I made a small (1 gallon) Lancashire 3 weeks ago, after reading Karen's (MrsKK) posts https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6505.0.html (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,6505.0.html).
I'm rather pleased with it, for just being 3 weeks old. It's moist, and mild. Not quite to room temp when I tasted it, but my taste buds are not working very well right now since I have bronchial pneumonia.
I made 2 more Lancs a couple of weeks ago (2 gallons each, biggest pot I own) that are still in the cave. I'll let them age longer, but just HAD to try this one!
Nice looking cheese Darius , good to know about the aging, my Lancashire is just about 2 1/2 week old.
Mike
Hi darius,
This is one I've been thinking about trying as well. Yours looks like it's turned out very nicely, but all of your cheeses have looked so very good. How does it compare to caerphilly? Do you find them definately different?
- Jeff
Thanks, Mike. This one is nicely edible now @ 3 weeks and I can only assume it will get better, up to about 3 months max.
Jeff, they are quite different in taste. My Caerphilly is dry-ish and a bit crumbly, at least this young; Lanc is moist and softer, slices easily. No really outstanding flavor to either, just a decent table cheese.
very nice effort! Try holding out longer on the others and you will be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks, I sure hope so because I intend to try!
Another success, Darius! I'm happy for you. I can't wait to open mine. I have a Caerphilly & Lancashire I'll be tasting within a week of each other, have to hold off until we get back from vacation but, I'll be thinking about it the whole time. :P
Congrats on another cheese well done! ;D
Looks like a bunch of us jumped on the Lancashire bandwagon recently! Good looking cheese, enjoy!
Question:
I have 2 more Lanc's @ about 2 pounds each, almost 3 weeks old. They are getting a hard-ish rind in my cave. My "cave" is my root cellar and now that it's warming, the temp is rising and the RH dropping. Could I just vac-pak them now, to keep them from drying more? I don't think the temps in the root cellar are too high to put them back in there... yet. Temps seem to be running about 55ºF with surges into the 60's, but the humidity has dropped to around 65%.
That's probably your best bet. Keep an eye on that temp though!
Thanks, I shall!
I was just telling my hubby that your Lancs looks just like my Caerphilly! I've not added any food coloring to any of the cheese, though, so they will all probably look similar. Will you be using your mini-fridge soon or is it going to be "rigged" up first?
The mini wine cooler is now holding all the vac-sealed cheese. It doesn't hold much, being 18 x 18 x 18 outside dimensions.
I have an old refrigerator to rig up, but I may have bought the wrong set-up. I haven't even done anything to even clean it yet, since I have bronchial pneumonia and feel like crap.
Oof! Hope you get better'er & better'er, Darius. I had that a few years ago & I honestly felt like I was dying a few times.
I'm sorry to hear you are so sick, Darius. Definitely take good care of yourself, as a relapse would be much worse than the original illness. Not something to fool around with.
Your Lanc is looking good! I really like it and have been rotating it with Gouda and Havarti since late winter. With a few Mozz's thrown in. It seems to be a good variety of cheeses to satisfy all of our needs, at least for now.
If your Lanc is getting dry, you could put it back in the ripening container or coat it with lard or shortening to help preserve the moisture in it. As it is such a moist cheese to start with, I'm not sure if vac sealing it is a very good idea.
Sailor, what do you think? You're more experienced at this.
If the Lanc is "getting dry" it may be drying out "post make" or could be you need some adjustments early on. Bigger curds = more moisture, etc. Otherwise, I would not let it dry out too much during early aging and vac bag. I don't like the idea of waxing a Lanc because it's a young cheese anyway, so waxing seems like a waste of time. Lard or olive oil would help too.
Sailor,
So, when you've cut it up & decide to let the other half age, for example, it's ok, to just rub it with EVOO (or whatever) & put it back in the cave as is? I just would like a reaffirmation. Would this also work with the other cheeses that aren't "traditionally" waxed?
I personally wouldn't use EVOO on a cut cheese. Might work, but I would not like the potential change to the flavor in the body of the cheese. I would vac bag.
Hi,
I've decided to try and Lancashire today as well. Has just gone into the mold. The make seems to have gone well, so I guess we'll see in a few weeks. I made a caerphilly a couple weeks ago, but I want to age that one for a few months to see how it developes. Also, I've got a Dunlop and a butterkase which will be ready in a week or two, respectively, so there's a lot of cheese comming online these days. Fun stuff!
- Jeff
Hello, all!
I'm back from a much-needed vacation & ready to get back into the smelly world of cheese making again. ;D I'm making Lancashire & Caerphilly again...the last batch of both are gone, I'm happy to report. Thanks to everyone's help & guidance. We opened the Mont Jack & I have to say, I'm disappointed. It tastes more cheddar'y & a bit sour to boot! I'm going to look over my notes & go to the Mont Jack board here to see what's what.
Anyway, it's good to be back & I see I've got a lot of reading to do!
~Steff~
PS. I hope everyone's safe & didn't go through that nasty spate of tornadoes that hit the south. We were driving on the highway & I got to take some photos of that nasty tornado that hit Tuscaloosa. If we'd been 10-15 minutes earlier, we would've been in it!
egads! Glad you are safe. We had 2 tornadoes near me that night, one at 8 miles, 10-15 dead; the closer one @4 miles only had great destruction. Too close for comfort.
Welcome back to the smelly world of cheese! (Sorry about the Jack. :( )
Yes, glad to hear you both are safe! Take care.
- Jeff
yes glad to see that you are both ok
Thanks, it was scary, as I'm sure Steff felt too,