My first Caerphilly

[Crystal]

Love that yours turned out so well... But, can you explain what you did in the brine? The make i used said nothing about that... just curious, as mine is already made and drying in the cave!

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I tend to eat it young, meaning cutting it at 3 to 4 weeks.   The longest I've aged one is 3 months.  I don't think it's intended for long aging, so probably 2 months would be "mature"?  Six weeks probably teenager? ;)

- Jeff

[Cloversmilker]

Your Caerphilly looks beautiful!  How much do your wheels weigh?

I've waxed Caerphilly and then aged for 3 months.  They are best when first opened, tasting like a young cheddar.  They seem to dry and the flavor fades if not eaten quickly though. 

[Crystal]

right, so i wont age mine all that long then i suppose!

[JeffHamm]

Hi Crystal,

There are a few variations on caerphilly, some include salting the curds (the one I tend to use) and some brine after pressing (as in this thread's make).  The first time I made caerphilly I got confused and salted the curd and brined it!  It was, not too surprising, very salty and very mould free :) 

- Jeff

[fied]

The double brining made me smile! Traditionally, Caerphilly is very salty, though modern varieties are less so. The reason often given is that coal miners in the valleys sweated a lot when working underground and needed the quick replacement of salt the cheese provided.

[Vina]

Crystal,

as Jeff already answered, I didn't salt curds directly, but kept my wheels in brine for 24 h.

Your Caerphilly looks beautiful!  How much do your wheels weigh?

Thanks! I made 5 small wheels, about 500 - 600 grams

[mightyjesse]

These look great! I think I'll put some on my to-do list. How does the flavor compare to say... A lancashire? Anyone know?

[Vina]

These look great! I think I'll put some on my to-do list. How does the flavor compare to say... A lancashire? Anyone know?

sorry, no idea :) hope someone will answer this.

[JeffHamm]

Hi mightyjesse,

Caerphilly tends to have a sour tang to it, which mellows as it ages.  It also tends to be salty, although perhaps not as salty as it used to be as fied has pointed out.  Personally, I quite like the sourness (which is not overly strong) and find it is the primary taste that defines caerphilly for me.  Lancashire does not have this flavour profile, at least none of the ones I've made have.  It's also often a crumbly cheese, so a high acidity is targeted during the make.

I've made a caerphilly where I cheddared it a bit longer, and pressed a bit heavier, and it turned out very nicely.  At first I thought perhaps it had less of the tang to it, but I later decided it was there just fine.  The increased cheddaring and such influenced the texture in positive way.  Dave has made a version where he cuts the curds a bit larger and waits longer before cutting (4x floc I think), and he found this produced a very nice moist cheese with great melthing properties, and still had the taste of caerphilly.

It's a quick cheese to make, and it is ready to eat in a couple weeks.  It does improve, and though I cut mine at 3 weeks, I do note that it improves as I'm eating it over a few weeks, so probably it's best at somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks.  But I recommend trying it at different time points to find what you like best.

- Jeff

[dthelmers]

These look great! I think I'll put some on my to-do list. How does the flavor compare to say... A lancashire? Anyone know?

Saltier for one thing; also a brighter taste. Sour, but sour like cream cheese; some have described it as lemony. I make it regularly and it always goes quickly as a snacking cheese. Less diacetyl than Lancashire.

[JeffHamm]

That's a good description Dave.  Indeed, the "sour" that I mention is not intended to imply a  bad flavour at all.  It's one of my favorite cheeses.  In fact, I've just finished off my last one and will have to make another fairly soon.

- Jeff 

[Crystal]

right, got the brining comment, thanks guys!