Since the little Caerphilly I made went down so well, I decided to make another Caerphilly for my first ‘big’ cheese, this time following the recipe exactly, with proper cultures and everything.

Everything went perfectly until it came to the waxing; I’d ordered yellow wax, which was described as having no artificial colourings - natural is best, I thought. I forgot that when it melts, uncoloured wax is ....colourless! It was very difficult to see where I had brushed the wax and ended up probably putting it on way too thick in an attempt to make sure the cheese was completely covered with no pinholes.

Next time I think I’ll add a bit of dark green wax I saved from a wedge of shop-bought cheese. And try dipping instead of brushing. And when I buy cheese wax again, I’ll buy a coloured wax.

The photos are the cheese straight out of the press, and after drying, waxing and labelling.

Still struggling with the steep learning curve, but all in all I think I’m pretty chuffed with this cheese!

You should be “chuffed,” whatever that is.  It’s a really good looking wheel of cheese.  This may be a good time to put in another plug for vacuum sealing.  It, too, is clear; but you don’t have the worries of looking for pin holes, too thick or too thin.  And then too, there’s the mess of waxing.  I never did like the waxing process.  But, back to your cheese:  how long are you going to let this one age?  I made one a while ago, and I haven’t decided how long I’m going to age it.  Especially since we’re working our way through a tremendous Gouda at the moment.  Seems like the first one you made you only aged 3 weeks.  I’m assuming that it was very mild?

Very nice looking Cheese !! nothing wrong with thick wax, gives it better protection
Congrats !!

I agree vacuum packing is much easier and less messy than waxing, but a cheese this size (20cm diameter, 7-8cm thick) simply won’t fit into the biggest vacuum bags I can find. And a waxed cheese - once I get the knack of applying it so that I get a nice smooth surface - looks so cool….Once I cut into it, I will probably VP the half we don’t eat immediately, rather than rewaxing.

I was also a bit surprised at how long it took the wax to melt. Add in spreading newspapers and foil everywhere to catch drips, and it was quite a Major Operation. Vacuum packing is certainly much easier.

The baby Caerphilly was three weeks old when I cut into it, and it was lovely - as you say, quite mild, but I’m not really into scary strong cheeses (yet….). There’s still a quarter aging in the cave. I don’t think I’ll be able to wait longer than three weeks for this one, either, though I’m expecting to be able to age some of it longer. It will be interesting to see the difference in taste between plain yoghurt and a proper starter.

As I start building up a store of cheeses in the cave I know I’ll want to move on to types that will age longer (I dream of eating homemade aged Cheddar, and Parmesan….), but as a noobie I’m still at the stage of craving (almost) instant gratification and not being able to wait months and months to savour the results of what I’ve made.

Not sure what order things will work out in, but I’m hoping to try a Cotswold and/or a Sage Derby next, to make the most of the fresh herbs I have coming in. Might also try a faux Boursin with garlic and mixed herbs. On a recent trip to Shikoku I picked up some Orange Salt (it’s got bits of orange peel infused in the salt) which I thought might be good used in a Wendsleydale. Lots of ideas, not enough hours in the day or days in the week ....

(‘Chuffed’ is an informal British colloquialism meaning ‘very pleased’. Definitely an understatement for how I feel about this cheese! It was worth the funny looks I got in the supermarket ordering 16 litres of low-temperature pasteurised milk. I think they’re gonna have to get used to that. )

If you dedicate a pot to the wax then its much easier. I would dip the cheese vertically and rotate quarterly till a nice thickness occurs. You can get a “cooling” type rack and attach strings and dip it horizontally.
Cheese wax washes away with boiling water, be careful on the temp so its not overheated. When their was splashes on the counter i would just wipe it down with hot water and a paper towel.

I used a deep aluminium dish for the wax, and melted only a little more than I thought I would need for the one cheese - being a minimalist miser doesn’t always work out! Still, I tell myself I didn’t fail, I succeeded in learning one way of How Not To Do It! Can’t see myself dedicating any of my current kitchen pots as a wax pot, but I’ll be keeping my eyes open for a suitable cheap pot deep enough and wide enough to hold enough wax for a proper dipping.

I’d read in lots of places about the dangers of overheated wax, so I probably erred too far on the side of caution; the wax was setting on the brush almost before I’d lifted it the couple of inches up to the cheese. I would probably do better with the wax a few degrees hotter.

That’s good to know about wax and boiling water - our drains here clog easily, so I’ll have to be careful not to ‘wash’ any wax away down the kitchen sink.

I cut into the big Caerphilly today - couldn’t wait longer than the minimum 3 weeks!

Verdict - it looks and tastes superb, like a real Caerphilly!!!!
There was a bit of mold under the wax - it turns out I did leave some bits not properly covered. Next time I’ll try dipping instead of brushing.

I cut what we aren’t going to eat just yet into wedges, vacuum packed them and put them back in the cave. I plan on opening one a month or so, to see how the taste develops.

Congrats !!

I like to give my cheese a salt rub before waxing to give it a bit more protection.

I plan on opening one a month or so, to see how the taste develops.

Hahaha famous last words….

After the debacle with the blue nasties (cheese needing to be eaten quickly) and visits from daughter and friend, the final wedge of 8 came out of its vacuum pack this week….so instead of one a month, I managed an average of four a month.

The taste did get a bit sharper towards the end, but I’m not sure if that’s proper aging or latent blue nasties, or even just the vinegar from washing the nasties off.

Still, the first big cheese went down pretty well all told (but we’re not telling about the blue nasties - that’s just between you, me and the forum! ). Will definitely be doing another Caerphilly in the not too distant future - it would be nice to be able to serve a varied cheese board at Christmas.

One a week is not bad.  I’ve noticed with my own cheese, it doesn’t retain it’s “fresh” flavor for too long; so using it up quickly seems to work the best.  Your blocking if off and opening it a smaller bit at a time would be the answer.

If you’re going to have a varied cheese plate for Christmas, you’d better get with it.  Aging time is going to work against you.

There’s already a Sage Derby in the cave that will be well aged by Christmas, plus what’s left of the Double Gloucester and Cotswold (assuming they make it to December). I thought I’d do something with a short aging time; another Caerphilly of course, and perhaps a Wendsleydale in plain, cranberry and orange versions. Those would all be hard cheeses, not really varied, so add in a mozzarella (I’m getting quite good at those) and a cream/soft cheese in plain and herby versions that wouldn’t take any aging time.