Happy Happy 2013 to all incredible Cheesepalooza Participants!
What a busy month to be making such a big cheese in! Our first big wheel! Bravo! I did make both and have to say that the Caerphilly is hands down our family favourite. However, the cheddar with the chives and annato is delicious, very mild, and a welcome offering. Kudos to all who were able to participate during such a busy festive month! Can you guess what Challenge Six will be? It will be announced tomorrow and you can see it on the above board.
Farmhouse Cheddar
I am so proud of my Farmhouse Cheddar! Tasted it December 24th and was really surprised at how mild the flavour was. It is a nice cheese, but the robust appearance is definitely deceiving!
Dianne at Bar Over V Ranch from Okanogan, Washington USA did not disappoint. Is that not one gorgeous golden globe? She is a regular on our Cheesepalooza Facebook Page and if you make sure you like our page, you will be able to participate in the interesting and meaningful discussions that she and others initiate.
Nic at Nic Cooks from Australia also made the farmhouse with the chives and annato. That is a lovely looking bundle. I cannot wait to hear how it tastes!
I am delighted with my Caerphilly even though it is nothing like the “real” Caerphilly from Wales pictured below that I bought from Everything Cheese this Christmas to compare the flavour profile to the one from our local terrior. Different? Completely! But, I actually liked the one I made better than the “real” one! If you are a lover of the real deal, you will have to go to Wales to make this recipe! That authentic Caerphilly looks gorgeous with the characteristic rind, and colour variations within the cheese. This is a cheese you will know when you see it if you travel through the UK and it is a gorgeous flavour that changes depending upon the age and the part of the cheese you eat!
Below is Ntala’s Caerphilly before the brine.
Ntala at Crazy Mare Ranch from Barrhead Alberta Canada made Caerphilly and above is her finished product wrapped in cloth! Read all about how she did it. Humorous photos to boot!
Simona at Briciole from Northern California has also made Caerphilly as well as her Farmhouse Cheddar, above. A few times; actually 3 times: twice waxed and once without wax. The waxed versions came out better. I would like her to do this again with a much more detailed post including step by step photos as her Caerphilly is the closed to the original that I have ever seen made in a terrior so different than that of Wales.
Happy New Year to all cheese makers! You put me in the mood to try adding some chives to my next cheese. I will try again to make Caerphilly, wax it and see what happens. Thank you so much Valerie for your roundup. My best wishes to you and all for a peaceful, productive 2013.
Happy New Year to you all too! I look forward to our cheese making adventures for 2013 as we are getting to the chapters of the book I haven’t started on yet 🙂
I am in awe of all of these beautiful cheeses. Just gorgeous and so delicious. I applaud of the efforts in cheese making.
Happy New Year, Valerie!
That is quite a wheel of cheese!
I just really look forward to all these blogs about cheese making. It is so wonderful to see such great cheese!!! Good job!!!!
Happy New Year!
Dianne
Just wanted to say that I stumbled upon your website purely by chance but as a very proud Caerphilly born and bred Taffy (Welsh person!) loved the effort and comments about Caerphilly Cheese, well done guys we’re very proud of our Cheese and our Castle and its lovely to see its appreciated so far afield.
OMG all the cheese look amazing. I want to try them all. My post coming soon.