Caerphilly cheese and preserving fruit juice in the microwave. Friday September 1 2013

Last weekend I got busy on restocking the cheese cave. For the first time I am attempting Caerphilly cheese, harking back to my Welsh heritage perhaps, or just because it wasn't too complicated. I wanted to make some Camembert at the same time so I needed a recipe that wasn't to complicated prior to pressing. Caerphilly fitted the bill as after cutting the curds it just needed some slow heating up to 104 degrees F.( Most recipes come out of American books so handy to have a thermometer which shows both Celcius and Fahrenheit). After that some stirring for 20 minutes or so then into the press it went. It has been drying on a board in the kitchen since then and should be ready to wax by the weekend. Too soon and whey continues to seep out and you end up with liquid sloshing around inside the wax. This cheese should only take a few weeks to mature.

Another thing I experimented with last weekend was using the microwave to bottle some apple juice. I recently borrowed a book from the library about bottling fruit in the microwave using recycled jars with metal lids. I was always under the impression that metal and microwaves don't mix and I was feeling a bit precious about my microwave which is only a few months old. So it was with some trepidation that I put a jar in and hit the start button but thankfully there were no sparks or alarming noises. Apparently it all depends on the ratio of metal to what is in the jar. It took a bit of experimenting to get the right temperature without the liquid starting to boil and to get a lid that sealed properly.In the end I got 3 jars of fresh apple juice to seal with the lids making that lovely sound of a vacuum sucking in the lid .

And finally for Fathers Day, we decided to cut open the Wensleydale with cranberries....and the verdict? Not bad at all. No fermenting of the cranberries. So after cutting a wedge to eat this week, the rest was re-waxed to mature a bit longer.