CHEESEWIRE
news and views from the cheese counter
The sheep have a fabulous diet and are looked after like bloody princesses
Putting trust in ewes Dorset’s Mere Park Creamery is gaining traction with a new blue that showcases its own raw sheep’s milk Interview by Patrick McGuigan
Steve Horrell, head chef of the Roth Bar & Grill in Somerset, tells a good story about his discovery of local ewes’ milk cheese Mere Park Blue. Ruth Armishaw, who owns the Blackmore Vale farm and creamery where it is made, arrived unannounced one day in the middle of a hectic lunch service with some samples under her arm. Horrell was too busy to see her at the time, but rather than come back later she waited with dogged patience until orders were away and he could taste the blue cheese for himself. It was time well spent because the chef was so taken that he put it on the menu straight away. Dense and rich with sparse blue veins and a semi-soft texture, Mere Park Blue differs from Roquefort. It has a much gentler tang that allows the sweet ewes’ milk to sing. This is important, Armishaw tells FFD, because the quality of the milk is something she is incredibly proud of. The 900 or so East Friesian ewes on her 540-acre farm are fed on ancient grass varieties (almost 100 different types at the last count), supplemented by oats, molasses and peas. “Most sheep you get a couple of litres of milk a day, if you’re lucky, but some of ours are producing up to seven litres,” she says. “That’s because they have a fabulous diet and are looked after like bloody princesses.” Armishaw and her husband Lloyd came to agriculture late, buying the former Duchy farm on the Wiltshire-Dorset border five years ago after making their money in a hugely successful removals company. Rather than trying to compete with the “rubbish prices” paid by the supermarkets for cows’ milk, the couple decided
to invest heavily in ewes’ milk – a niche they believe has huge potential. Sweet, creamy, easier to digest than cows’ milk and high in calcium and protein, it’s easy to see why. The couple not only invested in a new flock, but also spent £1m on a state-of-the-art milking line from DeLaval. “It’s the first of its kind in the UK,” says Armishaw. “Most milking systems for sheep are converted from goat milking equipment, but ours is bespoke for us. It’s totally computerised, reading the animals’ ear tags as they come into the parlour and providing us with data on things like how much milk each ewe is producing.” Even with fancy kit and high yielding animals, sheep’s milk is still an expensive business. It costs Mere Park Creamery around £1.10 to produce a litre of milk and a 500ml bottle retails at £2.75-£3.25. Armishaw says they are trying to create a market for themselves by extolling the health benefits of it over traditional cows’ milk. Making cheese obviously helps boost the bottom line and Lloyd Armishaw does so twice a week in a 340-litre vat at the company’s own dairy. Consultant Paul Thomas has been working with the company on the cheese, which was launched in April 2016 and named the Vegetarian Society’s Cheese of the Year in 2016. A hard, Manchego-style cheese aged for eight months is also in the pipeline and the company is developing ewes’ milk butter with Brue Valley Farm and yoghurts with Tims Dairy. The investment in sheep seems to be paying off, with a growing customer base of delis, farm shops and restaurants across the South West, as well as Partridges in London and wholesaler Longmans. Neal’s Yard Dairy also takes the milk. “We’re having to build the ethos ourselves by explaining to people the benefits of sheep’s milk,” says Armishaw. “Once people try it they seem happy to pay a premium because they keep reordering.”
CROSS
SECTION
Mere Park Blue 1
This is not a blue with extensive veining, partly because the mould is inhibited by the high fat content, but also because Armishaw wants the cheese to have a gentle tang rather than be powerfully spicy.
2 The cheese is made in 1kg rounds using pasteurised milk and vegetarian rennet.
3 Aged for at least 12 weeks, it has a pliable, semi-soft texture and natural rind.
mereparkcreamery.co.uk
Vol.18 Issue 7 | August 2017
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