I have donned my pinny and greeted the locals with what I hope is a welcoming smile.
I have taken deliveries from the butcher and the baker, but am still awaiting the chandler. I have used the till, coffee machine & dishwasher, but not yet the oven or the hob. As a result I have almost completely forgotten what I used to think of as real work.
Just before starting the Third Age, I went along to an evening at the WSET school in Bermondsey where the Academy of Cheese was hosting an event entitled 'Tipsy Cheeses'. This was a tasting illustrating a range of cheeses that involve alcohol in either their make or post-make stages. (The Academy of Cheese uses the 'make/post-make' model to define how stages in the development of any given cheese allow it to be broadly classified.)
This was a great evening and it has spurred on my enthusiasm for my own artisan micro-dairy, such that last week I made two cheeses and this morning waxed the latest batch of Chiltern Crumbler. I say batch but this is really one 850gm wheel which will need a few months to develop before I will know if it is any better or worse than previous attempts. The other cheese is experimental and much smaller, weighing in at only 140gm. The difference between the two, apart from the size, is that the smaller (unnamed until I eat it) cheese was made by putting the curds into a mould and allowing it to drain under its own weight, whereas the Chiltern Crumbler was put into a cheese press for more than 12 hours. I am hoping that the smaller, unpressed cheese will be softer and creamier, but only time will tell.
Today, apart from trying to find the discipline to pay attention to the Christmas shopping, I will be learning how to use my pH meter that The One kindly gave me too long ago. I am very grateful for such a generous gift and feel guilty that I have yet to learn how to use it but, as with other potentially complicated things, I have been a little too cautious and not have enough courage to make mistakes.
The same is true of my digital audio interface, but more of that on another day.
I have taken deliveries from the butcher and the baker, but am still awaiting the chandler. I have used the till, coffee machine & dishwasher, but not yet the oven or the hob. As a result I have almost completely forgotten what I used to think of as real work.
Just before starting the Third Age, I went along to an evening at the WSET school in Bermondsey where the Academy of Cheese was hosting an event entitled 'Tipsy Cheeses'. This was a tasting illustrating a range of cheeses that involve alcohol in either their make or post-make stages. (The Academy of Cheese uses the 'make/post-make' model to define how stages in the development of any given cheese allow it to be broadly classified.)
This was a great evening and it has spurred on my enthusiasm for my own artisan micro-dairy, such that last week I made two cheeses and this morning waxed the latest batch of Chiltern Crumbler. I say batch but this is really one 850gm wheel which will need a few months to develop before I will know if it is any better or worse than previous attempts. The other cheese is experimental and much smaller, weighing in at only 140gm. The difference between the two, apart from the size, is that the smaller (unnamed until I eat it) cheese was made by putting the curds into a mould and allowing it to drain under its own weight, whereas the Chiltern Crumbler was put into a cheese press for more than 12 hours. I am hoping that the smaller, unpressed cheese will be softer and creamier, but only time will tell.
Today, apart from trying to find the discipline to pay attention to the Christmas shopping, I will be learning how to use my pH meter that The One kindly gave me too long ago. I am very grateful for such a generous gift and feel guilty that I have yet to learn how to use it but, as with other potentially complicated things, I have been a little too cautious and not have enough courage to make mistakes.
The same is true of my digital audio interface, but more of that on another day.
No comments:
Post a Comment