of course, this one is a bit younger than when I opened the first one. I waxed one half to age a bit more, and am well on my way to consuming the other half. :)
-- Andy

Offline H-K-J

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #7 on: July 01, 2014, 10:29:10 PM »
great looking Caerphilly awakphd  :)
A cheese for you  ;D
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Offline awakephd

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2014, 01:16:19 AM »
Thanks!
-- Andy

JeffHamm

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2014, 02:14:35 AM »
Looks good!  A cheese to you! 

You can influence the moisture by how vigorous you stir, by the floc mutliplier (bigger = moister), the size you cut to (larger = moister), and how much handling during the milling/salting stage.  Tweak some of the parameters to get the protocol to produce the characteristics you want.  Also, I find that sometimes the result is dry one time and moist the next - just random variation.

- Jeff

Stu

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2014, 03:47:04 AM »
I've been trying to make some smaller homemade moulds, but every time I try to drill through the plastic the container splits.

I have just been using a cheap soldering iron (I call it my Harbor Freight Special, but I'm not sure if that means anything to anyone outside of Utah). I was initially worried about the plastic dripping or poking inside, and having to clean that up, but so far it hasn't been a problem. The plastic sort of clings to the iron's tip, and falls off on the outside of the mold.

Just make sure to have plenty of ventilation. Melty plastic smells awful.

jwalker

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2014, 03:40:02 PM »
I've been trying to make some smaller homemade moulds, but every time I try to drill through the plastic the container splits.

I have just been using a cheap soldering iron (I call it my Harbor Freight Special, but I'm not sure if that means anything to anyone outside of Utah). I was initially worried about the plastic dripping or poking inside, and having to clean that up, but so far it hasn't been a problem. The plastic sort of clings to the iron's tip, and falls off on the outside of the mold.

Just make sure to have plenty of ventilation. Melty plastic smells awful.

Same here , I made a couple of molds , and used a round tip soldering iron , fast and easy , and the excess plastic seems to form around the outside of the hole , so the mold stays nice and smooth on the inside.

JeffHamm

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Re: My second Caerphilly and a new home-made cheese mold
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2014, 07:11:58 PM »
Soldering iron!  That's the ticket.  I was thinking of using a blowtorch to heat up a nail, which would be held by pliers, but that all felt very awkward.