BLESSED ARE THE CHEESE MAKERS...
On the weekend, hubby and I did a cheese making course. A beginners one. On the day we made some Greek style yoghurt, mascarpone and feta.
It was interesting learning about this art...or is it a craft? Which ever it is, there is definitely a talent involved. And sometimes, a lot of luck.
You begin with the same ingredient...milk. That is the one integral ingredient. Then you add some bacteria, some culture and rennet. Add some heat, or a lot of heat. Before you know it you have curds and whey.
And no matter how strictly you follow the instructions the end product will vary. Sometimes only a little, sometimes a lot. It all depends on the day you make your cheese...too hot, too cold. Too moist and damp, too humid? Did another type of bacteria enter during the process? Were you too active in cutting the curds (yes that was a term used)? And of course it all depends on the season when the cows were milked ...too much grass, too little.
I never knew that so much could affect the end product.
Don't laugh at me but I kept thinking how similar it is to writing. We all begin with words. These are our staple. Without them you have no story, no poem, no songs, no plays, no books. Then it all depends on what we do next.
Some of us nurture these words, others treat them harshly. Some add a bit of care, others take them for granted and expect them to work for nothing.
Same starting point- words....but the end result is always so varied. Even with the same author.
Some days the writing is bland and pallid. Lacks any 'oomph'. It needs a good spurt of energy to get the writing alive.
Other days and the writing can not be seen for all the cleverness the writer has inflicted on the page.
Milk gives us yoghurt and feta, blue vein and gouda, cheddar and ricotta, camembert and mascarpone.
Words give us...the world.
There you go, my interpretation.
Vicki
It was interesting learning about this art...or is it a craft? Which ever it is, there is definitely a talent involved. And sometimes, a lot of luck.
You begin with the same ingredient...milk. That is the one integral ingredient. Then you add some bacteria, some culture and rennet. Add some heat, or a lot of heat. Before you know it you have curds and whey.
And no matter how strictly you follow the instructions the end product will vary. Sometimes only a little, sometimes a lot. It all depends on the day you make your cheese...too hot, too cold. Too moist and damp, too humid? Did another type of bacteria enter during the process? Were you too active in cutting the curds (yes that was a term used)? And of course it all depends on the season when the cows were milked ...too much grass, too little.
I never knew that so much could affect the end product.
Don't laugh at me but I kept thinking how similar it is to writing. We all begin with words. These are our staple. Without them you have no story, no poem, no songs, no plays, no books. Then it all depends on what we do next.
Some of us nurture these words, others treat them harshly. Some add a bit of care, others take them for granted and expect them to work for nothing.
Same starting point- words....but the end result is always so varied. Even with the same author.
Some days the writing is bland and pallid. Lacks any 'oomph'. It needs a good spurt of energy to get the writing alive.
Other days and the writing can not be seen for all the cleverness the writer has inflicted on the page.
Milk gives us yoghurt and feta, blue vein and gouda, cheddar and ricotta, camembert and mascarpone.
Words give us...the world.
There you go, my interpretation.
Vicki
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