Ballymaloe Day 10, 20th January - Lamb, sorbet, cheesemaking

Well got in early and just as well as there was a saw and half a lamb carcass to deal with. I sawed off the neck (sometimes called scrag or scrag end), toasted and ground some cumin seed, slashed the lamb with my really sharp knife and rubbed it with the spice, sea salt and olive oil. It was in the oven before 9am and smelled amazing!

Another day at the office for Sweeney Todd 

 Then I had the rest of the morning to make some roast potatoes, swiss chard, gravy and marmalade. Another weird combination. Well, the marmalade took forever to set, and the swiss chard never stood a chance. I was pleased with the marmalade and the gravy was delicious! I am slow at thinking how to present and serve the food though, still haven't really grasped the concept of that.

The afternoon was Rachel Allen showing us how to use use the leftovers from roast lamb in moussaka and shepherd's pie. We also covered green vegetables, green vegetable soup and an orange and passion fruit sorbet, made in the sorbetiere (posh name for an ice-cream maker). She also dealt with some other exotic fruits and made granita and fruits in syrup. We also went through an introduction to wet and dry curing and smoking.

Instead of heading back to the cottage for a well earned rest on Friday evening a few of us went to the dairy to make some cheese. Yes, although I should have been sick to death of dairy products after this week this was a great opportunity you wouldn't get many other places, to make cheese with milk from right there on the farm.

The milk was heated up in a small vat with rennet added, then cut with cheese knives (look a bit like big egg slicers), then the curds and whey separate and we kept stirring and heating them till they reach right stage. Then the whey is drained off (they feed it to the pigs here although we did try a glass to drink - kind of strange if I'm honest) and pull the curds into small bits and pack them into moulds and weigh them down with weights. We kept turning them every 15 minutes, then every 30 minutes, then every hour, then every 2 hours, then in the morning, lunchtime etc etc till we end up turning them once a day for 2 weeks. The cheese will go into the fridges out of the moulds tomorrow when we cover them with salt and rub that in.

sifting the curds and whey

My little cheese

That's all for another crazy milk-themed week here at Ballymaloe!

Ballymaloe Day 9, 19th January - Confessions of a Milkmaid

Yes, I was up early to milk the bovine beasts and at the school for 7.30am. However it was still too dark at that hour so I was told to come back 15 minutes later. What else was there to do but go back to the cottage and put on my make-up instead. Looking a bit better (you never know when one of these eligible farmers they keep talking about might appear) I met Eileen who is in charge of the cows and we herded them out of the field and up to the milking parlour. There are three dairy cows, a Jersey, a Fresian and a cross between the two I think, plus their calves, and two little Dexters, an old Irish breed who aren't used for milk but hang out in the field with them.

We herded them in, and it was even further from Possil than ever, standing in a muddy field in the dawn wielding a big stick. We washed the udders, then put on the milking apparatus (no, I was not milking by hand, sitting on a stool like ye olde milkmaid of yore). The milk goes straight through into the dairy, then into the separator we saw yesterday. The jersey milk gives it a lovely rich colour and the cream is sunny and yellow. Then everything's cleaned down and the cows drift back to the field; they're pretty smart and know they're going to be milked and get grumpy if they have to wait around in the morning.

The separated milk and cream get taken back to the school for use in the day's cooking and that's it. Another crazy experience which is a daily occurance at Ballymaloe!

Then it was back to Kitchen 2, and got on with my Bread and Butter pudding, including nearly a pint of cream and marmalade. Also made tomato fondue, a kind of Ballymaloe in-house tomato sauce. It was all really tasty, I was pleased! I also got to fillet half a flat fish, another huge cod. I enjoyed it though, not bad for a first attempt. I contacted the real world for a few minutes (my stepfather's 75th birthday, I tracked down a mobile phone signal in a supermarket car park in Midleton), only to be asked "did I gut the fish as well?" Thankfully no, as I could fit no more into today's exploits!

The first plates of my food I've phototgraphed (and remembered the camera!)

Well I tell a lie, in the afternoon for the demonstration Darina brought in half a sheep's carcass and went through the cuts of lamb with it. She wielded a saw and took off the leg and shoulder no problem - the things you see here! Tomorrow I am cooking the shoulder, and also roast potatoes, swiss chard and finishing off my marmalade. Lastly a few of us students went to see Tim making a sourdough loaf after class. More detail on the subject of sourdough at a later date but he has a starter which has been going since September. The starter captures the natural yeast in the air, Tim calls it working with ' the elements' which I love, I feel more of a pagan here than ever! He used the starter to create the 'sponge' which you use to rise the loaf. The dough is kneaded and then left to rise overnight ready for the next stage. All the students are excited about starting their own starter, I am hoping to find the time soon!

The starter (in jar) and the dough