Before I talk about them however I wanted to tell you about something else. Perhaps you may have noticed the new background beneath my photos here on the blog today.

It is courtesy of the Paper Bag Co.  They were so impressed with my IG photos and the photos here on the blog they wanted to send me one of their Instagram Photo Bags. I don't know what was so impressive about my photos, but I am always open to discovering new ways of improving them.

   This is what they call their Instagram Bag, the Foodie Bag.  It has been created through a collaberation between phone photographer Matt Inwood and Stylist Sophie Purser. 

It is designed especially for those who enjoyand have a passion for taking photographs of food specifically for posting them online, ideally on Instagram.

It is acually quite a large bag.  The perfect size for holding your photograph taking equipment, making it easier to take along with you. 

Included in the bag is a 15-inch photographic reflector and diffuser.  This is the tool which all professional photographers have at the top of their kit bag. 

It is designed to help you to brighten and enhance both highlights and shadows, and either subtly or dramatically alter the lighting and colour in all of the images you create.

 Included are a set of four beautifully crafted papers from Black Velvet Styling, the photographic backdrop company set up by stylist Sophie a couple of years ago.  These have been designed to provide affordable backdrops for amateurs and professionals to create mouthwatering images of their food and still life creations. 

They are perfect for transforming a plate of food into a gorgeous image fit for sharing on Instagram and we’ve given you a variety of starter colours and textures to experiment with. I have used one of them here today as a backdrop for my scones.

Now back to Mary Berry's Cheese Scones.  These are THE perfect cheese scone.  I have made cheese scones before in the past and they were good, but these are excellent.

Then again, what would you expect from Mary Berry!  She is an expert in all things baked and otherwise when it comes to cooking.  I trust her judgement explicitly!

 

 I will tell you upfront that I ended up using a bit too much milk in my scones. I misinterpreted how much 1/4 pint actually was in ounces. In otherwords, I got mixed up. 

My dough was a bit wetter than it should have been. But I persevered and all credit to Mary, despite my dough being somewhat on the wet side, they still turned out beautifully.

 I have made sure that won't happen to you. My measurements in the recipe are exactly what they should be.  No worries on that score. 

These scones have a mix of beautiful flavours. Dry mustard powder and cayenne powder are both included in the mix.

 These are both ingredients that go very well with cheese. I always use them in the sauce for my favourite macaroni and cheese recipe. 

It does use self-raising flour. I understand that self-raising flour is no something some of you can get ahold of easily, but don't worry. I have included instructions in the notes on how you can make your own.

 Included as well is plenty of grated strong/sharp cheddar cheese. Do use the best cheese that your money can buy.

The better the cheese, the tastier the scone. I used a vintage cheddar from  Wyke Farms. One thing I will miss from over here is the cheese.

British cheeses are beautiful and there is such a lovely variety of them. I became a true cheese lover only since  moving here to the UK.  

Prior to this I only ate processed cheese for the most part. Nobody had ever truly been able to tempt me into trying anything stronger.

 Then of course when I worked at the manor I used to cook for a lot of dinner parties. Silver service, multiple courses.

The dinner parties always ended with a cheese course. I need to be able to put together a delicious cheese tray for my employers and their guests. The only way I could do that is if I learn about, to taste and to enjoy the cheese.

 

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Mary Berry's Cheese Scones

Yield: 8 regular scones

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 10 Mincook time: 15 Mintotal time: 25 Min

Delicious cold or warm. These are fabulous cut in half and spread wih lashings of butter and a bit of chili jam!

Ingredients

• 2 cups plus 1 tsp (225g) self-rising flour (See note)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 TBS cold butter
• 1 1/4 cup (150g) grated mature cheddar cheese
• 1 large free-range egg
• milk to the equivalent of 5 fluid ounces (1/4 pint)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt, mustard powder, cayenne pepper and baking powder. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in 2/3 of the cheese.
3. Break the egg into a measuring jug and add milk to give you the equivalent of 5 fluid ounces (1/4 pint). Stir this into the dry mixture and mix to a soft but not sticky dough.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly for a few turns. Pat out into a 6 inch round.
4. Stamp out into rounds using a sharp round (2 1/2 inch) cutter and place onto the baking sheet.  Brush the tops with a bit more milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until well risen and golden.  Slip onto a wire rack to cool.  Best eaten on the day.

notes:

To Make Self Raising Flour: Just add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder for each 150g/6oz/1 cup plain flour, plus 1/4 tsp salt. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a bowl before using, to make sure the baking powder is thoroughly distributed (or you can put both ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together).

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator

You really cannot fault any of Mary Berry's recipes. If you follow them scrupulously, they always turn out and are fail proof!  I have never had a failure with any of them!  

 

 

Although considered as hard cheese, feta does not require to be pressed in a cheese press with heavyweights like other hard cheeses. The whey which is necessary to be expelled is done so easily when the weight of the curds is drained in a cheesecloth sack.

But like all other cheese, feta cheese can and will go bad depending upon its initial packaging and storage.

Equipment required

Feta does not require a number of equipment. All it needs is a list of home cheesemaking supplies. 

Ingredients

●     1-gallon milk obtained from goat

●     ¼ tsp Flora Danica culture or any mesophilic culture

●     ¼ tsp strong or mild lipase powder, dissolved in 3 tbs unchlorinated cold water

●     ¼ tsp calcium chloride diluted in ¼ cup of unchlorinated cold water

●     ¼ tsp liquid rennet diluted in  ¼ cup of unchlorinated cold water

●     1-3 tbs of salt

Choice of milk

Initially, the feta was made from milk of sheep or goat but nowadays often cow milk is used, especially those cheese which are available for commercial purposes. The final texture remains similar irrespective of the type of milk used but cow milk fails to bring the original flavour of feta unless a bit of lipase is introduced.

Goat milk possesses lipase naturally and thus feta made from goat milk does not require it to be added additionally. However, if the goat milk being used was pasteurized, then the effects of lipase die out and the flavour does not come. Hence in such cases, the lipase enzyme needs to be added to the milk in order to get the true taste.

When to use Calcium Chloride?

Calcium Chloride (CaCl) is not an ingredient that must be added to make feta but if pasteurized milk is being used, it should be added to obtain a more firm curd. Pasteurized milk is not as beneficial as normal milk as the main benefits of the milk gets reduced. The protein levels are damaged and the amount of calcium is also reduced.

In such cases, when the rennet is added, the curd fails to knit well together. So adding calcium chloride helps in maintaining the calcium balance in the milk and helps the curd to create stronger bonds.

Cheese lacking in calcium is softer and crumbles. So it is important in feta as it provides a different texture to the cheese.

Directions

1.   Cleaning the equipment and preparing the recipe:

Before starting to make cheese, you should clean the kitchen and all the equipment like pots and utensils with soap and water. The steam evaporated from boiling water also sanitizes the utensils. The utensils should be allowed to cook for about ten minutes before laying on a clean towel. Now they are ready to be used.  

2.   Start cooking:

The process of cooking starts by heating the milk. Any temperature between 86 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit is good enough for the mesophilic bacteria to function. Then the Flora Danica should be sprinkled upon the milk, allowed to rehydrate for about a couple of minutes and then stirred well.

The stirring should be done gently so that it mixes well with the milk. If one needs to add lipase powder or calcium chloride, this is the best time. Then the mixture should be covered and allowed to ripen for an hour.

3.   Add rennet:

The diluted rennet solution should next be introduced and stirred well upwards and downwards for about a minute.

4.   Let it settle:

The curd should be allowed to sit for an hour or at least until a clean break can be spotted. A break is that time when a thermometer tip or a knife can easily carve through the curd creating an edge or a break rather than a tear.

5.   Cutting the curd:

After a clean break was spotted, the next task is to cut the curd. The curd should be cut into ½” cubes with the help of a sharp knife. Curd knives are the best in this regard which is specially designed for these purposes with sharp edges on both sides and a curved bottom, which would not cause any harm to the pot while gliding smoothly through the curd.

The knife should be placed ½” from the edge of the pot and drawn slowly through the curd. First the slices should be ½” across the pot and then the next slice should intersect the initial slice horizontally. This process should be repeated until the pot is full of rectangular slices.

Next, the knife should be held at a 45-degree angle and cut across the previous lines from the opposite side.

After the cutting is complete, the curd should be stirred gently to float in the whey and any large cubes should be cut into smaller pieces. The same sizes would lead them to lose whey at a similar rate. Vigorous stirring could lead to loss of butterfat, leading to a change of texture of the cheese.

6.   Hanging the curds:

The curd should be stirred for about 20 minutes so that matting does not occur. Then it should be poured in a colander lined cheesecloth, tied and hung for about 6 hours to drain.

7.   Add salt:

The drained curd should be brought down and cut into small pieces. Salt can be sprinkled on the surface of the cheese according to taste. The salt will spread throughout the cheese within a few days, giving a much better taste and should ideally be stored for 4-5 days in a covered bowl in a refrigerator.

Thus your delicious feta cheese is ready to be served and enjoyed. It is a recipe that can be easily made at home and does not require a long list of ingredients or a number of equipment. But one should be aware that feta cheese can and will go bad if not refrigerated properly.