Made this 7lb Caerphilly, intended for sale in 2 months. Looking good for now. Time will tell...
7lbs. -- I'm envious! The largest cheese I've made was a bit under 6 lbs, and I had to use two pots. I'm curious about the make: Which recipe did you follow? Did you wind up with a good knit? (Not to be rude, but the first picture looks a little crumbly!) What was the max weight/pressure you used to press it, and what size of mold?
Amiriliano, a cheese for your efforts! :)
I made a six pound Caerphilly late last April using 6 gallons of vat pasteurized cream top milk. Info and "cheese porn" at https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,14584.msg110785.html#msg110785 (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,14584.msg110785.html#msg110785). I had a bit of a problem with too rapid a pH drop. The cheese turned out OK but not one of my favorites as it was a bit too tart for my taste. I've got a bit of it left in a vacuum bag and should try it and see how it tastes now. In fact, I'll do it in a few minutes and report back.
Ugh! I just tasted my Caerphilly. (See above). The "foretaste" was fine, the paste had yellowed but the aftertaste was unpleasant with a lingering bitterness! :o I've off to get a piece of chocolate to get rid of it.
How will you be selling it?? I have long thought that if I were to be able to do commercial that a caerphilly type would be on the list. I have made that variety of cheese more than any other, and it remains very popular among family and friends. I think I would want to give it a different name however!
Susan, where are you taking your Caerphillys to pH wise?
I target 5.6 for salting. I will make a posting of the latest one I opened....
Sorry for the late response - been way.
@awake: I used 35lbs (haven't figured out the PSI) on a dutch press. I do think the knit is too loose and I am worried that it will crumble too much at 2 months. I think my mistake is in overcooking the curds. Caldwell recommends a dry curd but according to Little Green Cheese, they should be water. I think if I cooked them less, the knit would be tighter, although I wonder what that would do to the pressed pH and the final flavor profile.
Any thoughts?
35 lbs at the cheese, or 35 lbs at the end of the lever? If the former, that seems way too little for a 7 lb cheese; if the latter, how much mechanical advantage does the press give?
Here's my press (a masterpiece by QDog!)
Lever arm length is 25"
The post that hangs down and presses on the follower (don't know the name) is positioned at 9.5" from the fulcrum.
I hang dumbbell weights at the tip of the lever arm.
It's been a long time since physics...
Thanks for helping
-Emi
Looks like a gymnastics studio... How do you have a place to make cheese there?
Ha! So weird right?
First, sorry my photos are sideways.
So I'm not actually in a gymnasium, I'm in a kitchen whose wall is shared with a gym. The wall is glass. I have to work out of a commercial kitchen to be able to sell it.
Your laws there must be more easy than ours in California if the only requirement is a commercial kitchen!! Lucky for you!
There's more. I had to get approved by the Pennsylvania department of Agriculture first and any milk I use is considered "raw" (even if I use pasteurized milk), unless I I pasteurize it on site. This means that any cheese I make must be aged a minimum of 60 days and have a moisture level of less than 32%
Okay, your MA (mechanical advantage) = total lever length / fulcrum length = 25 / 9.5 = 2.63. So the amount of force applied to your cheese was 35 * 2.63 = 92 lbs. PSI depends on the surface area of the mold used. Let's say you used an 8" diameter mold; surface area = pi * r^2 = 3.14 * 16 = 50.27 square inches. So PSI = 92 / 50 = 1.84 PSI.
I have gotten a decent knit in Caerphilly with PSI in that vicinity, but that still seems on the low side to me ...
Thanks Andy! Extremely helpful. Is it possible the poor knit is from overdried curds?
Emi, keep the pin back as far as you can, that increases your M/A -----pretty sure I had at least a hundred pounds on the lever----you know this old age memory thing----didn't that press have hookups for the pulley setup?
Qdog
Hey QDog. Yep, you have a bar for a pulley at the bottom. I don't think I need it right now. I can't imagine I need much more than 90-100lbs at this point. In fact, too much pressure might cause protein and fat leakage so I want to avoid that if I can.
Dryness of curds can be a factor, as well as temperature. As an example of the latter, my swiss or parma type makes are much drier curds than the cheddars, but because they go into the press at a much higher temperature, they knit at much lower pressure than the cheddars. As an example of the former, as I mentioned before, I have had good knits in Caerphilly at around 1.5 psi (60 lbs applied to a 7" diameter mold). But I've also had Caerphillies that needed a good bit more to knit properly, presumably because I got the curds drier, or cooler, or both ...
Makes sense. Ambient temperature probably makes a difference as well while pressing. I've made 2 Caerphillies before that had a slightly open knit and they're pretty delicious. It gives them a slightly crumbly texture, which may not be true to the style but not a detractor.
Ok - second 7lb wheel. This time added 10lb more and cooked the curds a bit less. Knit is better, but needs a little more weight I think.
I agree, still looks kinda open. But hey, the only thing that really matters is the taste!
(That was a hint -- hoping for a taste report!)
Will do. January 19th!
5 weeks in at 90% RH and 55F
Is this one you're taking out to 60 days as a test?
That's the plan
@Stinky: why? Does something look off to you?
Quote from: amiriliano on December 20, 2015, 12:48:08 AM
@Stinky: why? Does something look off to you?
Nah. Just curious. Normally I'd have eaten that by then.
Did you let the humidity get too high at any point?
Yep. Which is why the natural rind is more like a natural zoo. I have it under control now. It's been brushed and treated with brine+ vinegar and looking much better.
The second one with the more closed rind looks better.
I'm learning.
Update:
60 days in I cracked it open: delicious! Very creamy and unique. Probably need more salt (I added 1% of milled curd weight).
Well done! AC4U.
Thanks Andy
Good looking rind. I'm jealous. Have a cheese on me. :D
Thanks. It's the mycodore Choozit LY 5 D. Works great though takes about 2 weeks to bloom.