Good Cheese 2014 15

goodcheese 2011-12 EDITION

£3.75

2014-15

Making it, selling it, enjoying it

CREATIVE COOKS Six of our best regional chefs reveal their tastiest cheese dishes

DELICIOUS RECIPES from

Andrew Kojima, Francesco Mazzei, Luke Thomas and more….

Those crazy Continentals Weird and whacky European cheeses to track down and try

RAW VERSUS PASTEURIZED… We explore the facts and the myths around raw milk cheese

INSIDE: CHEESE-MAKING: ART OR SCIENCE? · APPLEBY’S CHESHIRE TASTE TEST: ENGLISH TERRITORIALS · PICKLES & CHUTNEYS · BRITISH ORGANICS

Made with 180 years experience Aged 2 years more than

for

Demolished in

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goodcheese 2014-15

minutes

welcome

what’s inside

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30

40

27

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23 Counter culture

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News from the world of cheese-making.

British organics

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Michael Lane reports on the resurgence of the organic cheese sector.

Taste test: English Territorials

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Good Cheese founder Bob Farrand leads a tasting of Cheshire, Lancashire and other classic regional English cheeses.

Raw milk cheese v pasteurized

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Foodies instinctively feel raw milk cheese is best, but is that always the case?

Patrick McGuigan investigates.

Cheese-making: art or science?

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Patrick McGuigan explores some of the Continent’s more curious cheeses.

Profile: Appleby’s Cheshire

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We meet the third-generation family producers who have helped keep traditional Cheshire-making alive.

Recipes 30 Four pages of inspirational dishes from top chefs and cookery writers.

Cheese accompaniments

37

A round-up of chutneys, pickles, beer and more to pair with your cheese.

New ways with cheese

40

Food writer Clare Hargreaves asks six of our best regional chefs for their latest and most popular cheesy creations.

Where to buy good cheese Find your nearest stockist.

Bob Farrand Bob Farrand is publisher of Good Cheese and chairman of the Guild of Fine Food, organiser of the Great Taste awards and World Cheese Awards

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Scientific knowledge can make cheese safer and more consistent, but the human touch is still essential.

Europe’s hidden gems

’ve just finished judging a selection of top food halls, delis and farm shops for the 2014 Great Taste Shop of the Year award. It would be churlish to visit these temples of fine food without tasting the best they have to offer so, as I sit here writing, I’m savouring the last few gorgeous crumbs of a Beenleigh Blue bought in a Devon farm shop.

Of all the cheeses I regularly eat, this is the one guaranteed to quicken my pulse. Made during spring and early summer, young cheeses are light and fresh and crumbly but those matured longer are more intense, richer and creamier.

This one is as intense, rich and creamy as the wedge of Beenleigh Blue I first tasted a quarter of a century ago, although back then it was made using raw milk whereas today’s uses pasteurized milk.

To be entirely accurate, the sheep’s milk is not subjected to standard pasteurization but to a low temperature, long-hold system that leaves many of the enzymes in the milk untouched. Its makers believe this gives the cheese its unique flavour.

So is it possible to make great cheese using pasteurized as well as unpasteurized milk? On page 17, Patrick McGuigan reveals ‘The raw truth’ by suggesting all manner of milks make good cheese – although our English territorials taste test on page 12 might lead you to a different conclusion.

Food safety regulations insist all milk – pasteurized or unpasteurized – is monitored for any unwanted bacteria and every cheese is tested before it is arrives in our shops. Even so, some Environmental Health Officers stupidly insist food shops store pasteurized cheeses away from those made using unpasteurized milk.

I wonder what the food police would make of Pecorino Formaggio di Fossa, one of the ‘weird but wonderful’ cheeses on page 24. It’s wrapped in a bag and buried in the earth for three months. So much for food safety! But the wedge I bought in a street market in Chianti a few years ago was so stunningly good I bought a second, much larger piece to smuggle home.

Several cheeses featured in our recipe pages (starting on page 30) are made using unpasteurized milk, one of which is Grana Padano. A close relative of Parmigiano Regianno (Parmesan), these two hard, grainy cheeses are often the basis for the first solid food Italian mothers feed their babies. There are plenty of Italians in the world, so clearly it’s not doing them any harm.

Enjoy your good cheese.

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EDITORIAL Editor: Mick Whitworth Assistant editor: Michael Lane Art director: Mark Windsor Contributors: Patrick McGuigan, Lynda Searby, Clare Hargreaves, Isabelle Plasschaert ADVERTISING Sales manager: Sally Coley Advertisement sales: Becky Stacey, Ruth Debnam Circulation manager: Tortie Farrand Publisher & chairman: Bob Farrand Associate publisher & managing director: John Farrand

THE GUILD OF FINE FOOD Membership & director: Linda Farrand Administrators: Charlie Westcar, Julie Coates, Karen Price, Jilly Sitch Accounts: Stephen Guppy, Denise Ballance Printed by: Blackmore Ltd, Dorset Good Cheese is a sister magazine of Fine Food Digest. © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2014 Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, recipes, photographs or illustrations.

t: 01747 825200 Fax: 01747 824065 e: firstname.lastname@finefoodworld.co.uk goodcheese 2014-15

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counter culture

What’s new in the world of speciality cheeses No milk allowed

Whisky galore

Growing demand for ‘free-from’ products has prompted specialist vegan cheese-maker Bute Island Foods to expand production of its dairy-free cheeses.

The Scottish producer snapped up a building left empty by the closure of the Isle of Bute’s creamery to achieve a fourfold increase in capacity for its Sheese dairy-free hard cheese and soft Creamy Sheese lines. www.buteisland.com

Corra Linn heads south Corra Linn, the hard, unpasteurised ewes’ milk cheese from Errington Cheese in Lanarkshire, goes on sale through top London retailer and wholesaler Neal’s Yard Dairy this autumn.

The sweet, nutty vegetarian rennet cheese has been around for several years and is a World Cheese Awards gold winner. But Errington’s Selina Cairns says the family firm has been working hard to improve Corra Linn’s consistency over the past year with help from cheese consultant Val Bines and is “really pleased with the result”.

“We originally started making it to use the glut of ewes’ milk in the spring months, rather than making this all into Lanark Blue [also a 2013 World Cheese Awards gold winner]. It has taken us quite a few years to get the hang of and we are still learning!

“We have over the past couple of years altered our management of our mainly Lacaune dairy flock, based in South Lanarkshire, with the help of a new parlour and getting them out to grass as early in the year as possible, with less concentrate feeding. We believe this has improved the quality of the milk, which has had a knockon effect on our cheese.” www.erringtoncheese.co.uk

Five years after setting up Cambus O’May Cheese Co on Royal Deeside using his family’s old farmhouse recipes, Alex Reid has stepped up development of new varieties.

Three have been launched in the past 12 months. Auld Reekie is a hard pressed cheese, smoked on site using oak chippings from old whisky barrels, while Ardmore is made by adding the eponymous peated whisky to the traditional cheese curd. Reid has also added a longermatured vintage version of its hard, unpasteurized cows’ milk Lochnager, which was already available in seven-month and ‘Auld’ 12-month versions.

A raw milk blue cheese is also in the pipeline. www.cambusomay.com

Paul’s new baby Northern Ireland’s Paul McClean has launched a ‘baby’ 225g version of his Kearney Blue, which won Best Irish Cheese at the Nantwich cheese show when it was launched in 2011.

Originally made in McClean’s kitchen near Kearney in Co Down, the cheese is now produced at Farmview Dairies. The standard 550g version is sold to hotels throughout Ireland, but McClean says the mini version is “perfect for the retail sector” and allows shoppers to buy individual, handmade artisan cheeses. richard@farmviewdairies.com

What’s brewing?

Norfolk brie

Five hundred years ago Trappist Monks rubbed alcohol in their cheeses to preserve them. Now, with the rise in popularity of craft beer, Ireland’s Little Milk Company, a co-operative of 10 organic dairy farmers, has put a modern twist on this tradition with the launch of Brewers Gold.

This semi-soft cheese (below left) has its rind washed daily in unpasteurised, high yeast craft ale, giving it a golden skin and strong taste.

Brewers Gold is available Selfridges, Daylesford Organic and other specialist cheeses shops.

Meanwhile, Whalesborough Farm Foods in Cornwall has created a beer-washed cows’ milk cheese exclusively for regional distributor Hanson Fine Foods.

Heligan Gold (below right) is washed in Heligan Honey ale from Skinner’s Brewery in Truro.

Each cheese is roughly 4cm high and 14cm in diameter, with a basket-weave patterned golden rind, creamy texture and an earthy flavour.

Set up by Sue Proudfoot 14 years ago near Bude on the north Cornwall coast, Whalesborough makes six other cheeses, including the mould-ripened, citrusy Trelawney and the pungent, washed rind Keltic Gold, which was a SuperGold winner in the 2012 World Cheese Awards.

They are currently sold in hotels, restaurants, farm shops and delis throughout Devon, Cornwall and London. www.thelittlemilkcompany.ie www.whalesboroughcheese.co.uk www.hansonfinefoods.co.uk.

Fielding Cottage has strengthened its range of goats’ cheeses with the new brie-style Wensum White, named after the biggest river in its home county of Norfolk.

The smooth, creamy cheese joins Fielding Cottage’s existing Ellingham and Norfolk Mardler and is said to have been going down a storm with chefs and at farmers markets and food festivals across East Anglia.

It was featured earlier this year at the London Chefs’ Forum, a networking event for hotel and restaurant chefs hosted by 2013 MasterChef finalist Adam Handling at St Ermin’s Hotel, Westminster. www.fieldingcottage.co.uk

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counter culture Number One at Nantwich Colston Bassett Stilton was named Supreme Champion at the 2013 International Cheese Awards.

Nottinghamshire’s Colston Bassett Dairy also took the Cathedral City Crown Stilton Trophy for the Best Stilton Cheese, the CHR Hansen Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the Best Other Blue Veined Cheese and the title of Champion UK. Its Shropshire Blue cheese also won a gold at the annual awards.

During its centenary year in 2013, Colston Bassett’s Stilton was awarded Best British Cheese at the World Cheese Awards.

Little ’sticks

www.colstonbassettdairy.co.uk

Butlers is launching a special individual Blacksticks Blue truckle, glazed with honey and walnuts, to celebrate the 10th birthday of its orange hued blue.

The ‘Premier Cru’ truckles are made with single herd milk and matured more slowly than standard Blacksticks for “an even more delicate flavour and extra squishy texture”. The 500g packs will be on sale from the autumn in specialist independent stores, priced around £12, while cheesemongers can also buy whole 2.5Kg ‘Premier Cru’ Blacksticks Blue cheeses for their counters. www.butlerscheeses.co.uk

Brie de Skeggy

Let’s get conical

Lymn Bank Farm, based in the village of Thorpe St Peter, near Skegness, is to produce its first brie-style cheese, to complement its range of blended cheddars and popular Skegness Blue. The new Lincolnshire Brie, to be launched online and through farm shops and delis this year, will be made in small batches using all local milk.

Delicioso, the specialist Spanish foods importer, has added a variation on the famously breast-shaped Galician cheese Tetilla to its online shop and trade catalogue.

San Simon da Costa DOP is a pasteurized cows’ milk cheese with a buttery, creamy texture, lightly smoked over birch wood and matured for 45 days. Each cone of cheese weighs in at around 600g.

www.postacheese.com

www.delicioso.co.uk

Pots from Paxton’s

Lithuanian snack packs

A Dorset goats’ cheese and a mini version of the classic Stilton jar are among two new lines from iconic London cheesemonger and wholesaler Paxton & Whitfield.

The little 200g black waxed goats’ cheese is made for Paxton’s at a creamery located between the Dorset Down and the West Dorset heritage coast. It is said to have a “clean, mellow and slightly sweet flavour, with subtle notes of goat and a smooth, firm texture”.

The new 100g mini version of Paxton’s Stilton jar, which sells for around £9.50 in cheese shops, has the same black-and-gold branding as the original, and is hand-filled with a generous portion of the ‘King of Cheeses’.

Dziugas, the Lithuanian brand of Parmesan-style hard cheese that launched in the UK in 2013, has added a new snack format to its range.

Gourmet Bites are bite-size chunks of cheese in resealable packs, and are available in a range of age profiles for different customers: 12- and 18-month maturity for the convenience store market and 24- and 36-month maturity for specialist cheese shops and delis.

In Lithuania, says Dziugas, this nutty, slightly Gouda-like cheese is traditionally eaten with honey, or served with grapes and nuts.

www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

www.dziugashouse.lt

Out of the mountains Sperrin Blue is the first cheese from Nothern Ireland newcomer Dart Mountain Cheese Company.

Developed by cheese-maker Julie Hickey (pictured) and handmade in small batches, Sperrin Blue is a semi-hard pasteurized cows’ milk cheese with blue veining and a natural rind, aged for up to six weeks.

It’s the third blue to be launched in Northern Ireland since 2012, and is made with milk from a number of local dairy farms.

Dart Mountain Cheese is part of Tamnagh Foods, a small business based at Park in Claudy, Co Londonderry, which also produces granolas, relishes and chutneys.

The cheese business was established

by Julie Hickey in 2011, after more than

18 years as a chef and restaurateur.

In 2012 she converted a disused farm shed into a modern, approved food unit – incorporating a production kitchen, a cheese-making area and specially constructed cheese maturing rooms.

Julie Hickey says: “During 2012 and 2013 we completed many trials of variations of cheese to establish the type most representative of our region and which gave the best taste and flavour.”

The new blue takes its name from the Sperrin Mountains, which straddle Counties Tyrone and Londonderry.

Tamnagh Foods is also a founder of the Sperrin Dairy Group, which encourages the development of a network of artisan producers in the wider Sperrins area. www.dartmountaincheese.com

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british organics

Organic growth With the Soil Association backing cheese to lead an organic food revival, there is no better time to explore what the British Isles is producing.

MICHAEL LANE looks at the options.

W

hile it may not be as fashionable as it used to be, organic food is still very much on sale and the movement’s flag bearer, the Soil Association, is backing cheese to bolster improving sales across the board.

In its most recent Organic Market Report, the accreditation body said that total sales of organic products in the UK grew by 2.8% to £1.79 billion during 2013. While non-food was a major contributor to this upswing, the dairy category showed the most sales growth (4.4%) within food and the Soil Association is looking to promote cheese, starting with its first-ever Organic Cheese Showcase.

During the event, held in March 2014, Soil Association trade consultant Finn Cottle told Good Cheese that organic cheese had been forgotten due to the emergence of other trends, such as local and regional, over the past four years.

However, she fully expects it to continue its recent revival.

“We truly want to make sure that there are more of these cheeses out there,” she says. “We’re confident that when it’s on the shelf or on the counter, customers will actually pick it up.”

With over 70 cheeses on show at this event, Good Cheese thought it should take a look at what Britain’s organic cheese-makers have to offer…

Gorsehill Abbey Farm on the edge of the

While not all of its output is organic, Sussex’s High Weald Dairy does have a number of Soil Association-accredited cheeses made from different types of milk. Its goats’ milk varieties include the small, bloomy white Little Sussex, the fresh, soft Sussex Slipcote available in logs and buttons, and the hard cheddar-style Duddleswell, as well as halloumi, ricotta and a feta-style cheese.

Of the cows’ milk range, High Weald’s cheddar-style Tremains Organic, the unpressed Ashdown Forester’s, semi-soft St Giles and rindwashed Brother Michael, all fit the bill too. www.highwealddairy.co.uk

Vale of Evesham has been registered organic since 1990 and Michael and Diane Stacey have been producing cheese commercially since 2003. Most of its cheeses have won national awards and all are named after saints. St Eadburgha is a camembert-style cheese, St Oswald is a “powerful” washed rind cheese and St Wulfstan is a firm but creamy white cheese. St Egwin (pictured) – similar in style to alpine cheeses – was named Best Organic Cheese at the 2014 British Cheese Awards.

The producer will soon be selling another alpine-style cheese, Jowett, which is the creation of David Jowett, who has recently joined the cheese-making team at the farm. www.gorsehillabbey.co.uk

Caws Cenarth has been making organic cheese, including several types of traditional Caerphilly at the Adams’s farm in Carmarthenshire since 1987. Its creamy, lemony traditional rind Caerfilli is matured for two months and comes in 3kg wheels and 450g truckles. It also produces a younger, fresh version of the cheese, matured for a week, and an oak-smoked version. It also makes the soft white Pearl Wen and the blue-veined Perl Las in both wheels and 250g mini rounds as well as Golden Cenarth (pictured), a semi-soft washed rind cheese. This cheese is said to have “an unmistakeable seductive pungency and nutty aftertaste” thanks to being washed in organic cider from the Highgrove Estate. www.cawscenarth.co.uk

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british organics

Hafod cheddar is hand-made in small

St Tola goats’ cheese has been made in Co Clare, in the west of Ireland, since 1982. This soft cheese is smooth and creamy in texture and floral and honey-like in flavour. The cheese-maker also produces a fresh St Tola log and at the St Tola Ash cheese, which is hand-rolled in food grade charcoal.

quantities using just the milk from the small herd of Ayrshire cows that graze on the organic pastures of Holden Farm in West Wales. The recipe is inspired by techniques used 100 years ago, with an emphasis on slow, gentle and cool treatment of the “sweet and rich” milk and curd. Hafod is made in 10kg rounds that are traditionally bound in cloth and lard, and matured for about a year. The flavour is described as “deep and mellow, rich with butter and with just a hint of sharpness”. www.hafodcheese.co.uk

www.st-tola.ie

Founded in 1996 by former Formula One World Champion Jody Sheckter, Laverstoke Park Farm makes cheese using the milk of its 2,500-strong herd of buffalo. As well as its best-selling buffalo mozzarella, the biodynamic and organic farm also makes a buffalo brie and buffalo gouda. www.laverstokepark.co.uk

Stilton-maker Cropwell Bishop produces an organic version of the iconic British blue, certified by the Soil Association and ripened for 12 weeks. The cheese, which is suitable for vegetarians, was named Best Blue at the 2014 British Cheese Awards. www.cropwellbishopstilton.com

Devon’s Riverford Organic Dairy recently unveiled what it says is the first organic mascarpone to be commercially produced in the UK. The Soil Association-certified cheese is made with lemon juice, rather than the citric acid used by larger scale manufacturers, and comes in 200g tubs (RRP £3.45).

Riverford Organic also produces curd and cottage cheese as well as milk, cream, clotted cream, butter and crème fraiche, all made with milk from its own grass-fed mixed herd.

Shropshire-based creamery Belton produces a range of organic territorials, including Cheshire, Wensleydale, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester as well as mild and mature cheddars. www.beltoncheese.co.uk

www.riverforddairy.co.uk

The Bath Soft Cheese Company makes a range of cheeses using organic cows’ milk on Park Farm in Kelston. Among the creations of farmer Graham Padfield are the semi hard, nutty, creamy Wyfe of Bath (250g pieces or 2.7kg whole) and the square, bloomy-rinded Bath Soft (250g whole). It also produces Bath Blue, Bath Brie and the soft Kelston Park. www.parkfarm.co.uk

And some ones to watch…

As well as providing a stage for organic makers of all sizes, the Soil Association’s inaugural Organic Cheese Showcase also saw the birth of new cheeses.

The culmination of the event was the unveiling of the winners of the first ever Dougal Campbell Bursary, which will help three cheese-makers develop new varieties using sustainably farmed milk.

The bursary, launched jointly by the Soil Association and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA), provides each maker with £1,000 as well as support from the SCA’s membership network in the UK and further afield.

Southern Scotland’s Cream O’Galloway is looking to revive its cheese-making heritage. The Finlay family has been producing milk at Rainton Farm since the 1920s but abandoned its farmhouse cheese operation in the ’70s for business

reasons. Having resurrected production in 2013, current owners David and Wilma Finlay will invest the bursary in improving their skills and processes.

They are also working towards boosting the sustainable credentials of milk production. Plans include using slurry to generate energy and development of a ‘herd share’ model allowing the public to invest in its herd at Rainton Farm.

Their long-term goal is to sell all 450,000 litres of milk produced on the farm as cheese. The current range includes soft crowdie as well as the crumbly Black Douglas and the hard Carrick.

Meanwhile, the Nettlebed Estate in Henley on Thames is proposing a washed rind cheese and a blue cheese using the organic milk from its dairy herd of cross-bred Holstein Fresians with Swedish Reds and Montbelliards.

The estate’s dairy also plans to produce

its own starter cultures and ripening agents from the raw milk and vegetables produced on the estate.

Nettlebed’s new dairy will use sustainable energy and reed bed filtration for waste. All cheese, which requires gentle handling, will be made by hand without the use of mechanical stirrers.

At Coulton Mill in North Yorkshire, Nick Burrows is already well underway with his quest to produce a seasonal, territorial cheese using the organic milk from his fledgling herd of endangered Northern Dairy Shorthorn cattle.

The Wensleydale-style cheese will vary according to the changing qualities of the milk throughout the year. Nick is using the bursary to travel to the US state of Vermont to learn from fellow seasonal cheese-makers.

The Bursary was created in memory of Dougal Campbell, founder of Welsh Organic Foods, Britain’s first specialist organic cheese-making company. www.creamogalloway.co.uk/cheese www.nettlebedcreamery.com

Simon Weaver Cotswold Organic Dairy’s line-up includes brie, blue veined brie and smoked brie as well as mozzarella and a Single Gloucester developed in partnership with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. www.simonweaver.net

While it is most famous for its purple-waxed organic cheddar, Godminster Vintage also produces an oak-smoked variety and three bries: plain brie, brie with black pepper and brie with garlic & chive. www.godminster.com

Carmathernshire’s Sancler specialises in soft, yogurt cheeses made with its organic milk. The three varieties – original, chive and basil & garlic – can be used as a spread, a dip or in sauces and dressings www.sanclerorganic.co.uk

The Goodwood Estate puts its 200-strong Dairy Shorthorn herd of cows to good use by making three cheeses from their organic milk and cream. The hard, cloth-bound Charlton, mould ripened Levin Down and soft, blue-veined Molecomb Blue are all made in the estate’s own cheese room. www.goodwood.co.uk

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english regional cheeses

Surveying the territory Territorial cheeses like Cheshire, Lancashire and Red Leicester still sell by the tonne. But most are now mass-produced outside their traditional counties, so do they really deserve a place on the enthusiast’s cheeseboard? BOB FARRAND and friends put a selection to the test.

T

he last three decades have witnessed extraordinary growth in new British speciality cheeses. Many have already earned a place on the world’s best cheeseboards and most deliver stronger, longer-matured flavours than those traditional ‘territorials’ made for centuries in certain counties of England.

Take Lancashire, for example. Unless we buy it in its county of origin, most of us nowadays experience it as a crumbly, creamy cheese of no particular flavour. Yet that’s not a true Lancashire, a cheese first made in the late 18th century by mixing the curds from two or even three days’ cheese-making.

There are three styles of Lancashire made today, described as Creamy, Tasty or Crumbly. Creamy Lancashire, which has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, is still made over two or three days and matured for between six and 12 weeks for a balanced creamy acidity. Allowed to mature for 10 months or longer, it becomes the deeply complex Tasty version.

But the Lancashire sold pre-packed in supermarkets is the four-to-six-week matured, Johnny-Come-Lately Crumbly,

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invented in the 1960s and produced in giant factories. It‘s a dull, watered down version of the real thing.

Cheshire, Wensleydale, Double Gloucester and Red Leicester cheeses similarly suffer from mass production – so much so that the versions sold in supermarkets are virtually indistinguishable from one another. To any cheese purist, this is a matter of deep regret because the few territorial cheeses still produced by hand using traditional recipes can deliver intensely satisfying and complex flavours.

A good Double Gloucester is a full cream cheese delivering a smooth and buttery texture and a rich, nutty flavour with a long mellow finish that only comes with more than five months maturation.

Traditionalists will tell you a proper Cheshire should be made using milk drawn from cows grazing the Cheshire flats. The salt in the subsoil gives the milk a unique characteristic that, with several months ageing, delivers a firm body and a complex lemoniness that is intense but fresh.

The Good Cheese team: (l-r) editor Mick Whitworth and publisher Bob Farrand get to grips with some modern takes on England’s regional classics

A good Red Leicester should be firm-bodied with a flakey texture – unlike the Play-Doh consistency of many sold today. Caramel on the tongue develops into fruity, lemony notes that become more robust with age.

Real Yorkshire Wensleydale PDO is a fresh, clean-flavoured cheese, hinting of honey sweetness but touched with a gentle lemony acidity. The flavours deepen with a few extra weeks’ maturation. It took its producers some seven years and an obscene amount of Brussels deliberation before they were granted PDO status, but Real Yorkshire Wensleydale is now among the few beacons, alongside Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire and Single Gloucester, in preserving what’s left of our traditional regional cheeses.

The Good Cheese team, along with leading independent cheesemonger Charlie Turnbull and chef Brett Sutton of The White Post in Rimpton, Somerset, blind-tasted a selection of traditionally made ‘county’ cheeses and compared them with several fast-produced lookalike, soundalike pretenders.

The results suggest any cheesemaker determined to uphold the standards of yesteryear can deliver the gentle yet complex flavours associated with the best English territorials. As for the supermarkets… well, that’s another story.

• Special thanks to Daniel Williams of cheesemonger Godfrey Williams of Sandbach, Cheshire, for working a minor miracle in shipping many of these cheeses overnight for tasting at Good Cheese’s Dorset HQ. www.godfreycwilliams.co.uk

• Bob Farrand is chairman of the Guild of Fine Food and founder of Good Cheese and the World Cheese Awards.

goodcheese

CHOICE Highly recommended by the team.

WENSLEYDALE

LANCASHIRE Tesco (pre-packed): The paste is damp and pappy and delivers a most unpleasant, raw sourness and very little other flavour.

Shorrocks Lancashire Bomb: A black waxed cheese that, from the texture, we presumed had been extruded into its round ‘bomb’ shape to give a slightly dry mouthfeel.

There was an interesting hit of acidity that encouraged a second taste. A little short on the finish for two years of maturation but nevertheless a pleasing cheese.

Leagrams Organic Creamy

Tesco Wensleydale: Salivasapping dryness, chalky with perhaps a touch of lemon that disappears almost immediately. You need to keep working this in the mouth to get anything – and it really isn’t worth it.

texture, giving a huge spike of bitterness we thought was uncharacteristic of a Wensleydale. Some apple notes but overall there was a little too much acidity on the finish.

Tesco Finest Inglewhite Tasty Lancashire: We all struggled with this. On first tasting it promised much, with a sweet nuttiness on the front of the tongue, but that disappeared quickly. There was little or no complexity, and with a short finish it offered little more than a mild cheddar.

Kirkhams (available in delis and farm shops): Quite distinct – some

This delivered an interestingly complex flavour that split the team. Good Cheese editor Mick Whitworth found it unpleasant (it reminded him of baby sick) but the rest found it interesting. There was a lot going on – good complexity and interesting background notes – and overall (bar one of us) we enjoyed this.

Completely different texture to the other Wensleydales: creamy, not crumbly. Well-made, with a good level of savoury notes. Not a conventional Wensleydale, but complex flavours make this a really nice cheese.

(available from some farm shops and delis, plus Waitrose): Good

Clearly a Creamy Lancashire, it delivered an egginess and bitterness we were not happy with. The bitterness sat for a while at the back of the tongue.

(bought from Godfrey C Williams):

Kit Calvert Wensleydale: (available in delis and farm shops, plus Waitrose):

Belton Farm Wensleydale

(available in delis and farm shops):

Sandham’s Tasty & Creamy

Morrisons Yorkshire Wensleydale PDO: Dry and crumbly with hints of lemon revealing a touch of sour egginess on the finish. Left us dry in the mouth.

lovely flavour notes here that deliver an umami spiciness that is almost, but not quite, fruity. Fairly complex as the flavour gently evolves.

Traditional Hawes Wensleydale PDO (available in delis and farm shops): A fresh, dry crumbly cheese that is light and lemony with a touch of sweetness and an interesting graininess. We enjoyed the gentle and complex finish.

Co-op Wensleydale: By the second chew this gave us a hint of milky acidity with just a touch of lemon, but in the end it had to be pushed to deliver any focused flavours.

Hawes Special Reserve Wensleydale PDO (available in delis and farm shops): This has a pleasant texture offering a huge lemon hit and a lovely long finish. A really good cheese.

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english regional cheeses DOUBLE GLOUCESTER

CHESHIRE

Grandma Singleton’s Double Gloucester: The flavours are better than the texture, which is very moist. Buttery, with a hint of nut but a touch of sourness on the finish.

Belton Farm Cheshire

Quickes Double Gloucester (available in delis and farm shops): Quite fudgey and sweet but with some acid notes as well. A straightforward cheese that we found adequate without being very exceptional.

Appleby Double Gloucester (available in delis and farm shops): Good body, although not quite firm enough. The texture gave something to chew on and it promised to come through with real flavour but sadly went nowhere.

fruity tang. This is very much its own cheese: interesting, with hints of a gouda, but perhaps a little too much salt on the finish. Doesn’t fit the accepted description of a Double goodcheese Gloucester today, but perhaps as it was in CHOICE the 1800s. Anyway, we liked it.

Belton Farm Vintage Red Fox (available in delis and farm shops): Plenty

of sweet starter and more than a little crunch on the palate.

Good balance that left us with a hint of lemony acidity – or was it yeastiness? The texture lacked real body, and while it delivered flavours that lingered, we thought this ’vintage’ cheese was still too young.

The Co-op White Cheshire: Some acidity on the front that disappeared quickly. The paste crumbled almost into sawdust. Dry and short on flavour.

Almost a cottage cheese mouth-feel that finished with a hint of sourness.

Appleby’s Cheshire

Charles Martell Double Gloucester (available in delis and farm shops): Firm bodied, with a slightly

Belton Farm Red Fox (available in delis and farm shops): This is loaded with sweet Helvetica starter culture and delivers it full-on.

Not unpleasant – there are some good cheesy notes and a little length on the finish. Much more of a crowd-pleaser than a traditional Red Leicester.

curd was a little like scrambled egg in texture. This is certainly a Crumbly cheese, delivering a characteristic gentle acidity, but we felt it lacked a little complexity on the finish.

Tesco White Cheshire: A compact, tight texture that was dry on the palate. It coated the mouth much more in line with what we expect from and tongue, giving little by way of flavour. Not a Cheshire. unpleasant but lacking any excitement.

The paste holds together well, delivering goodcheese the most CHOICE interesting, gentle flavours and a long, complex finish, full of fresh lemon and natural sweetness. (available from good delis and farm shops): This is

The Co-op British Double Gloucester: This really didn’t have anything going for it – an annatto coloured Babybel that delivers almost nothing.

THE REDS

(available from some farm shops and delis, plus Waitrose): The

goodcheese

Belton Farm Red Leicester (available in delis and farm shops, plus Waitrose):

Weak body but some typical Red Leicester flavour. Quite smooth with good savoury notes that linger. We feel this is a more integrated cheese, with good spiciness and almost a hint of cheddar.

Pleasant.

Quickes Traditional Red Leicester (available in delis and farm shops): Very

moist and quite tasteless.

Rubbery.

Would make a good Welsh Rarebit but as a table cheese, we didn’t like it.

Thomas Hoe Red Leicester (This

CHOICE

was purchased from Turnbull’s Deli without Charlie knowing it. Made

by Long Clawson, the cheese is delivered into Turnbull’s at 6 months and matured for a further 2 months.) Dry in

texture, with a touch of egginess to start. Interesting, complex character delivering caramel notes and a long finish. A good cheese.

Oak Smoked Dorset Red (bought from Udder Farm Shop, Dorset): Good

smoke on the nose. Damp curd delivering a meaty balance, but the smoke overpowered, leaving little or no taste of the cheese.

A crowdpleaser.

Butler’s Mature Farmhouse Red Leicester (available from Tesco): Moist,

pappy, rubbery but with just a hint of flavour.

It teases you that there is going to be more but, in reality, nothing happens.

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester (bought from The Fine Cheese Company and available in delis and farm shops): Firm

bodied with good complex flavours that in many ways was close to a good farmhouse cheddar. A good cheese but not quite distinguished enough.

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the science of cheese-making The piquant French goats’ artisan Crottin de Chavignol (left) is typical of the character-filled raw milk varieties that many cheese lovers hold in high esteem

Jamie Watson/ Dreamstime.com

says. “Our cheeses are as good now as when they were made with raw milk and we’re far more consistent because we’re much more experienced.”

At London cheese shop La Fromagerie, owner Patricia Michelson says pasteurized cheeses can be delicious if the cheese-maker masters all aspects of production. The choice of starter culture is of “major importance” she says, while source of rennet and use of different moulds all influence the structure of the cheese.

But the most important thing, she says, is the milk itself. Even if it is heat treated, how it was produced and handled will have a big influence on the final product. “Are the cattle open grazing? Is the cheese made purely with fresh milk, or is the milk frozen or dried? Is the cheese made with milk from a closed dairy or is milk bought from several farms?”

Billy Kevan, dairy manager at Colston Bassett, which makes (pasteurized) Stilton, says the most

The raw truth?

Serious foodies say raw milk cheeses are always best. But, as PATRICK McGUIGAN reports, the argument that you can’t draw complex and delicious flavours from pasteurized milk doesn’t always hold true.

T

he mere mention of raw milk cheese sends some foodies into raptures. They talk with near-religious zeal of the complex flavours and sense of terroir that comes from unpasteurized milk, and argue vociferously that heat-treating milk to kill potential pathogens means sacrificing those ‘good’ bacteria that create such wonderful layers of flavour.

But dig a little deeper and you soon discover the issue is not so clear-cut.

Pasteurized cheeses regularly win top cheese awards that have been blind-judged by industry

experts. The Camembert-style Tunworth, from Hampshire Cheeses, is a case in point. It has been named Supreme Champion twice at the British Cheese Awards: once in 2006 when it was made with raw milk and again in 2013 when it was made with pasteurized.

Its maker, Stacey Hedges, decided to switch to pasteurized milk because she did not have her own cows and had encountered problems with boughtin milk, resulting in entire batches of cheese being thrown away.

“Raw milk is not the be-all and end-all,” she

Billy Kevan of Stilton producer Colston Bassett, says skills and experience, not the use of raw milk, are the marks of a master cheese-maker

important factor in making a good cheese is the skill of the cheese-maker.

“You can get good cheese and bad cheese from raw milk and good cheese and bad cheese from pasteurized – it really depends who’s making it,” he says. “I see people who have been on a course, start making cheese and are suddenly ‘master cheese-makers’ because they are using raw milk. But I’ve been making cheese for 30 years and I’m still learning.”

Kevan says factors like the natural flora in the dairy, room temperature, air flow and how the milk is processed all have major impacts on cheese quality. He also points out that pasteurisation is not the same as sterilisation. “Heat treatment doesn’t kill all the bacteria,” he says. “You only have to leave a pint of milk out of the fridge overnight to see that. But it will kill pathogens like listeria, e-coli, typhoid and TB.” Britain’s Stilton producers famously took a collective decision to only use pasteurized milk in 1989 following a listeria scare, and this is now enshrined in the EU rules governing Stilton’s Protected Designation of Origin status. However, new research from French scientists suggests the diverse range of microbes in raw milk actually makes it harder for pathogens to become established.

Neal’s Yard Dairy in London is spearheading a move to get this research translated into English.

Head buyer Bronwen Percival says it will not only help British cheese-makers improve safety but lead to better tasting cheeses.

“Microbes have had a really bad rap,” she says. “We have a mentality of cleanliness where

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the science of cheese-making

Dark art or deep science?

LYNDA SEARBY finds out where the art ends and the science begins in artisan cheese-making

L

Tunworth picked up major awards in blind-tastings both before and after its maker switched from raw to pasteurized milk

everything is sanitised, whereas actually recent research has pointed out these bacterial communities are really important for keeping things in balance.

“There’s a thought that if you have a natural and dynamic community of raw milk microflora and something gets in there that shouldn’t, it’s going to have to work that much harder to out-compete other bacteria.”

More research is needed, says Percival, because there will be greater demand for raw milk cheeses in the future as shoppers look for unique products that reflect the place in which they are made.

“I don’t think a lot of people are talking about it just yet, but in another 10-15 years as the market gets more sophisticated, I think it will become really important,” she says.

Cheese-maker Sam Holden has first-hand experience of using both pasteurized and unpasteurized milk to make his Welsh cheddar-style Hafod.

It was originally made with raw milk, but he had to start pasteurising after a TB scare in the area (even though none of his cows has actually had the disease).

To help minimise the impact he switched to a different style of starter

culture. These are added to milk to kick-start the cheese-making process, and they help dictate the flavour and texture of the final cheese.

Holden stopped using freezedried cultures in favour of a liquid ‘pint’ starter, which requires a longer, gentler production process but brings a broader range of flavours. It also encourages the natural bacteria in the dairy to grow in the pasteurized milk.

The move proved to be amazingly successful, with some cheesemongers declaring the pasteurized Hafod to be as good, if not better, than when it was made with raw milk.

With the farm due to regain its TB-free status soon after Good Cheese went to press, Holden’s next move it to try the complex starters in unpasteurized milk.

“We are still very passionate about using raw milk,” he says. “We want to make expressive cheese that reflects the season and our location.”

It’s this kind of holistic approach to cheese-making, taking in everything from the cows’ diet to the maturing of the final cheese, as well as the milk, that leads to really special cheeses, says Bronwen Percival at Neal’s Yard.

“Raw milk and an expressive make is when you get cheese nirvana.”

“ Microbes have had a really bad rap. We have a mentality of cleanliness.”

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ike many artisan producers, veteran Charles Martell has never had a lesson in his trade or read a book on cheese-making in his life. Instead, his education has come from what he calls “the empirical method”.

“I fiddled and faddled and learned from my mistakes,” he says.

There’s no denying the success of his approach – over the last four decades he has revived the making of Single Gloucester cheese and developed a range of new hard and soft varieties, among them the renowned Stinking Bishop.

The advantage, he says, of being “unscientific” is that you can create cheeses you wouldn’t find in a book.

But to say there is no science in his techniques is also untrue. Once he gets talking, it becomes apparent his practical knowledge of cheesemaking is equivalent to a verbal PhD. “We’re close to the land and we look at what is going on and apply our knowledge,” he says.

As an example of this ‘applied science’, he says that during the spring flush, the balance of solids and fats in the milk is upset, making the curds too soft for some types of hard cheese, such as Double Gloucester.

“To compensate for this we adjust the acidity, to lose some of the moisture and make the curds a bit firmer,” he says.

So while it hasn’t come from a textbook, there is certainly some science in Martell’s methods, and as he himself admits: “I’m not sure where the science ends and lovely old-fashioned techniques begin.”

For cheese-maker Mary Quicke, who has carried on the clothbound cheddar-making business started in Devon by her father, Sir John Quicke, 25 years ago, the skill of an artisan producer lies in bringing craft to science rather than vice versa.

“Everything we do is applied

science, and we need to bring craft and discernment to the science.

“Artisan cheese-makers tend to have a really good understanding of the science as we see it right from milk to customers’ mouths in a way that industrial dairies do not.

“Artisans also tend to use milk from one herd, so we can understand the levers and manipulate them to develop specific flavour attributes.”

Examples of how Quickes uses science in its production techniques range from its use of different scald temperatures to develop levels of flavour and the tracking of pH or titratable acid levels to developing a machine to control cheese mites.

Quicke’s point about adding craft to science is an important one, as blindly following science can be as risky as relying solely on instinct and guesswork.

Indeed, Bronwen Percival, buyer and QA manager with wholesaler and retailer Neal’s Yard, says that technical procedures, such as measuring acidity, have the potential to be destructive rather than constructive.

“Too many artisan cheesemakers rely too heavily on acidity to tell them what is going on,” says Percival. “Sometimes it’s better to take a step back and look at the curd in the vat. That know-how is the result of months and years of having made cheese successfully. It’s about developing the experience to read the milk and the signs coming from the vat.”

Top farmhouse cheddar maker Jamie Montgomery of Somerset’s Montgomery Cheese wonders whether, as science has advanced, people have lost their ability to observe.

His own powers of observation were put to the test a few years ago when, after crossing over from Ayrshires to Friesians, it suddenly occurred to him that something had

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the science of cheese-making

changed in the milk. “There was something different in the feel of the curd that made me realise we’d lost something. We were breeding away from something good.”

The changes Montgomery observed came from the different size of fat globules found in milk from the two breeds. Those in Ayrshire milk are slightly smaller, which makes it easier to produce a strong curd. He is now crossing his Friesians with Ayrshire cows in an attempt to replicate the milk of old.

The one area where Martell does concede that a scientific approach is vital is in safety.

“Essentially this comes down to making sure the cows are clean before you milk them, testing the foremilk for streptococcus,” he says.

“When the cows are grazing on grass they will typically be cleaner.

In the winter it’s trickier because it is muddy.”

Dairy technical consultant and co-founder of Thimble Cheeses Paul Thomas comes at the discussion from a different perspective, but agrees that a scientific approach to safety is necessary, particularly as EU regulators are basing their decisions on science.

“If new legislation is being informed by science, producers need to be able to understand the science,” he says.

He is referring in particular to regulation EC2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs.

This piece of legislation is designed to protect consumers against pathogens by setting limits for acceptable levels of bacteria such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella in finished products.

“Cheese-makers are required to test their cheese every month. If their HACCP [hazard analysis] system is working properly, the microbiology will come back clear,” he says.

While acknowledging the importance of keeping dangerous bacteria in check, Paul Thomas does think enforcers are going a step too far.

“There is a push from public health bodies towards a sterile world – an illusion that can never be achieved,” he says.

Besides being unrealistic in raw milk cheeses, the concept of killing off all bacteria is also pretty ignorant.

Evolving scientific research is revealing that a healthy microbial community can actually make cheese safer.

“We’re getting a better view of the microbiological world and are realising that interesting microbial communities are wiped out when milk is pasteurized,” explains Neal’s Yard’s Percival. “In the past it was thought that the key to safety was producing sterile raw milk, but now people are beginning to accept that it makes more sense to work with the bacteria than against it.”

Thomas concurs, saying: “We need to look at the way individual

Cheese-making is all about “applied science” says Devon’s Mary Quicke. The artisan maker’s role it to bring “craft and discernment” to the process.

microbes can interact and inhibit each other.”

This theory can be seen in action in the mountains of Auvergne, where for centuries, Salers cheese has been made by curdling raw milk in a wooden gérlo.

“The public health authorities might frown upon using wooden equipment because of the risk of it harbouring pathogens, but the lactic acid somehow holds the pathogens in check,” says Thomas.

Montgomery doesn’t see why authorities and regulators should have a problem with this approach to safety, albeit slightly unorthodox.

“It’s about the way good bugs in milk behave,” he says, adding: “People have got their heads around probiotics.”

A better understanding of microbiology would not only benefit safety, but could also improve the sensory qualities of cheese – the taste, smell and texture – which Percival believes could potentially be very empowering for cheese-makers.

It’s a route that Montgomery is also keen to explore. “We need to know what the bacteria other than the pathogens are doing,” he says.

“Does a very low cell count mean there’s no interest in that cheese?

Logically it should be true that if you can produce good pathogen results with high viable count results, it should be a good cheese. And if we could measure the ratio of good to

bad bacteria, we could look at what farming practices produce that milk.”

Percival admits that converting benchtop science into a form that artisan cheese-makers can use is a challenge, but believes that by following the French example, it can be done.

“In the UK, science serves the industrial side of cheese-making, whereas in France the government has funded research looking at protecting its raw milk heritage. Their research is directly focused on how raw milk microflora works and how cheese-makers can implement this.”

To this end, she is coordinating a crowdfunding initiative to pay for an English translation of a practical handbook on raw milk microbiology for cheese-makers, which is currently only available in French.

She insists this isn’t about plying cheese makers with theoretical knowledge that bears little relation to real life, or trying to get artisans to produce a standardised product.

It’s about helping producers to understand how science can unlock the character of cheese – so they can command commercially sustainable prices.

Too much reliance on science can mean cheese-makers lose their skills of observation, says cheddar maker Jamie Montgomery

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unusual cheeses

Weird but wonderful Bored with Brie de Meaux? Tired of Taleggio? Put the sparkle back into your relationship with cheese by trying PATRICK McGUIGAN’s selection of hidden gems from mainland Europe.

Bitto Italy Made only during the summer in small stone refuges (called calécc) by herdsmen high up in the Alpine mountains of Lombardy, Bitto can be aged for longer than any other cheese. Some wheels are left to mature for 10 years, developing intense, nutty flavours and a crumbly texture.

It’s made with cows’ milk and around 10-20% goats’ milk, which some say is the secret to Bitto’s amazing ageing abilities. The cheese is in short supply with only a handful of producers still making it in the traditional way.

Available from www.lacredenza.co.uk, £40/kg

Brie Noir France

Tegel means ‘brick’ in Swedish and this blockshaped cheese with a reddish rind wouldn’t look out of a place in a builder’s yard. Made with organic, unpasteurized cows’ milk cheese in Hjo by a company called Almnas Bruk, the cheese resembles the bricks used to build the farm’s manor house in 1750. It’s aged for 12-24 months and is similar to Gruyère or Parmesan, with a hard texture and rich flavour. Each ‘brick’ weighs around 25kg.

While Brie de Meaux is famous for being velvety and unctuous, there is another version of the cheese that has been seduced by the dark side. ‘Black Brie’ is aged for up to 12 months until it is hard, brittle and dark in colour. Legend has it that the cheese was invented when old, leftover Brie from the royal dinner table was given to peasants. Today, it is made with cheeses that don’t quite meet the strict PDO rules for Brie de Meaux. “They are stacked on top of each other and matured by affineurs until the cheese has a bitter, nutty flavour,” says David Deaves at La Cave à Fromage. “The French like to dip it in their morning coffee.”

Available from www.lafromagerie.co.uk, £39.50/kg.

Available from www.la-cave.co.uk, £29.50/kg

Almnas Tegel Sweden

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unusual cheeses Formaggio di Fossa Italy

Provolone del Monaco Italy

Literally translated as ‘pit cheese’, this unique pecorino is wrapped in hay and buried underground for three months during the summer.

A speciality of Romagna, its production dates back to the 15th century when farmers would hide their valuable cheese underground to keep it safe from bandits and the taxman. The cheeses are placed in bags and stacked on top of each other in the 3m-deep pits, which reach temperatures of 20°C in the summer heat, resulting in a sharp-tasting pecorino that is an acquired taste. Pimlico restaurant Tinello serves it with pear mustard and eucalyptus honey.

They’ve been making this pear-shaped cows’ milk cheese on the Sorrento coast for well over a thousand years and the original recipe is still used today.

Like mozzarella, the curd is spun and twisted, and moulded into shape. It’s then hung up in a wine cellar, for 4-18 months, where it is regularly washed in brine.

“The characteristic flavours and aromas of the region can be tasted in the cheese, with a fruity and sharp quality mingling with the chewy texture,” says Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie. “Truly unique.”

Available from www. lacredenza.co.uk, £40/kg

Available from www.lafromagerie.co.uk, £55.50/kg

Montébore Italy

Gamalost Norway Legend has it that the Vikings feasted on Gamalost to boost their sex drive. Literally meaning ‘old cheese’, the Viagra of the dairy world gets its characteristic brown colouring and breadlike texture from a particular mould, which producers would traditionally encourage by wrapping the cheese in gin-soaked straw and juniper berries. Today, the Tine dairy in Sogn is believed to be the last producer of Gamalost, which has “a brittle granular texture and sharp pungent tang, reminiscent of aged Camembert or Danish Blue”, according to the World Cheese Book.

Norwegians serve it on bread with fruit, honey or cream, presumably just before bedtime.

Looking for a wedding cheese cake with a difference? Montébore is your answer. Named after a small town in Piedmont, it’s made by fusing together three or more robiola-style ‘formaggi’ to make a single castle-shaped product. The cheese was first served at a lavish 15th century wedding that united the houses of Aragon and Milan (Leonardo Da Vinci was master of ceremonies), but production had completely died out by 1982 and was only revived in 1999.

Robbyn Linden at the Cheeseboard in Greenwich says: “It has a very particular flavour profile. It’s a firm cheese that is quite lactic and acidic with hints of wood and chestnuts around the rind.”

Available from www.cheese-board.co.uk, £36/kg

Available through www.scandikitchen.co.uk, price on request

Brânz de Burduf Romania Brânzăde Burduf from Transylvania is matured in a special casing made by sewing pieces of tree bark together.

The sheep’s milk cheese is only produced between May and July on the slopes of the high Bucegi Mountains in the Carpathians when the fir trees are rich in aromatic resin. The bark casing, which is initially softened in hot whey, imparts a spicy, resinous flavour as the cheese is matured for up to two months.

“It has a gummy paste and spruce-resin aroma, and is kind of like a provolone dolce,” says cheesemonger and blogger Calum Hodgson.

Not currently available in UK

Vieux Lille France A cheese so smelly you are not allowed to take it on public transport, Vieux Lille is affectionately known as ‘old stinker’ thanks to its pungent aroma and powerful flavour.

It is actually a version of the famous washed rind Maroilles, but goes through an additional brining stage to give it a salty tang. Made in Northern France, it used to be the cheese of choice for miners and is regularly dubbed the smelliest cheese in the world.

“Think of an Epoisses and then add some,” is how a cheesemonger at Teddington Cheese describes it. “It’s really smelly, salty and fruity, and not for the faint hearted.”

Available from www.teddingtoncheese.co.uk, £24/kg

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Sir iz Mijeha ‘Cheese in a Sack’ Bosnia and Herzegovina This unusual cheese from Herzegovina is matured in a sack, made from the skin of a single sheep for 2-3 months, which gives it a distinctive flavour. Made with milk from rare breed cows and/or sheep, the curds are tightly stuffed into the sack using a stick. The finished cheese weighs anywhere between 30kg and 70kg. According to cheesemonger and blogger Calum Hodgson, who tasted it at the Bra Cheese festival, ‘sack cheese’ has “a butyric acid aroma and a strong lactic taste”.

“As a lazy man, I appreciate the crude efficiency of this sack methodology,” he adds.

Not currently available in UK

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it e on e is h & V t t ty air th ond et a li F at L rk , a us ia d ec oo nd ow M Sp e F 5 a Sh ese n 1 d e Fi d 6 oo Ch an d F l d St oo or G W C e B h B in t

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on 07929 418672

artisan cheese-making

A living

legend

Still influenced by the guiding spirit of its late founder, Appleby’s Cheshire is keeping one of the UK’s traditional cloth-bound territorial cheeses alive, as PATRICK McGUIGAN reports

T

he great British food revival has been so successful that you could argue we’re now living in a golden age of cheese. Exciting new varieties are being launched all the time by a new generation of passionate producers. It’s a heart-warming state of affairs for cheese fanatics, but it wasn’t always the case.

In the early 1980s our specialist cheese-makers were hanging on by their fingernails as cheap, industrially produced supermarket products ruled the shelves. It’s hard to believe now, but the future of traditionally made territorials from Red Leicester to Lancashire and

even farmhouse cheddar were in the balance.

Cheshire cheese was no different.

Before World War II there were dozens of small farmhouse producers making traditional raw milk, cloth-bound Cheshire.

However, numbers rapidly dwindled until in the early ‘80s there was just one left.

Appleby’s had been set up by Lance and Lucy Appleby in 1952 at Hawkstone Abbey Farm in North Shropshire and the couple were determined that proper Cheshire cheese shouldn’t be lost to the nation.

“Paxton & Whitfield in London were willing to deal direct, so we put four 54lb cheeses in the back of the Land Rover and headed off to Jermyn Street”

Along with her family and head cheese-maker Garry Gray, Christine Appleby (right) is taking forward a business begun by her late mother-inlaw Lucy Appleby MBE (left)

goodcheese 2014-15

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We go further to please…

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“We couldn’t have got to where we are without the help of MLFC! They have always delivered superb cheese as well as advice and great service. Thank you and here’s to many more years!”

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artisan cheese-making

“People gradually went out of cheese-making after the Second World War for various reasons,” explains their daughter-in-law Christine Appleby, who runs the business today with her husband Edward and son and daughter-in-law Paul and Sarah.

“Sometimes it was because the ground had been ploughed up or because family members had gone off to war.

“Then people went into mass production to supply the supermarkets.

In the ’80s we eventually became the last one holding the flag for clothbound traditional Cheshire and we weren’t able to find a market for our cheese.”

The main problem was that, like many small cheese-makers, all Appleby’s production was bought by the government’s central Milk Marketing Board, which was geared up for supplying multiples and didn’t really understand farmhouse cheese. So the family decided to take radical action, ending their contract with the MMB and going it alone.

“We’d been making cheese for a long time but we didn’t actually have any customers, “ says Christine. “We saw there was an opportunity to tap on doors and get our cheese to the right people, so we bought a Land Rover and hit the road.

“Paxton & Whitfield was one of our first customers in London. They were willing to deal with us direct, so we put four 54lb cheeses in the back of the Land Rover and headed off to Jermyn Street.”

From there they moved onto Neal’s Yard Dairy, where Lance Appleby famously strode up to founder Randolph Hodgson in the shop and banged a whole cheese on the counter with the words, “Here son, try this.

This is real Cheshire.” Hodgson was immediately convinced and became a loyal customer, as did Harrods and wholesaler Rowcliffe.

“It was about finding people who cared about food,” says Christine. “It was only the beginning of the food revolution that is still going on now. The market has really evolved since then.”

Today the company still produces Cheshire in the traditional way, using raw milk from their own 400-strong herd of cows, and cloth-wrapping the cheeses before ageing them in the farm’s own maturing rooms. Here they are rubbed and turned by hand each day.

Head cheese-maker Garry Gray makes around 50 of the 8.5kg cheeses daily, adding up to 80 tonnes a year – a tiny amount in comparison to industrial cheese manufacturers who churn out thousands of tonnes of block Cheshire every year.

Appleby’s Cheshire is a completely

different beast to the bland, rubbery stuff you find wrapped in plastic on supermarket shelves. It is far less acidic, with a wonderful moist, flaky texture and complex flavours that include lactic, savoury and mineral notes. These reflect the salt and mineral deposits of the Cheshire Plain where the cows graze.

It is undoubtedly one of Britain’s great cheeses, but despite all the progress we’ve made in food in the 30 years since the Applebys first fired up the Land Rover, their cheese remains the only raw milk, calico-bound Cheshire in the UK. With so many new varieties hitting the market, often inspired by Continental classics, is there a danger we are still taking our native cheeses for granted?

“I think it’s important the public appreciate the heritage of Cheshire, Caerphilly, Wensleydale, Lancashire, Single and Double Gloucester, and all these wonderful territorial cheeses – they are world class,” says Christine. “If you can speak to people, educate them about proper cheese and get them to taste it they really can tell the difference and they won’t go back.

“People tell us they don’t like Cheshire, but that’s because they haven’t tried the real thing. They are actually used to eating something from the supermarket that is not long past curds, whereas ours has lots of character.”

The skill and knowledge required to express this character started with Lucy Appleby – a farmer’s daughter who learned cheese-making from her mother and grandmother before attending Reaseheath agricultural college in Nantwich. The formidable Mrs Appleby died in 2008, but her influence on the business is still felt today. She trained Garry Gray and made sure to pass on her wisdom to her children and grandchildren. Her dedication was recognised in 2001 when she and Lance were awarded MBEs. “She was the expert in the family,” says Christine Appleby, describing Lucy’s wealth of cheese-making experience as a “wonderful book of knowledge”.

“She lived to a good age and she passed on her skills. You still have your moments when things are not going quite right when it would be nice to get her opinion.

“If she put a cheese iron in the cheese and it wasn’t to her liking she would be very clear and honest, even if there was a customer there. She knew when she had a good cheese and she knew when she had a bad one.”

Christine adds: “Cheese-making was very much the love of her life.

That’s why we didn’t do what everyone else did and give up.”

“People tell us they don’t like Cheshire, but that’s because they haven’t tried the real thing”

Although the cheese is still hand-crafted, Appleby’s will produce around 80 tonnes of Cheshire, smoked Cheshire and Double Gloucester a year

www.applebyscheese.co.uk

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recipes

Let’s eat!

Great cheese isn’t just for the cheeseboard. Why not let our great selection of recipe ideas inspire you to new heights in the kitchen?

Flatbread with Rocket, Prosciutto, Mango & Manchego Suzanne & Michelle Rousseau The combination of sweet mango and salty prosciutto makes a lovely – and surprising – pairing.

If you’re pressed for time or just feeling lazy, you can buy ready-made flatbread and focus your energy on the toppings.

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SERVES 8 Ingredients 225g thinly sliced prosciutto 225g Manchego cheese, shaved 170g mango flesh, thinly sliced 115g rocket Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp honey balsamic reduction* For the flatbread dough: 570g plain flour, plus more for dusting 2 tsp sea salt 1 sachet (7g) easy-blend dried yeast 180ml warm water 4 tbsp olive oil 650ml cold water

For the herb oil: 250ml extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 1 tbsp fresh thyme 1 tbsp chopped garlic 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil Sea salt For the caramelised red onion: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, thinly sliced Sea salt

Method To make the flatbread dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough tool, mix the flour and salt together for about 1 minute until thoroughly incorporated. Meanwhile, place the yeast in a small bowl and whisk in the warm water, then 3 tbsp of the oil. Leave the yeast to rest for about 10 minutes until it begins to foam, then pour into a well in the centre of the flour.

Mix the flour and yeast solution until well incorporated. Add the cold water to the flour and mix again until the dough pulls together in a single, unified mass.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead, working the dough with the heel of your hand. Push outwards and pull the inside edge over the top. Repeat the process over and over to create a smooth ball of dough, free of stickiness. This should take 6-8 minutes. Brush a clean, stainless steel bowl with the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and put the ball of dough in the bowl.

Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise at room temperature for about 1 hour until it has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, make the herb oil. Whisk together the oil, rosemary, thyme, basil and garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and leave to stand for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop. (You can also use a blender.)

To make the caramelised red onion, heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over a low heat, then add the onion and season with a little salt. Cook slowly for 15-20 minutes until the onion is caramelised and slightly sweet.

Divide the dough into 8 balls. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into an oval shape. Brush with the herb oil, sprinkle with salt and chargrill on both sides until marked. Cover each flatbread with prosciutto slices and top with the cheese shavings and mango slices.

Season the rocket with salt and pepper, then toss with the honey balsamic reduction and herb oil to taste in a small bowl. Mound the rocket on top of the prosciutto, mango and cheese. Add the caramelised onion and basil and serve immediately. *To make the honey balsamic reduction, combine 250ml balsamic vinegar, 60ml honey and 2 tbsp sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Simmer for 15 minutes until reduced and syrupy. Makes 250ml.

• Recipe from Caribbean Potluck by Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau, published by Kyle Books.

Tropea Onion, Sausage & Grana Padano Quiche Francesco Mazzei For this recipe we used Grana Padano Riserva, aged 20 months, particularly because it has a beautiful strong and pungent taste.

This creates a perfect balance with the sweetness of onion jam.

SERVES 4 Ingredients 300g puff pastry 250ml double cream 5 whole eggs 120ml full fat milk 100g Grana Padano Riserva (use 30g for shaving) 20g ‘nduja salami 50g Tuscan sausage 45g red onion jam Salt and pepper, to taste

Method Pre-heat oven to 195°C. Roll out the puff pastry. Grease a 20cm diameter oven-proof dish and line with greaseproof paper.

Lay the pastry on top of the paper and scatter with ceramic baking beans (or dried chick peas, if you don’t have baking beans) to prevent the pastry from rising.

Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes until light brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, remove the beans.

Turn the oven down to 150°C. In the meantime, combine the

Bouikos are little cheese buns from the Balkans. There are two key factors in getting the best texture here: use cold ingredients and work them as little as possible.

Feta & Spring Onion Bouikos Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer

MAKES 12 SMALL OR 6 LARGE Ingredients 50g cold butter 40g mature cheddar cheese 40g feta cheese 100g plain flour 50ml sour cream 1 tsp nigella seeds 2 spring onions, chopped (or 2 tsp chopped chives) Milk to glaze Method Cut your cold butter into small dicesized cubes. Grate the cheddar and crumble the feta, then combine all the ingredients straight away. You can use

eggs, double cream, milk and 70g Grana Padano with salt and pepper, and whisk together.

Break up the sausage, and dot it around the pastry case with 30g onion jam and salami.

Pour the egg mix into the case and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes – until the middle of the quiche is firm to the touch.

To serve, decorate with grated Grana Padano and the remaining onion jam.

• Francesco Mazzei hails from Calabria, Italy, and is co-owner and chef-patron of L’Anima in the City of London. a mixer with a paddle attachment, or just your hands. Work the mixture until it just combines: lumps of butter and cheese are exactly what you want in this dough – when you bake it they will melt and ooze and be so tasty.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat it down to a rough rectangle about 2cm thick. Cut into triangles.

Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7.

Bake on a lined baking tray on the upper-middle shelf for about 10 minutes. Carefully turn the tray around, reduce the temperature to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6 and bake for a further 6-8 minutes until golden.

You can eat these straight away or you can cool them on the tray until you are ready to serve. They are best eaten the same day.

• From Honey & Co: Food from the Middle East by Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, published by Saltyard Books.

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A DELUGE OF AWARDS FOR SHARPHAM CHEESE In excess of 60 highly acclaimed National and International Awards in 2013/2014.

Traditional cheese handcrafted on the family farm

Devon County Show.

Served at several Michelin starred restaurants in the UK.

SHARPHAM WINE & CHEESE CONSISTENTLY WINNING AWARDS BRO

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01803 732600 www.sharpham.com

From our family farm in West Limerick, we produce a range of handcrafted, artisan, award winning cheeses, including: Cahill’s Original Irish Porter Cheddar, Cahill’s Irish Whiskey Cheddar with Kilbeggan, Cahill’s Ardagh Red Wine Cheddar.

The cornerstone of our business is that each cheese is individually made and handcrafted thus retaining the subtlety of flavour that is invariably absent from the mass produced product.

T: +353 6962365 E: info@cahillscheese.ie

www.cahillscheese.ie

Sharpham Estate, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7UT email: mark@sharpham.com

Artisan-produced, all-natural, condiments & preserves, a colourful array of products from traditional favourites to innovative specialities.

Extra Fru ity A warm ta Strawberry Jam ste of su nshine a any time t of the ye ar.

The Cheesemakers of Canterbury, home of award winning Kentish cheeses including the award winning Chaucers Camembert.

All our cheeses are available at our retail outlet at The Goods Shed in Canterbury, or through the cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk website, as well as through our

Extra Fruity Gooseberry Jam

wholesalers. Our range includes our first and signature cheese Ashmore Farmhouse, along with Kellys, Gruffs, Canterbury Cobble, Bowyers Brie and of course the award winning Chaucers Camembert.

A delectable jam, full of tart flavour.

Very Fruity Blackberry & Apple Jam Delight in these delicious autumn fruits.

To find out more about our tasty products call: 016973 45974, email: claire@claireshandmade.co.uk or visit our website: www.claireshandmade.com

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PRODUCED IN

KENT

Why not visit our website and find out about our handmade cheeses and follow the process from milk through to the presses and the range of award winning cheeses.

In addition you can discover our history as cheesemakers and the histor y of Ashmore Cheese.

Lamberhurst Farm, Dargate, Faversham, Kent. ME13 9ES Tel: 01227 751741 - www.cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk

recipes A spiky hedgehog made from half a grapefruit studded with cheese and pineapple on sticks was once the height of sophistication. I’ve given these classic party nibbles a bit of an update, with sweet and juicy caramelised pineapple pieces and smooth and creamy goats’ cheese balls. Hedgehog grapefruit: optional.

MAKES 12 Ingredients 100g goats’ cheese ¼ fresh pineapple, peeled 50g plain flour 1 egg, beaten 100g fine breadcrumbs 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp icing sugar 12 cocktail sticks Method Mould the cheese into 12 balls, each

Cheese & Pineapple on Sticks Luke Thomas roughly the size of a cherry tomato.

Cut the pineapple into 12 pieces, about the same size as the balls of cheese.

Tip the flour into a shallow bowl, the egg into another bowl and the breadcrumbs into a third. Roll the cheese balls first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs firmly into the cheese.

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying

pan over a medium heat and cook the breaded cheese balls for 3-4 minutes, rolling them around the pan so they brown and crisp up all over. Drain on some kitchen roll. Preheat the grill to hot.

Crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar. Arrange the pineapple pieces on a baking tray, dust with the icing sugar and sprinkle over the coriander seeds. Grill for 2 minutes, until the sugar has caramelized and

Beetroot & Vulscombe Goats’ Cheese Andrew Kojima This a simple dish at heart, based on the classic combination of beetroot and goats’ cheese, but the variety of textures and colours gives it potential as a visually stunning starter.

SERVES 4 Ingredients Baked beetroot: 2 red beetroot 2 golden beetroot Coarse or rock salt Raw salt pickled beetroot: 1 small chioggia (candy) beetroot 1 small white beetroot 1 small golden beetroot Parma ham crisps: 8 slices of Parma ham Lemon and honey dressing: Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 1 tbsp good quality clear honey (I use Healy’s honey from Co Cork)

2 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil (I use Cotswold Gold) For the finished dish: 1 x 170g round of Vulscombe goats’ cheese 3-4 tbsp Moyallon pear & lime chutney 1 packet of lamb’s lettuce (mache) 1 packet of beetroot crisps 1 white endive Method Baked beetroot: Preheat the oven to 170°C. If the beetroot are significantly different sizes, it may be best to match them up and pack them separately according to grade, as the larger ones will likely need extra time in the oven. Rinse off any dirt, place in the middle of a large sheet of foil, sprinkle generously with rock salt or coarse salt, then fold up the foil package tightly (like cooking fish ‘en papillote’).

Bake at 170°C for at least 45 mins,

or until cooked. Test by sliding a sharp knife into the beetroot – if the beetroot is cooked and tender, the knife will slide in and out easily. Close the foil package again and leave for 20 minutes or so until the beetroot is cool enough to handle, but don’t let them go cold as they are easier to peel when still warm.

At this stage it is wise to wear disposable rubber gloves, to avoid staining your hands. Pick up each beetroot and rub off the skin with some kitchen roll. Slice the baked beetroot into wedges and discs, for visual variety on the finished dish. Set aside until ready to plate, but keep the two types separate as the red will stain the golden.

Raw salt pickled beetroot: Choose small golden, white and chioggia (candy) beetroot. Peel and slice thinly on a mandolin, then sprinkle with salt to soften. As the salt draws out some of the water from the beetroot, the slices will become slightly flaccid but retain a little raw crunch. Set aside until plating.

Parma ham crisps: Set aside 4 slices of ham to use on the finished dish. Line a shallow baking tray with nonstick baking parchment, lay out the slices of Parma ham, then place another sheet of baking parchment on top.

Place another baking tray on top (this stops them curling up as they cook),

the seeds have started to smell very aromatic.

Skewer a piece of pineapple followed by a piece of cheese with the cocktail sticks. Serve while still a little warm.

• From Luke’s Cookbook

by Luke Thomas, published by Michael Joseph.

then bake in the oven at 170°C. Check after 15 minutes - the ham should be browned and crispy - if not return to the oven for a few more minutes. When they are crispy, drain them on some kitchen roll to absorb any fat, then set aside for plating.

Lemon & honey dressing: Put all of the ingredients in a jam jar, replace the lid and shake to emulsify.

To plate: Begin by arranging the baked beetroot around the plate, using a variety of shapes and colours.

Break off pieces of Vulscombe and nestle between the beetroot – 4-5 thumb-sized pieces per plate. Repeat with dollops of pear & lime chutney.

Tear each piece of ham into three or four pieces and drape in any remaining gaps.

Do the same with the thin slices of pickled beetroots, again varying the shapes and colours.

Adorn the plate with sprigs of lamb’s lettuce and endive, to create volume and height. Dress the leaves with 2-3 teaspoons of the lemon & honey dressing.

Break the Parma ham crisps into shards and rest them amid the leaves, using the goats cheese to stand them up and give the plate a little drama.

Do the same with the best looking beetroot crisps. popular finalist in MasterChef •A 2012, whose style reflects his BritishJapanese heritage, Andrew Kojima is a freelance chef, cookery teacher and Great Taste judge.

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Etienne Heimermann

SERVES 4 Ingredients Corn crêpes: 3 eggs 50g white flour 50g milk 150g double cream 2g salt 15g melted butter 4g baking powder 75g canned corn Reblochon cream: 300g Reblochon 100ml water 100g double cream 2g salt 2g sugar 10g yucca cooked in water (will be soft) Smoked or Spanish ham salad: Mixed greens Slices of smoked or Spanish ham Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for seasoning

Reblochon de Savoie Hamburger Marc Veyrat Cauliflower and broccoli are both members of the brassica family and both have generously floretted, bouquet-like heads. While there is a tendency to favour the florets when serving as a side vegetable, the tender stalk is easily blended when it comes to soup. The result is a mellow, creamy texture – and a taste that beautifully complements the bitter bite of blue cheese.

At Schumacher College we use a Devon blue, but you could equally use Stilton or another local blue cheese.

SERVES 6 Ingredients 1 small/medium cauliflower (500g) 1 head of broccoli (350g) 1 large onion 2 stalks celery, finely chopped 2-4 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 tsp rosemary, chopped 500ml vegetable stock or water 34

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100g blue cheese, crumbled 150ml whole milk 2 tbsp cream 4 tbsp parsley, chopped 1 tsp salt and 1-2 pinches black pepper ¼ - ½ tsp English mustard 2-3 tbsp olive oil to sauté Method Begin by removing the outer leaves of the cauliflower and donating them to your goat, compost heap or guinea pig.

Carefully cut about one-third of the white cauliflower heads into neat florets, no bigger than the size of a walnut. The stalks and the remainder of the heads can be rough-chopped, which is quicker.

Keep the florets and rough-chopped cauliflower in two separate piles.

Likewise, prepare the broccoli into a pile of florets and a pile of roughchopped green vegetable. However, as the stalk of the broccoli is tougher than that of the cauliflower, you will have to not only cut off the ends but also pare away the fibrous outer skin of the trunk before chopping.

Chop the onion, celery, garlic and rosemary and begin to sauté them in the olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft, then add the roughchopped cauliflower and broccoli.

Continue to cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly – add a little water to prevent burning if necessary.

Meanwhile, measure out the stock (or water that will become your stock)

Method To make the corn crêpes, mix the three eggs with 50g of flour. Whip with the milk and cream, and then add the salt, melted butter and baking powder to obtain a homogenous mixture. On a large non-stick pan, cook two crêpes of 1.5cm in thickness and before flipping over to cook the other side, add the corn. Cooking time: 4 minutes on each side.

and bring it to the boil in a separate pan. Add the florets of broccoli and cauliflower and return to the boil.

Simmer briefly until the florets are just tender. Strain the liquid into the pan containing the other cooked vegetables.

Put the florets back in the empty pan with a lid on to keep them warm.

Add the crumbled blue cheese to the cooking chopped vegetables and stock.

Blend this with a stick blender, then add the reserved florets.

Lastly, warm the cream and milk and add it just before serving. If you are serving your guests with individual bowls, the cream can be used unheated and swirled on top of each helping.

To make the Reblochon cream, remove the rind of the cheese and soften in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Add the water, cream, salt and sugar, and mix. Incorporate the cooked yucca and bring to a boil in a medium-size cooking pan. Remove from heat and fill an oval dish with the cream, making sure the cream is about 2cm in height.

Keep refrigerated for 20 minutes and when the cream has hardened, cut in circles that are 5cm in diameter.

Thoroughly wash the mixed greens and add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Cut the ham in thin slices.

Assembling the hamburger: using a knife, cut the crêpes in circles that are 5cm in diameter. Do the same with the Reblochon cream stored in the fridge.

To layer, take one of your now small crêpes as a base and top with a round of Reblochon cream, some seasoned salad leaves and ham, and finish with a second small crêpe. You can top this Reblochon de Savoie Hamburger with a garnish of your choice.

• Marc Veyrat is a French chef from the Haute-Savoie region who specialises in the use of mountain plants and herbs. He has been awarded a total of six Michelin Stars and was the first chef to be given a score of 20/20 in the Gault-Millau guide, for his two restaurants.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, mustard and plenty of chopped parsley, holding back some for garnish. To serve, bring the soup to the desired temperature very gently, remembering not to let it boil once the milk and cream have been added, as this may cause it to curdle. Garnish with the remaining freshly chopped parsley.

• From Gaia’s Feasts: New vegetarian recipes for family and community

by Julia Ponsonby, published by Green Books.

Bobbing Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup with Blue Cheese Julia Ponsonby

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www.berkswellcheese.com

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goodcheese 2014-15

cheese accompaniments

Added pleasures

Cheshire Chutney Co’s array of handmade products include a range of Fruits for Cheese, such as chilli & lime for blues, cranberry & orange for rich white cheeses and damson for softer cheese. All three are available in 120g wide-neck jars (RRP £3.75), which can be turned straight from the jar and presented on cheeseboards. For goats’ cheese the family company has a fig & honey chutney (220g) while its apricot chutney (215g) is described as a “good all-rounder” when it comes to pairing with cheese. www.cheshirechutney.co.uk

Whether you’re looking for something to sip, crunch or spread, our round-up features a host of partners for your cheese of choice

Lucy’s Dressings’ new Blushing Beetroot condiment is a blend of beetroot and horseradish with a touch of balsamic vinegar, making it the perfect accompaniment for cheese, smoked fish, ham and pork pies. The combination of the sweet beetroot paired with the hot horseradish is especially well-suited to goats’ cheese. The first in the range of Lucy’s condiments, comes in a 250ml bottle for £4.99 or a 175g jar for £3.50 directly.

Both are available from the website or in many independent farm shops and delis across the country.

The Foods of Athenry’s handcrafted gluten-free, twice-baked sodabread toasts are all made the on family farm in the West of Ireland. The producer says these crispy slices add variety, colour and choice to cheeseboards with a range of flavours, including plain multiseed, multiseed with cumin (26% seeds), rosemary & honeyed almond and the “delicately sweet” cranberry & hazelnut. These varieties are all available from distributors The Health Store and Tree of Life with an RRP €3.25 (£2.60) per pack. www.foodsofathenry.ie

www.lucysdressings.co.uk

Buckinghamshire’s The Chiltern Brewery reckons it has just the thing for lovers of both strong soft cheeses and mature cheddars. The 35-year-old, family-run brewery’s 300’s Old Ale (5% abv) creates a “burst of flavour on the palate” when paired with cheese but is also ideal with a ploughman’s lunch. It comes in 500ml bottles (£2.50 each) and cases of 12 (£28.50). All of Chiltern’s ales are made with 100% British malt, hops and barley. www.chilternbrewery.co.uk

Based in Bollington, Cheshire, Galore! produces a range of contemporary seasonal preserves. It has recently launched a gift pack (RRP £9.95) containing three 190g jars of its bestselling award winners. The “sweet, earthy and tangy” beetroot, orange & caraway chutney is a good match for blue or goats’ cheeses while its piccalilli is said to work well with crumbly territorials like Lancashire and Cheshire. For strong cheddars, the producer has combined four types of root vegetable with dates, spices and Oat Mill Stout to make a real ale chutney. www.galorefoods.co.uk

Uncle Roy describes his Extra Special Condiments range as “high-fruit and highly versatile”, particularly when it comes to cheese. With three Great Taste winners amongst them – sour & sweet citrus sauce, blackcurrant & liquorice sauce and tart red cherry sauce – as well as a smokey chill jam, there are a range of flavour-matching possibilities. The Scottish producer also has a range of chutneys, relishes and mild fruity Moffat Mustards all available from its website or delicatessens, farm shops, food halls, butchers, garden centres and department stores worldwide.

If you like a little scrumpy on the side, then Hawkshead Relish has found a civilised solution for cheese courses. Made from ripe Bramley apples, fresh herbs and traditional English cider, the Cumbrian producer’s scrumpy apple chutney complements cold meats and cheese of all kinds. Available in 200g jars (RRP £3.75), this versatile condiment is made with locally selected ingredients from the British countryside. www.hawksheadrelish.com

www.uncleroys.co.uk

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cheese accompaniments

The team at Kitchen Garden, now in its 25th year as a preserve-maker, say they love to serve their “glorious dark and rich” fig & plum relish with creamy blue or soft goat’s cheeses. The condiment – a winner of a Great Taste two-star in 2010 and a Taste of the West Silver medal in 2009 – is part of a large range of cheese accompaniments and preserves made by the producer at its Gloucester base. www.kitchengardenpreserves.co.uk

“Great cheese deserves a great relish,” according to preserve-maker Charlotte Brown’s. Among the creations in its handmade range is the best-selling, and now Great Taste one-star-winning, piccalilli (500g and 330g) and tomato relish (227g) with a “tiny chilli kick”. While both of these can be deployed with a robust cheddar, the producer recommends its chilli jam (330g and 227g) with white cheeses like Brie and goats’ milk varieties. It onion relish (227g) is well-suited as an accompaniment to blues.

Yorkshire-based Raydale Preserves has created a range of

Launched earlier this year, The Bay Tree’s caramelised onion

Cheese Lover’s Chutneys especially designed to accompany six types of cheese. Goats Cheese Lover’s fig & honey chutney (a Great Taste winner), Soft Cheese Lover’s red onion & apple chutney, Blue Cheese Lover’s pineapple chutney all come in 210g jars. It also produces a caramelized carrot chutney for Wensleydale (195g) as well as a rhubarb & date variety for mild cheeses (210g) and a Great Taste award-winning tomato & chilli chutney for strong cheese (220g).

All of these chutneys are handmade and contain no thickeners, which Raydale says allows the flavour of the ingredients to stand out. Each jar retails for around £2.49.

& fig chutney captures the “satisfyingly sticky qualities” of its two ingredients. The producer says its combination of figs with soft onions, reduced in balsamic vinegar and sugar, has an intense flavour but a balance of savoury and sweet that pairs well with cheese and hot or cold meat. It comes in 320g jars (RRP £3.35) and 3kg foodservice buckets (£16.50) www.thebaytree.co.uk

www.raydalepreserves.co.uk

www.charlottebrowns.co.uk

Moonrise is a traditional malty ale, made by the award-winning Monty’s Brewery. This traditional amber coloured bitter has been brewed with good food in mind and its creator says its malty flavour and gentle hop balance works extremely well with cheeses, in particular Shropshire Blue. One of head brewer Pam Honeyman’s favourite meals is hot pear, bacon and Shropshire blue salad, with a slice of crusty bread and a glass of Moonrise.

It is available as a 500ml bottle conditioned beer or in a cask.

Henshelwood’s manufactures a variety of chutneys, pickles, jams and specialities on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. To date, the family company has been an official supplier to both the London Olympics and the 2014 Commonwelath Games in Glasgow and it has amassed 25 Great Taste awards, including one star for its Scottish Chutney.

All of Henshelwood’s products are gluten- and additive-free and suitable for vegetarians. www.henshelwoodsfinefoods.co.uk

www.montysbrewery.co.uk

Jacob’s Jams and Spices of Wolverhampton has created Polli’s Own Pickles, a range of authentic and exclusive pickles originating from the Indian sub-continent. Following ancient and secret methods of hand-production and recipes that have been in the family for over 12 generations, its makes three Royal Mogul Pickles to enjoy with cheese. Made using locally grown organic carrots, hand-picked Sicilian lemons and ripe Punjabi chillies, its “hot and tangy” carrot & mustard pickle is said to accompany mild cheeses especially well.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find a more northerly British accompaniment than Shetlandeli’s range of chutneys, made by local producers on the islands in the North Sea. The range includes Muckle Flugga piccalilli In 150g and 260g jars (RRP £3.50 and £3.75 respectively), which the producer says provides more “crunch than the average piccalilli.” The Shetland company also offers a hearty ale chutney (155g and 270g, RRPs £3.60 and £4.90) produced in collaboration with Valhalla Brewery and Taing onion marmalade (155g and 270g, RRPs £3.70 and £4.95). www.shetlandeli.com

jordan@jacobsjams.com

Finn Crisp says it offers a touch of of “Nordic goodness” for your cheeseboard. Made from fibre-, antioxidant- and vitamin-rich 100% rye wholegrain, these crispbreads are baked with sourdough, giving them a tangy flavour.

They work well with all kinds of cheese toppings but can also be added to cheese dishes for an “aromatic crunch”. www.finncrisp.com/recipe/thin-crispsrecipes/

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new ways with cheese

New tricks Looking for fresh ways to use cheese in the kitchen? CLARE HARGREAVES asked chefs around the country for their latest creations.

JAMES DURRANT, The Plough Inn, Longparish, Hampshire www.theploughinn.info

Cod ‘Fish Pie’ This is a dish I’ve had on the pub’s menu since January. Rather than making a traditional pie, I compose a dish with all the elements of a fish pie. I take a roasted cod loin, and add leek purée, leek ash and baby charred leeks, plus pickled onion, and duck egg yolk emulsion with Avruga caviar. With that I serve a potato and Keen’s Cheddar veloute that I make by first making a stock infused with jacket potato skins; I first made a jacket potato stock at Claridges when I worked as sous-chef there and it really worked well so I wanted to take it to a different level by adding cheddar and cream. The Keen’s works well as it has a good saltiness, which means you don’t need to add much salt, and has a fantastic depth of flavour. Sometimes people complain that it’s not a ‘real’ fish pie, but I like giving them an element of surprise.

MICHAEL WIGNALL, Head chef, Michael Wignall at The Latymer, Pennyhill Park, Surrey www.michael-wignall.co.uk

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Posh Ploughmans

Yorkshire rhubarb cheesecake

We do a cheese dish in our 10-course tasting menu that uses three different cheeses: Doddington Dairy’s Baltic alewashed semi-soft cheese; our homemade ricotta; and Barkham Blue. Around them I place spheres made from our homemade Worcester Sauce, and we add sourdough crisps to the plate too. The spheres are quite strong once burst open and add a lovely acidity and richness to cut through and complement the cheeses. The dish is a sort of Posh Ploughman’s and takes you back to childhood when you had cheese and pickle. I’m using more and more English cheeses now as there are so many that are really good.

“In the season, we also make a Yorkshire rhubarb dessert which is composed of a cheesecake made from Lancashire cheese – I find that Mrs Kirkhams works brilliantly, just the right amount of fat and with loads of flavour. We bake the cheesecake in a bain-marie then cool.

We then liquidize it, place it in a water balloon and then into liquid nitrogen, so it sets like an eggshell.

We fill the hollow balls with Longley Farm soft cheese, and serve them with fresh Yorkshire rhubarb.”

NEIL COOPER, Head chef, The Greyhound on the Test, Stockbridge, Hampshire www.thegreyhoundonthetest.co.uk

Rosary goats’ cheese with walnuts & apple, served with cured foie gras, smoked duck breast & confit duck leg “We soft cure foie gras with port and brandy, then render it down, slice it and blow torch it. On the plate we also put smoked duck breast and confit leg. On the top I sprinkle Rosary goats’ cheese that’s made near here. The cheese is not strong but it really lifts the dish, and prevents it being too ducky, while the apple provides welcome acidity.”

Nanny Williams-stuffed Portobello mushroom with fillet of beef & braised ox tongue I love Loosehanger Farmhouse’s Nanny Williams blue goats’ cheese - I’ve used it for years, including when I was head chef at Terravina.

It’s creamy but also crumbly, even when hot, and works well with the pistachio crust which provides a crunch. The taste of the cheese is not too strong. We serve the stuffed mushroom with a fillet of beef and braised ox tongue, and it makes a great main course.

GLYNN PURNELL, Head chef, Purnell’s, Birmingham www.purnellsrestaurant.com.

Pollock with chorizo, butter beans and Fresco Angelico goats’ cheese I make a one-pot wonder of pollock with chorizo, butter beans and goats’ cheese, which is easy to make at home. I pan-fry fillets of pollock until golden brown.

I then combine butter beans and chorizo in a pan, add stock, and cook for four minutes. I add spinach, goats’ cheese and butter and cook it just enough to melt the cheese.

Finally I place the fish fillets in bowls and spoon the butter bean mixture around. The cheese I use is Fresco Angelico from Brock Hall Farm – its fresh, lemony tones cut through the fattiness of the fish and chorizo perfectly. You can taste the love, care and attention that Sarah Hampton puts into the cheese.

• This recipe is featured in Cracking Yolks and Pig Tales by Glynn Purnell (Kyle Books, £19.99). Photography by Laura Edwards

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Love these with cheese!

Hillside Foods of Devon have added a number of new lines to their cheese accompaniments range, presented in brand new packaging.

Charcoal & Cumin and Toasted Hazelnut flavours have been developed for their biscuits for cheese range which sit alongside the Great Taste award winning Oat & Seed and Pink Peppercorn flavours.

Four new flavours of Fruit for Cheese have also been created: Apricot, Bramley Apple, Pear and Plum & Port.

The savoury preserves selection of Celery Pickle and Red Onion & Thyme Marmalade remain firm favourites with cheese lovers along with the Pear, Apple & Herb Chutney and Spiced Orchard Fruit Chutney.

For further information on the multi award winning range please call 01392 833 630 or email info@hillsidefoods.co.uk

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Isle of Mull Cheese Our Raw Milk Cheese is produced entirely from our own herd of Cows on the Family Farm. Using Wood for Heat and the Wind and Rain for Electricity Telephone 01688 302627 | email mull.cheese@isleofmullcheese.co.uk

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Old Irish Creamery is a family-run business making a range of cheddar cheeses, with or without additives.

Options include: Oak Smoked, Garlic & Herbs, Chilli, Cranberries, Blueberries, Walnuts, Irish Porter, Irish Whiskey, Red Wine, Chocolate, Seaweed, Chives and many more.

Our range has won 60 national and international awards since we began cheese-making in 2008, including gold, silver and bronze at the 2011 World Cheese Awards and 16 awards at last year’s Nantwich International Cheese Awards.

All products are made with 100% Irish Cheddar and 100% natural ingredients.

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White Lake Cheese make a range of artisan cheese by hand on the farm. Our range includes Super Gold winning Rachel, Katherine, Driftwood (pictured), Tor and many others.

Lancashire Cheese the way it used to be... ...Proper Cheese!

Available from Waitrose, Booths, Neal’s Yard Dairy and all Fine Cheese retailers nationwide. tel 01772 865335 email info@mrskirkhams.com www.mrskirkhams.com

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The LymeContact Bay Winery, Axminster, Devon EX13 7PW us: Shute, info@whitelake.co.uk Tel 01297 551 355 · sales@lymebaywinery.co.uk

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new ways with cheese NIK CHAPPELL, Head chef, The Tudor Room, Great Fosters Hotel, Egham, Surrey www.greatfosters.co.uk

Truffled Tunworth, pan-fried crumpet, honey & quince I first came across Tunworth when I ate at Sat Bains’ restaurant in Nottingham. He’d infused it with truffles and it tasted amazing so I gave it a try. We use whatever truffles are in season, microplane them, and cut them into the cheese just as you would into a Brillat Savarin. I serve slices of the truffled cheese on homemade crumpets – I’m a Yorkshire boy and my grandmother always served crumpets for tea. I serve this with a savoury pate de fruits, from fig or quince, and drizzle the whole dish with truffled honey. The dish is served as a cheese course after the main on the tasting menu. People love it – we’ve been here since February and it’s not left the menu since. Truffled Brillat Savarin is so rich and creamy and Tunworth is the British cheese that translates it best – it’s sour, sweet and creamy all at the same time. It’s nice to be able to use a British cheese as there are so many fantastic cheeses around now.

DAVID EVERITT-MATTHIAS, Chef-patron, Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk

Lamb with dandelion roots & Brock Hall Farm goats’ curd In this dish we poach the dandelion root in orange juice to give it sweetness, then caramelize it with maple syrup.

The goats’ curd is a foil and balances it out nicely. The curd works well with pigeon and venison as well as lamb (as in this dish) to help counter the richness. I prefer goats’ curd to ewes’ curd as it’s more mellow – I like the acidic bite of goats’ curd. I first heard about Sarah Hampton’s goats’ cheese after reading about her. I contacted her, then started devouring her cheeses – from her Capra Nouveau to her Joie de Chevre, not to mention Dutch Mistress, Fresco Angelico and Pablo Cabrito. They are now all firm fixtures on our cheeseboard. goodcheese 2014-15

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goodcheese 2014-15

directory of retailers

Where to buy good cheese EAST ANGLIA H. Gunton 81-83 Crouch St Colchester Essex CO3 3EZ 01206 572 200 www.guntons.co.uk

H. Gunton says it stocks the largest range of cut cheese in the Colchester area, with over 100 varieties. Gift packs and baskets are available year round and customers can buy online, too. Cheese wedding cakes are also a speciality.

LONDON AND SOUTH EAST La Cremerie 1 Roman Farm, Nettleden, Hertfordshire HP1 3DA 01442 870 508 www.lacremerie.co.uk

La Cremerie was Highly Recommended at the 2013 British Cheese Awards as one of the top shops for British artisan cheeses. This online retailer stocks a wide range of cheeses that have been expertly matured to taste their very best, including many award winners such as St Jude, Tunworth, Stichelton and Ragstone. Orders are delivered via overnight courier.

Lidgate Butchers 110 Holland Park Ave, London W11 4UA 0207 727 8243 www.lidgates.com

Alongside its range of meats, Lidgates stocks a selection of English cheeses and Scottish Cheddars along with classic cheeses from France, Italy and other European producers. All of these cheeses are selected and matured specifically for the butcher.

MacFarlane’s Fromagerie 48 Abbeville Road, Clapham South, London SW4 9NF 0208 673 5373 www.macfarlanesdeli.co.uk

MacFarlane’s stocks British and Continental cheeses, chocolates and a fine selection of wines. It imports direct from France so, along with wellknown varieties, it has new cheeses for customers to discover and seasonal delights like Vacherin as well as some Norfolk landmarks like Mrs Temple’s Alpin and a wonderful selection of charcuterie.

Partridges of Sloane Square 2-5 Duke of York Square, Sloane Square, London SW3 4LY 0207 730 0651 www.partridges.co.uk

The London food hall has a range of

Continental cheeses like the World Cheese Award Super Gold winner Ossau Iraty AOP, Camembert de Normandie, Roquefort, Brie de Meaux (plain and with truffles, Comté, Reblochon and Pecorino. It also stocks a big selection of cheese biscuits and chutneys.

The Cheese Plate 26 High Street, Buntingford, Hertfordshire SG9 9AQ Tel: 01763 271533 www.thecheeseplate.co.uk

Based in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, The Cheese Plate offers an extensive range of both British and Continental artisan cheeses. With over 280 cheeses to choose from, it’s got something for every customer, whether they are looking for one special cheese or want to create the perfect cheeseboard for a dinner party.

MIDLANDS Gonalston Farm Shop Southwell Road, Lowdham, Nottinghamshire NG14 7DR 01159 665666

selection from the affineur Hennart including its classic Brie de Meaux.

Godfrey C Williams & Son Corner House, 9-11 Market Square, Sandbach CW11 1AP 01270 762 817 www.godfreycwilliams.co.uk

A family-run business since 1875, this Sandbach deli has an extensive selection of British & Continental cheeses, including speciality blended cheeses made by owner David Williams.

This multi-award-winning shop also sells bespoke hampers, gift packs, cheeseboards and accessories.

Keelham Farm Shop Brighouse and Denholme Road, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD13 3SS 01274 833472

NORTH OF ENGLAND Delifonseca Dockside Brunswick Way, Brunswick Quay, Liverpool L3 4BN 0151 255 0808 www.delifonseca.co.uk

Delifonseca Dockside’s cheese counter packs in a wide range of local classics, such as Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire and Appleby’s Cheshire, and some of the newer UK artisan cheeses. Europe is amply represented with champion cheeses such a Von Mühlenen Gruyère, Roquefort Troupeau and a good

Chandos Deli Henleaze and Chandos Deli Clifton offer a fantastic variety of cheeses from proper West Country Cheddars to fermier French cheeses.

It sources directly from producers and its knowledgeable staff are always on hand to offer tasters and advice.

5 High Street, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0AH 01608 652 862 High Street, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6AG 01386 840 392 113 High Street, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4RG 01993 823 882

706 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury M20 2DW 0161 434 4781

With 80% of its products coming from its locale and 50% made in-store, Ludlow Food Centre carries around 80 cheeses. Seven of those are made from its own herd including Ludlow Blue, The Cheese with No Name, and the traditional blue Remembered Hills.

www.chandosdeli.com @chandosdeli

The Cotswold Cheese Company

The Cheese Hamlet

www.ludlowfoodcentre.co.uk

97 Henleaze Road, Henleaze BS9 4JP 0117 9074391 6 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton BS8 4BP 0117 9743275

Named Best Independent Retailer in The Observer Food Monthly Awards 2013, Keelham Farm Shop’s Yorkshire deli has a wide selection of local and regional cheeses alongside some great international favourites.

A previous Le Gruyère Cheese Counter of the Year winner, Gonalston’s counter features around 100 hand-crafted cheeses, including a selection of local Stiltons, ewes’ and goats’ milk cheeses.

It also sources cheeses from all over Europe as well as just round the corner.

Bromfield, Ludlow SY8 2JR 01584 856 000

Chandos Deli

www.keelhamfarmshop.co.uk

www.gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk

Ludlow Food Centre

Continental artisan cheeses as well as many local products including cured meats, oils, breads, preserves, honey, cider and vegetables. Also offers bespoke hamper making service.

www.cheesehamlet.co.uk

This small specialist prides itself on its product knowledge and its filled with “delights from around the world”, including over 200 English & Continental cheeses.

NORTHERN IRELAND Four Seasons Cherry Valley 38-40 Gilnahirk Road, Belfast BT5 7DG 028 9079 2701 www.thefourseasonsni.co.uk

This Belfast store has over 80 cheeses from Britain, Ireland and the Continent in stock every day. It can prepare cheese boards and gifts while you wait and also caters for corporate customers.

SOUTH WEST Bloomfields Fine Food 8 High Street, Highworth, Nr Swindon, Wiltshire SN6 7AG 52 High Street, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire SN6 8AA 01793 766399 www.bloomfieldsfinefood.co.uk

Voted South West Deli of the Year 2012 for its Swindon outlet, Bloomfields carries British and

www.cotswoldcheese.com

The Cotswold Cheese Co now has three outlets, having opened two new premises in Chipping Campden and Burford in 2013. All of its shops carry a range of local, Briitsh and European artisan cheeses as well as artisan bread, fine wine, local beer, cider, chutney, biscuits and other deli essentials.

Town Mill Cheesemonger Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU 01297 442 626 www.townmillcheese.co.uk

The UK Cheesemonger of the Year 2014 (Farm Shop & Deli Awards) specialises in fine and artisan cheeses from the West Country but also has a wide selection of cheese from further afield.

SCOTLAND Pharlanne, Bridge Street, Kelso, Roxburghshire TD5 7HT 01573 229 745 www.pharlanne.co.uk

Pharlanne offers a variety of local, British and Continental cheeses from cows’, goats’ and ewes’ milk. If something is not on the counter, the staff are happy to source any cheese that customers fancy.

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AOP, the sign of special products...

A traditional cheese

Appellation d'origine protégée

The cheese of western Switzerland, with a delicate, distinguished flavour.

Made since at least 1115 AD in and around the small town of Gruyères, today it is still produced by village cheese dairies in western Switzerland according to the traditional recipe.

Le Gruyère AOP owes its characteristic delicacy and flavour to the top quality raw milk produced by cows fed on grass in the summer and hay in winter, coupled with the skill of the mastercheesemakers.

No less than 400 litres of fresh milk are needed to produce a single wheel weighing around 35kg.

During the slow maturation process, which takes several months in special cheese cellars, the wheels are turned regularly and rubbed down with saltywater. The maturing process lasts between five and 18 months.

Each cheese is systematically identified by the number of the mould and code of the cheese dairy. The day and month of production are also noted on the wheel. These black markings are made with casein, the cheese protein. No artificial additives are involved here either.

Le Gruyère AOP takes pride of place on any cheese platter. It makes for a delicious desert and can be used in tasty warm dishes. What’s more, no real fondue would be complete without genuine Gruyère AOP.

From this time on, the name ‘Gruyère AOP’ and the code of the production facility appears on the heel of each wheel of Gruyère AOP as an effective way of preventing fakes and guaranteeing authenticity.

This technique employs branding irons, which give an indentation in the wheel. It is this marking that makes it possible to identify and trace each individual cheese.

The humidity and rind washing process develops the characteristic appearance of the cheese and assists in bringing the cheese into full maturity.

This is what gives Le Gruyère AOP its famous, distinct flavour. It’s no great surprise that this authentic gift of nature is appreciated by cheeselovers throughout the world.

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