I need a cheese teacher.....

[OzzieCheese]

Thanks that people like this.. Up until the cooking phase, which for Caerphilly is relativly short, this could be any number of cheeses.  You can even play with the previous steps to lengthen the ripening time for example - to increase the overall acid. Or larger cut the curds to retain more moisture, or increase the Cooking Temperature. Or change the stirring time. All these change the texture and moisture content of the cheese.  Let's not over complicate things with too many details.  After re-reading the Technology of Cheesemaking it amazes me that cheese ever occured - But it did and quite nicely without a lot of orchestration and fuss.
     
Ok Back to Caerphilly.  And where our journey to this cheese take a different road than say a Colby...

Cheddar is a name of a cheese but it is also a process name to texture the curd mass. I'll copy from the link and hope it makes sense.

The next step is a mini ‘Cheddaring’.  This helps to drain the whey and increase the ph of the curd mass.
The rig is a simple one where I use a cleaned glass board over a sink of hot water on one side of the double sink and the press setup on the other.  This way I can keep the curds warm and hopefully a better knit.
Drain for 5 minutes into a colander lined with Cheese cloth, saving the whey this time for ricotta.   While still in the colander maintain the 33-34 C temperature by covering the curd mass. 
After draining cut the mass into 2 inch slabs and I turn them out onto the warmed glass board.
The aim of the Cheddaring processing is to maintain the curds at 33-34 C. With the lid over the curds and the hot water below the temperature is maintained pretty close to 33-34 C.  Turn the slices over twice in 10 minutes.  The whey should just be dribbling out at this stage.

There are again so many variations on how this is done. There are pH markers in some recipes but the main aim is to help the curds loose whey and generate acid. As a general note the more whey you remove from the curd either by washing in the previous cooking phase or pressing - the less lactose you have available in the cheese to to make lactic acid.  And again, a general comment, the more acid to longer maturing time and longer storage potential.

So, this step, is bascially 'Cheddaring' the curds, but lot as long as a Cheddar. Confused ??  This step can be as long as two - three hours for a real Cheddar though for a Caerphilly is much shorter.  The process "Syneresis - the expulsion of a fluid from a gel" is being helped by the weight of the curds.  Believe it or not this process is a physical characteristic of the curd matrix we actually started back when we first cut the curd.  Try and keep the curd mass warm 33-34 DegC would be nice, as this aids the process and continues the acid production at a good rate.

The curds and the end of this should feel firm and some have likened it to cooked chicked breast, with just a hint of whey still coming out of the curds. There is nice picture in G.C's book.

We're nearly there.....

-- Mal
 

 

[OzzieCheese]

Ok time for the final phase... Milling and pressing.  This is a Caerphilly and trick - i feel here - is to not let the Cheddaring stage take too much time 2 flips over the 10 minute period (just firms the curds up a little) and make sure the curds don't cool down too much.

Milling is the breaking of the slabs into thumbnail size pieces.  Now remember that there will be alot of whey still in the curds so while you need to break them into even pieces, dont' squeeze them too much because it is the resulting acid buildup, from the remaining whey, in the pressing phase that gives this cheese it's tang.  I place my smaller cheese vat back into the larger pot as the water should still be warm - but don't reheat it as you dont want to overcook the curds. I then mill the slabs into this vat as it keeps the curds warm. 

Now you can go the Brining way - I don't as I haven't learnt the art of timing how long. The timings and concentrations in recipes I have used always result in too much salt.  But feel free to experiment, there are no wrong ways - just different.

Once you have completed the milling stage add 1/2 the salt evenly and mix through gently.  Put the lid on for a couple of minutes to 'Mellow' - letting the salt dissolve a little into the curds.  You will loose salt to the whey being expelled but that why you have kept 1/2 of it in reserve.  If you are brining your cheese don't add the extra 1/2 as it will be aborbed in the brine.

Caerphilly normally has a natural rind but if your goal is to vac pak the cheese then I would add the remaining salt before placing it in the hoop to press and you will need almost double the weights listed below to get it to knit with the add internal salt added.

Otherwise I follow this Pressing and Dressing procedure

Place a clean cheescloth into the form you are going to use for pressing. The curds should still be warm so you will need to get the first two pressings while still warm.  Remember the cheese is supposed to have an open texture so this pressing should nicely close the rind while incorporating the remaining salt.   

1.   Press for 10 minutes @ 10 lbs.  Remove from the mould rub some of the remaining salt - you will need to do this three time so dont go too heavy on the salt -  to the top, bottom and sides  - redress and put back in the press.  You will need some 'swinging room' as you will need to work quickly and the cheese will not be totally knit at the moment.

2.   Press again with @10 lbs. for 10 minutes. Repeat the salting as well.
3.   Repeat and re-press @ 15 lbs. for 20 minutes.  Repeat the salting as well.
4.   Unmould NO salt - and redress and press again @ 25 lbs. for 16 hours.  The wamer your pressing area is to around the 20-23 degC mark the better the knit will be.

Remember not to overpress the cheese that is not the aim here as there needs to be sufficient moisture in the cheese to finish the final pH change. 

The Secret --- don't expect a cheddar 'cos it's not.

Please ask any question if there is anything you feel needs further explanation.

-- Mal