Made a small Caerphilly (from 1 gallon of milk) 6 days ago and this morning I see that it has developed a small crack (on the surface it was sitting on. Still very new to cheese making (I tend to make squeaky curds and feta cheese but this is my second attempt at Caerphilly (the first was fine). What might be the cause of this cracking? Thanks
same thing happened to me with a parmesan, that cracked after a few hours in the brine. Resouces suggested that the brine was too acidic, and it was the case, but the damage was done. Now I make my best to make sure mold does not make its way inside the cheese: i let the rind dry a age for 3 weeks, then vacuum- packed
could it be a lack of pressing? Was the bottom of your cheese elevated to let air circulate? When cheese is older, cracks can also appear when RH is too low.
This happens to me fairly often but it is not a major problem.
As falinna suggests, it is probably due to low humidity. This causes the outside of the cheese to dry faster than the inside so that it shrinks and cracks.