Caerphilly is now the "House Cheese", it is a nice quick cheese that everyone likes. The last one turned out so well I'll repeat as close as I can.
10 litres of Milk
1/8 tsp of Calcium Chloride diluted in ¼ cup of de-chlorinated water.
the culture will be ½ dose of MO 030 and ½ dose of Flora Danica.
Mad millies vege rennet .2 t .5 ml per litre instead of ½ tablet of rennet diluted in ¼ cup of de-chlorinated water. ½ a tsp = ½ a tablet so I'll see where that takes us. Actually was a little over ½ tsp and my scales are +- 1 gram so a high 4 gram just turning 5 should be good.
2 tabs of Cheese salt.
This time I'll use a full Flora Danica dose
9:05 – 16 C
9:15 added Calcium Chloride.
Last time
heating the milk start temperature 17OC the target is 32OC and as this has a 1 degree temp change I'll pull the pots off at 3 degrees shy of 30 because as the bath will increase the temp to 33 without further addition of heat.
This time I'll attempt the same as it seemed to work last time well.
9:30 26 C
a couple of minutes before adding the culture I will prep the Flora Danica this time by adding it to a ¼ cup of the milk a minute or so before adding to the main batch.
9:56 Added Culture.
Last Time:
added the Cultures and temp hovering nicely @32C. Needs 30 minutes to ripen, using the Flora Danica will acidify the milk nicely.
This Time:
I added the pre-prepared full dose of Flora Danica at the same temperature and let ripen for 30 minutes at 32C.
Added Rennet
Last Time:
Mad millies vege rennet .2 t .5 ml per litre instead of ½ tablet of rennet diluted in ¼ cup of de-chlorinated water. ½ a tsp = ½ a tablet so I'll see where that takes us. Actually was a little over ½ tsp
I didn't weigh the rennet this time and just measured using the mini teaspoon measures.
Flocculation Time: 18 minutes – Needed more rennet therefore 54 minutes setting time.
Curd cutting time @ 11:40.
That isn't too far removed from the setting time of 40 minutes in the recipe.
11:35 Curd Cutting time.
Stirred gently @ 33OC for 40 minutes and let rest for 5 minutes. As there is no additives in this I'm saving the Whey to make ricotta at the end of the day. Time for a bite for lunch before the cheddaring process.
Sounds like it's all going to plan! Caerphilly is a great cheese.
- Jeff
Hi Jeff - Yes it is.
The rig is a simple one where I use a cleaned glass board over a sink of hot water on one side of the double sink and the press setup on the other. This way I can keep the curds warm and hopefully a better knit.
1:18 Drain into a colander lined with Cheese cloth, saving the whey this time for ricotta.
Cheddaring processing the same as last time and the curds are still @33C . With the lid over the curds and the hot water below the temperature is maintained pretty close to 33C.
Turn the slices over twice in 10 minutes. The whey should just be dribbling out at this stage.
After the cheddaring the slices will have started to firm up. Break into thumbnail size pieces and blend with the salt.
Getting the press ready and calculating the weights and distances.
Weights are
.75Kg @ 60cm for 10lbs (5Kg)
1.5Kgs @ 70cm.
2kg @ 80 for 25lbs
Dressing procedure
1. Press for 10 minutes @ 10 lbs. Remove from the mould rub salt in the top and the bottom redress .
2. Press again with 10 lbs for 10 minutes.
3. Repeat and re-press @ 18Lbs for 20 minutes.
4. Unmould re-salt and redress and press again @ 25lbs for 16 hours. On the press I am using .75kg @ 60cm and 1.5kg @ 70 cm which gives me 8Kg at the cheese and 2kg @ 80 for 25lbs.
Pressed for 16 hours and removed the cheese cloth to reveal a wonderfully close knit outer with a nice moist feel and still getting clear whey in the drip tray. So, I hope that means I haven't over pressed? The pressed weight was 1204g from 10 litres. I used a Floc multiplier of 3 on a floc time of 18 minutes. Any suggestions on the effect on the moisture content or is the floc mulitplier the governing factor to help standardise for the differing types and concentrations. I might have under measured the rennet to give a longer floc time but still used a 3 multiplier to determine the cuting time.
When I get the photos done I'll add them the postings at each stage.
:P
-- Mal
Hi Mal,
My understanding is that final moisture content is based upon many things, but two of them are the floc mutliplier and the size you cut the curds. The idea behind using the floc multiplier is that it corrects for things like using a bit less rennet this time, etc. So, since you would have done everything else more or less the same as before, your sticking to the floc times have helped maintain consistancy with your other makes despite using less rennet (you made up for it by giving it more time to work).
Your final out of press weight is similar to what I get from 10 L. My last was 1310g. The difference could be moisture, difference in milk, etc. It sounds like a spot on make to me.
- Jeff
This cheese is progressing well and @ 2 weeks is weighing in at 990g (from a 10 litre make). There is a little mould action happening but a quick wipe with brine and a tooth brush in the gaps and holes soon brough that under control.
This is looking good from here and time to make another next week, to keep the 'mice' happy.
-- Mal
Nice. I've got a caerphilly make under way right now.
-Jeff
Im just getting the 'Stirring' part of a Stirred Curd Cheddar today. I find my self making these and Caerphilly but I never get to eat any Cheddar, they disappear as gifts about the 2 month mark :) . The Caerphilly is looking good after I cleaned it up. Let it air dry on both sides before putting it to bed for another couple of weeks. I seem to get the best taste and feel profile after 4 weeks. Not that I get to savour it for long as it gets eaten soon after opening :)
-- Mal
Just thought I'd adda few images of a nearly eaten cheese only because it shows the rind proportion and mechanical holes I get in my Caerphilly. This was cut at the 3 and a half week mark and is a wonderful creamy taste with nice sharp edge to it and a just moist yet slightly crumbly texture.
This really is a nice cheese and very much our house favourite.
--Mal