My Third Caerphilly

[darius]

Jeff, I'm now seeing a bit of bitter aftertaste in some of the first cheeses I made Feb-Mar, when I only had first Junket, and then Marschall tabs before I got some liquid calf rennet. Of course, that's my excuse... it may be something else entirely! The Caerphilly makes didn't have any bitterness at 2 months, but some at 3 months.

[JeffHamm]

Hi darius,

Interesting.  Looking at my notes, I used 0.6 ml of rennet, for 10 L, and I know the packaging says to use 0.7 ml (but that tends to set too quick).  Bitterness is supposed to be due to over doing the rennet, but I would think I'm erring on the side of caution.  Mine is a vegetarian rennet, and I've not picked up calf rennet yet.  I'm hoping the gouda I've been aging isn't going to be overly bitter then (it's almost 8 months now, and I'm hoping to take it out to the end of November or early December, when my parents come to see the new baby). 

Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences too. 

- Jeff

[darius]

Jeff... I've been thinking about this 'bitter aftertaste', and your comments. Now I remember my early makes flocced (is that a word? LOL) very quickly, so I knew I used too much rennet, even as I kept cutting down. Hard to control when cutting tablets.

I haven't made any cheese for two months, and probably cannot for another month... but I sure am anxious to get back to it and explore some of my thoughts!

BTW, I see Gavin (of the Caerphilly recipe) has a new cheese-only site.

[JeffHamm]

Mine "floced" ok in about 12 minutes on this make, so I'm pretty sure I've not over done it.  It could just be sharpness in the rind etc combined with some vinegar, etc.  Generally, it's a good cheese, and it's only a hint of something.  So, I could just be looking for worries?  Anyway, thanks for the heads up on Gavin's cheese site.  Will have to check it out.

- Jeff