Playing with Caerphilly Recipes

[darius]

Jeff, this thyme caerphilly has taken on more of a yellow hue too, but not as pronounced as your Sage Wenslydale.

It has lost 84g in 2 days of drying on the counter, and will go into the 'cave' today. (Weight now is 483g.) According to Dixon's recipe, I should have let it dry at a lower temp (55ºF) as opposed to the room temp of around 70º. I just forgot!

[JeffHamm]

Hi Darius,

Interesting that even the herbs alone produce a slight colour change.  I take that as a good sign that it will ensure the flavour is throughout the whole cheese.  I know when I added the sage tea, the curds did smell of sage (or, maybe it was the sage leaves in the cup?  Nah, it was the cheese I'm sure! ).

Might have some friends over this comming weekend to try the caerphilly. 

- Jeff

[darius]

Yesterday I started another 2 gallon batch, with some slight variations in the timing. I'm not a bit happy with the knit, but I think that's because the curds cooled too much while I was fiddling with my apparently now defunct gram scale to measure the salt! I added some lemongrass for flavor.

[JeffHamm]

Hi darius,

That should be a nice one.  And, certainaly not the worst knit I've seen, so you should be ok.  The salt in the cheese should retard mold anyway.  If you have some wax, I would suggest waxing 1/2 of this one and the thyme one, and age them out to 3 or 4 months.  I have the sneaky suspicion that the herbed ones will really take off with some extra aging. 

- Jeff

[darius]

Jeff, I actually had some mold develop on the thyme wheel in the cave, but raw apple cider vinegar made short work of it. It had salt added before pressing, and then a soak in 18% brine, too. That one was made from just 1 gallon of milk so I may not want to wax half when I do cut it... depends on how it tastes! This one from 2 gallons will be fine to split.

No one to share my cheese with anyway. I live in a house with my sister and her 23 year old daughter; my sister eats individually-wrapped Kraft singles, if that tells you anything.

[JeffHamm]

Hi darius,

I was giving the caerphillies a wipe with brine, or surface salting and then wiping them with the brine that forms 12 hours later, a few times a week.  That's probably what helped keep the mold in check then. 

Hmm, cheese slices, eh?  I've made a cheese called "Butterkase" (German for Butter Cheese), which is supposed to be very mild, and good in things like grilled cheese sandwhiches, etc (i.e. mild, moist, and melts).  I've only just made it this past weekend, but it should be ready in 3 or 4 weeks.  It's not a difficult make, slightly easier than caerphilly as it doesn't have the stacking and milling, although it does include washing the curds but that's fairly easy to do (drain some whey and add hot water in with the curds).  When I taste it I'll report on it, and it may be one that you might like to try out as it may be one your sister will enjoy?  Also, do a search on "Dunlop" cheese.  It's a fast ripening cheddar type of cheese, that again, is probably no more difficult than caerphilly. 

- Jeff

[darius]

Jeff, I've been considering a Butterkase since one of my online garden buddies recommended it... and I did see yours posted on here too.

My sister is a lost cause. We do not get along and I suspect she wouldn't eat anything I prepared out of fear I might poison her accidentally with some food I have prepared. Besides, she simply doesn't eat much or often, for the most part. She's 5'6" tall and only 83 pounds. She gets her daily calories from rum and OJ.

I'm still tweaking the caerphilly, but expect more progress once I can actually taste them! Every one I have made (5 so far) has been different in some part of the make, whether the starter, temp., pressing, salt/brine... but I am keeping decent notes for the taste tests.

[Brie]

Your cheese looks great! One note of caution about adding herbs/spices--less is better, especially with the longer aging cheeses. I have a few horror stories of Edam with Fennel Pollen and Havarti with dill that permeated not only the cheese, but the entire house when I opened them. Too much of a good thing--not so good 

[darius]

Thanks, Brie. I have read many of your posts and respect your advice. 

I'm nowhere ready to try any long aged cheese yet. Just trying to get the basics understood for now, and if something turns out edible, well that's a plus.

[JeffHamm]

I hear you darius.  I'll let you know how the butterkase turns out. 

- Jeff

[darius]

I just cut into my very first Caerphilly, made 3½ weeks ago. Surprisingly, it's not as salty as I imagined it would be, after cutting the recipe in half and forgetting to cut the salt in half!

The cut made with a serrated knife shows lots of small voids, yet the smaller pieces I cut with a wire (but not all the way through before the handle broke) looks much better.

The next one I did with thyme is covered in a blue mold; I haven't been out to the root cellar (where I have them in a plastic bin) in 3 days to check them because I've been sick. I have done no blues so it isn't from another cheese, but wonder if I should leave it or wash it off with vinegar?

[darius]

Oh, the first Caerphilly (from 1 gallon of milk) lost 193g in the cave and now weighs 471g.

[JeffHamm]

That looks really good darius!  Much fewer holes than in mine for sure.  Glad to hear that it isn't as salty as you feared.   How is it interms of dryness/creaminess?  As I recall, you cut this one right at floculation.  Very pleased that it's turned out ok for you.  As for the blue mold, apparently it's everywherei in the wild.  It might make a good blue so if you like blue, give it a go.  Just distance it from the others.

- Jeff

[darius]

Jeff, I should have let it come to room temp and taste again before vac-packing it to age longer, so I cannot really speak to creaminess/dryness. I'd say a little dry, though.

I'm thinking to let the blue stay, just need a separate container!

[JeffHamm]

If you want the blue to penetrate the cheese, you'll have to poke holes in it (blue mold needs air to grow). 

How long are you going to age your caerphillies?

- Jeff