Comparing cheesemakers’ favourite matches with those of expert retailers
Taking a closer look at
Journey through the Center of Portugal
The story behind Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers
washed rinds
Cheese is all about variety, discovery and entertainment. This formula seems to work very well at Pick & Cheese, the London-based host (and the se ing for our cover shot) for this issue’s tasting feature. In some ways, you could say we’ve tried to emulate the delight delivered by this restaurant’s signature conveyor belt.
For the purists out there, we’ve delved into the funky processes, science and flavours of washed rind cheeses and we’ve profiled Lyburn Farm in Hampshire, where they make some acclaimed cheeses that are both very British and unique. We’ve also taken a long hard look at milk and the farming techniques, animal husbandry and thinking behind creating this most vital of ingredients for cheesemaking.
For the more adventurous of readers out
WHAT’S
COUNTER CULTURE
there, we’ve travelled to Norway to catch up with the makers of the World Champion Niedlven Blå and explored the landscape and PDO cheeses of central Portugal – the region playing host to the 2024 World Cheese Awards. And if you’re feeling really curious, discover some of the lesser-known cheese dishes with our whirlwind tour of street corners across the globe.
If you’re a er something a bit more forwardlooking, then turn to our interview with the founder of online retailer and wholesaler cheesegeek and his take on the business of selling cheese.
Perhaps assembling a cheeseboard and finding the right pairings is more your thing. In that case our latest tasting panel – pitching cheesemakers’ recommended pairings against those of top cheesemongers – or our
INSIDE?
5
New cheeses and cheese shops, DNA and fungal-based discoveries – all in our round-up of news from the world of cheese
LYBURN FARMHOUSE CHEESEMAKERS
9
How what started as a means of diversification resulted in several of Britain’s most celebrated farmhouses cheeses
CENTRAL PORTUGUESE CHEESE
14
The World Cheese Awards 2024 host has a rich history of cheesemaking. We discovered the Center of Portugal’s PDO cheeses
IT ALL STARTS WITH MILK 17
Fat ratios, bacterial diversity, animal breeds learn what goes into cheese’s prime ingredient.
MAKERS VS MONGERS: BEST PAIRING WINS 22
9 cheeses. 18 pairings. Five experts discuss.
CHEESE ON THE GO 37
Chinese deep-fried cheese and the pickled kind from Cairo – a world of cheese-based street food.
2023 WCA CHAMPION
32
The story behind Gangstad Gårdsysteri, the dairy whose cheese was named the best in the world
accompaniments round-up might be your first port of call.
Maybe you just want to get down to actually eating the stuff, though. Our directory of UK cheese retailers should help you find your nearest independent outlet if you just can’t wait.
Whether you read Good Cheese before or a er you’ve satisfied your cravings, I hope you enjoy what we’ve served up for you in this edition.
Michael Lane editor
WASH AND SCRUB
40
Washed rind cheeses date back to the 7th century and their popularity has endured so much that they now come in many shapes, sizes (and smells).
BETTER YOUR BOARD
45
New product launches to go with cheese, from chutney and crackers to pickles and tipple
PROPER CHEESE FOR THE PEOPLE
53
Meet the founder of cheesegeek, who quit his corporate career to make artisan cheese more accessible.
COMING TO A CHEESE SHOP NEAR YOU
55
Discover our directory of UK-based specialist shops to satisfy your every need.
17 22
EDITORIAL editorial@gff.co.uk
Editor: Michael Lane
Deputy editor: Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
Art Director: Mark Windsor
Contributors: Nick Baines, Claire Bullen, Patrick McGuigan, Tomé Morrissy-Swan, Isabelle Plasschaert
ADVERTISING advertise@gff.co.uk
Sales director: Sally Coley
Senior sales account manager: Becky Haskett
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Nottinghamshire Stiltonmaker Cropwell Bishop has doubled the size of the shop at its dairy. The Cheesemaker’s Shop now offers a much wider range of locally sourced food and drink – including Hambledon Bakery bread and pastries, Dukeshill pork pies, Tempus charcuterie, coffee from Stewarts at Trent Bridge and the creamery’s own range of chutney.
Buchanans Cheesemonger has taken over the unit next to its original shop near Hyde Park, allowing it to double in size. The new space features a cheese counter, wine shop –Buchanans Wine – and tasting room, plus more maturing rooms in the cellar. The team celebrated the shop’s 10th anniversary this year with a street party on Porchester Place – and is planning regular cheese and wine tastings over upcoming months.
on the move CULTURECOUNTER News from around the cheese world
Manchester-based Chorlton Cheesemongers, which is part owned by Neal’s Yard Dairy and Kirkham’s Lancashire, has opened a cheese stall at Altrincham Market. The Central Way stall is run by Chris Hallam and cheesemaker Graham Kirkham (son of Mrs Kirkham, who gave her name to the well-known Lancashire cheese).
Swiss cheese company Jumi has opened a third shop in London – in Crouch End. The retailer specialises in cheeses from the Emmental Valley in Switzerland, selling everything from Schlossberger to Truffle Raclette and BlueBrain, known to some as the ‘mouldiest cheese in the UK’. The third Jumi shop, which joins outlets in Borough Market and Newington Green, will also host ‘Cheesy Nights’ – evenings dedicated to fondue, and raclette – through the autumn and winter, ‘every Friday until late Spring’, the retailer says.
Biotech firm’s new moulds could be Brie’s saviour
British scientists may well have found the solution to a very French crisis – by developing new mould strains that could ensure the survival of classic cheeses, such as Camembert de Normandie and Brie de Meaux, as well as helping to develop entirely new so varieties.
French government agency, the National Centre for Scientific Research, warned earlier this year that Camembert and Brie could become extinct because commercial strains of the white mould on their rinds (Penicillium camemberti) were dying out due to a lack of genetic diversity caused by years of industrial cultivation.
The news made headlines around the world, but scientists at No inghambased fungal biotech company Myconeos believe they have the answer.
It was previously thought that Penicillium camemberti replicated
Makers
asexually, with different strains developing through genetic mutations, but Myconeos has developed techniques to naturally cross-breed strains for the first time, promoting genetic diversity within the otherwise limited Penicillium camemberti population.
The breakthrough builds on similar techniques pioneered for the blue mould Penicillium roqueforti, which has led to the creation of new strains with different properties.
Further trials to develop commercially viable strains of Penicillium camemberti are planned with Highland Fine Cheeses in Scotland and the fungal specialist hopes to develop a range of new white moulds for cheesemakers that could create new colours, flavours and textures in so cheeses under the Mycoberti brand.
The consolidation of Britain’s artisan cheesemakers has been a running theme in 2024.
At the beginning of the year, Village Maid Dairy took over production of Barkham Blue from Two Hoots in a deal that kept the popular Guernsey milk blue in the family.
Sandy and Andy Rose, who set up Two Hoots near Wokingham 20 years ago, sold the business to Sandy’s cousin, Anne Wigmore, founder of Village Maid. The Wigmores took over production of the distinctive ammonite-shaped blue at their dairy in Berkshire.
Meanwhile, Village Maid has built a new dairy at its premises near Riseley in Berkshire, enabling it to more than triple production of Barkham Blue.
The new dairy, which opened last month (October) is adjacent to the existing production space and has also allowed Village Maid to more than double its milk
maturing room capacity.
Production of Village Maid’s hard cheeses – Spenwood and Heckfield – has increased, too, with extra mature versions of the cheeses now a possibility.
Then in April came the news that Hampshire Cheese Company was bought by Lancashire-based Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses – meaning Butlers would take over production of Tunworth and Winslade.
Founded by Stacey Hedges in 2005, the operation was well known for its Camembert-style Tunworth and sprucewrapped Winslade, which joined Butlers’ range alongside Blacksticks Blue, Kidderton Ash and Bu on Mill. Finally, Sharpham Cheese is moving to a new dairy at the South Devon Food Hub. The new 7,000 sq production site, near Totnes, is twice the size of the original dairy and will enable Sharpham to increase capacity and grow sales beyond its West Country heartland.
Davies wins Affineur of the Year with coal-aged cheddar
In June, Cheesemonger Owen Davies of Tŷ Caws in Cardiff drew on Welsh history and terroir to win the third Affineur of the Year competition with a unique cheddar aged in coal.
The truckle of Quicke’s cheddar, nicknamed Pwll Du (‘Black Pool’ in Welsh) was aged for a year in a chamber lined with Welsh coal, an idea inspired by the coal mining history of Davies’ hometown. The monger said his aim was to create an environment for the cheese to age naturally.
The Academy of Cheese contest demonstrates the impact of affinage on different styles
DNA sequencing
helps
of cheese. This year, it included Cropwell Bishop Blue Stilton, Quicke’s Clothbound Cheddar, Fen Farm Dairy Baron Bigod and White Lake Cheese’s Solstice, matured in various ways.
Category winners included Burt’s Cheese, which won Best Stilton with a cheese wrapped in vine leaves, and White Lake, which took the Best So Cheese award for a Baron Bigod washed in Somerset Cider Brandy and wrapped in vine leaves. Best Washed Rind was won by The Fine Cheese Co for a Solstice washed in whisky. The cheese also won the People’s Choice award.
discover ‘world’s oldest cheese’, dated to the Bronze Age
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have learned more about the nature of cheese eaten millennia ago a er sequencing the DNA of some 3,600 year-old cheese – the world’s oldest to have been discovered to date.
The original find happened 20 years ago, when archeologists discovered mummified bodies at an ancient burial ground known as the Xiaohe Cemetery, in Xinjiang, Western China.
The mummies had chunks of what the researchers suspected was preserved cheese – but didn’t have the molecular tools to ascertain this – laid on their chests. Through DNA-testing,
Influential Ashby passes away
yeast, lactic acid bacteria and ruminant milk were detected, confirming their theory.
Specifically, they identified multiple bacterial and fungal species in the cheese, including lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Pichia kudriavzevii, both of which are found in modern kefir grains, giving them proof that it would have been a so cheese similar to modern kefir.
Among the samples, they identified cow DNA and goat DNA, which had been kept separate, indicating that they weren’t dealing with mixed milk cheeses such as those associated with Middle Eastern and Greek traditions.
NEW LAUNCHES
Renowned cheesemaker Chris Ashby passed away recently. A hugely influential figure in the British artisan cheese scene, she served as a teacher and consultant to many of the country’s producers.
She began putting on cheesemaking courses in 1998 and went on to teach at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage. A resident of the Vale of Belvoir – the home of Stilton –Chris was at the helm of the AB Cheese Making consultancy, helping artisan cheese producers perfect their craft. In 2010, she was awarded the Cheese Industry Award by the British Cheese Board and judges at the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich. In 2014, she was featured in the Financial Times for hosting one of the Top 5 Best cheese making courses in England.
Morgan McGlynn, owner of London shop Cheeses of Muswell Hill, has released a third tome, called The Complete Cheese Pairing Cookbook. As well as explaining how pairings work, it offers ideas for a variety of cheeseboards and cheesefocused recipes. RRP £22.
French cheese is the main focus of celebrated author and cheesemonger Ned Palmer’s latest book, A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France. Published by Profile Books, it explores the history, terroir and flavours of France’s greatest creations. RRP £18.99.
British chef, TV Presenter and author of 30 cookbooks, James Martin has finally published one dedicated solely to cheese. Cheese contains 100 recipes including classic Cauliflower Cheese, Tartiflette, and the ‘Best Ever Cheeseburger’. RRP £25.
Paxton & Whitfield has created its first ever flavoured cheese in collaboration with local coffee roaster Rave. Named Kaldi, it is made by brine-washing the rind of a young goats’ cheese from the Somerset Cheese Company and coating it in coffee from Cirencester-based Rave. It is then matured for around 10 weeks. The hard cheese combines fruity, bitter notes from the coffee and caramel flavours in the cheese.
Kent-based Blackwoods Cheese Company, which makes the marinated Graceburn, has launched a new soft, washed rind, 24 hour set cheese called Hever, inspired by Époisses. Made with traditional rennet, the rind is washed twice weekly once the cheese is in its moulded shape, and matured for five weeks.
Yorkshire-based Shepherds Purse is now making an organic version of its Yorkshire Blue, using milk from Acorn Organic Dairy. The cheesemaker describes it as “the creamy, mellow and mild blue you already know and love, but with extra herbaceous notes and all the benefits of organic milk”.
Clawson Farms has launched seven new waxed cheese truckles. Each cheese has a different brand character, including Captain Bulldog (vintage cheddar), Castaway (Wensleydale with mango and ginger) and Gunpowder (oak smoked cheddar).
The Newt Estate in Somerset has opened a cheese dairy at Castle Cary Station. The Creamery, which is housed in a restored milk factory, along with a restaurant and shop, produces mozzarella using buffalo milk from the Estate’s own herd, plus fetaand halloumi-style cheeses, and yoghurt.
The Book & Bucket Cheese Company in Dorset has developed a new sheep’s milk cheddar called Stowaway for the Cunard cruise ship Queen Anne. It is made using the traditional cheddar method, and finished using Scotland’s Blackthorn Salt. The company plans to create a second bespoke cheese for the ship later this year.
The Trethowan Brothers have launched a smoked version of their Pitchfork Cheddar. The farmhouse cheese is cold smoked over oak by The Wiltshire Smokehouse in Frome, Somerset, resulting in a cheese which the producer says has the “deep savoury notes” of the regular cheddar, “with added layers of smoky sweetness and hints of earthiness”.
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First in ne for 30 years: ne cheese, ne charcuterie, ne crackers, ne condiments, ne chocolates...
When milk prices became unsustainable in the late 90s, the Smales family set up Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers on their farm. CLAIRE BULLEN discovers how the business developed a range of six cheeses –including several serial awardwinners like Old Winchester and Stoney Cross – over the last twenty five years.
NECESSITY FROM TO
GREATNESS
From the outside, it’s easy to see farmhouse cheesemaking as an inherently romantic pursuit. The phrase evokes images of lush pastures and heritage cow breeds, milking at dawn and later stirring and salting and pressing that milk into something greater. It could seem to some like an idyllic way to live.
But underneath the pastoral scenes are the harsher realities of the business – the precarious economics of the dairy industry, the physical
demands of muddy-boots farming, the perpetual fight to keep cash flowing. It’s not that those realities preclude the possibility of romance; it’s just that the pragmatic necessarily comes first.
That much is true for Mike Smales, who oversees production at Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers.
“There are people that come to cheesemaking because it’s their mission in life, and then people come to cheesemaking because they’re microbiologists who understand how it all
works,” he says. “And there’s people who come to cheesemaking, like us, because we’re not being paid properly for our milk, and we need to add value to the milk to try to earn a sensible living out of it.”
The Smales family has farmed at Lyburn – now a 500-acre farm, located on the edge of the New Forest – for more than 50 years. Initially, when Mike’s parents moved to the farm as tenants, they put in a dairy unit for 200 cows. 10 years later, they began growing organic vegetables and pumpkins, which remains an important part of the
lyburn farm
business today.
Cheese only came into the picture later. When the cows first arrived in 1970, Mike notes, it was at a time when the Government was particularly invested in promoting British food and drink production, and the family was initially supported with a grant. But by the turn of the millennium, milk prices had cratered, and many suppliers weren’t willing to pay much more than the cost of production. It was no way to work and no way to live, and so the Smales family began casting about for a creative solution.
The most practical option, it turned out, was cheese. But not any old cheese.
“When we started making cheese 25 years ago, I took the view that we weren’t going to make cheddar because the world makes cheddar,” says Mike, even if it might have appealed to local tastes. Instead, the family needed a cheese that would be just as crowd-pleasing but also use up large volumes of milk.
“We needed something that was going to appeal to a lot of people, so if you make a very smart, clever blue, that’s fine, but you’re actually only going to appeal to a reasonably small section of the community,” says Mike. “We needed to get volume under our belt, so we ended up opting for a goudastyle cheese.”
There are people that come to cheesemaking because it’s their mission in life. And there’s people who come to cheesemaking, like us, because we’re not being paid properly for our milk.
That inaugural creation was Lyburn Gold, a washed-curd cheese made in the image of young gouda. Mike describes it as a good melting cheese, springy and easy-eating. Matured for just 8- 10 weeks, it’s relatively mild and supremely versatile.
Soon a er, the dairy began producing two additional versions of the cheese: Lightly Oak Smoked, and Garlic & Ne le, which is flavoured with the titular ingredients (as well as paprika, ginger, horseradish, and onion).
Even though the two additional cheeses offered customers new flavour experiences, they remained an inherently pragmatic way to bolster the dairy’s range.
“We sold them all roundabout 8-12 weeks of age, and so that gave us quite an interesting li le portfolio, but they were all made exactly the same,” Mike says. “It wasn’t a question of making them differently and using different starters and temperatures.”
Several years later, the family decided to expand Lyburn’s range again. “We came to realising that, although we didn’t want to make cheddar, the buying customer in southern England does enjoy their cheddar, and they enjoy something with a slightly stronger flavour,” says Mike. And so they opted to age Lyburn Gold for nine months,
now via sales@brindisa.com, 0208 722 1600, or Choco brindisa.com
lyburn farm
a er which it emerged a much firmer and more potent cheese, somewhere in between a mature cheddar and an aged gouda. The family called it Winchester.
Unsurprisingly, Winchester was a fast favourite. In the wake of its success, the production team decided to age it for another nine months, at which point it became the crystalline, powerfully complex Old Winchester. Today, it is far and away the dairy’s best-seller. “Old Winchester really is our key player, and it represents 50% of everything we sell – we’re struggling to meet demand,” says Mike.
It takes a certain degree of ingenuity to cra a portfolio as Lyburn has, making five distinct cheeses from one recipe, expanding organically and reclaiming ownership of the raw material from those who might undervalue it. If there was any flaw in the range, it was in its languid pace; each cheese needed months, if not years, of ageing time. The dairy was missing a cheese that could move more nimbly and keep cash flowing.
If necessity is the mother of all good inventions, then Stoney Cross really is exemplary. Named
We came to realising that, although we didn’t want to make cheddar, the buying customer in southern England does enjoy their cheddar.
a er a Second World War airfield near the dairy, it is o en likened to Tomme de Savoie. As a young, mould-ripened truckle, it is creamy, almost bu ery, sweet and earthy all at once. Stoney Cross isn’t just the fast-moving cheese the dairy needed – it’s also capable of holding its own on a cheeseboard.
Now with its complete range of six cheeses, Lyburn is unlikely to add more anytime soon. The dairy produces around 75 tonnes of cheese annually, up against the limits of what its land and herd and space can accommodate.
What’s more, the family business is also approaching its own long-term transition. Mike – alongside his wife, Judy, who runs the farm’s office – is now in his 70s. Today, the couple’s eldest son, Jonathan, manages the day-to-day running of the farm; while Mike continues to oversee the cheese production (as well as deliver cheeses, man the business’s farmers’ market stall, and assist with repairs around the farm), he’s aware that he’ll need to slow down sometime.
But that’s still some years ahead. For now, he remains deeply invested in the ongoing development and refinement of the family’s cheeses, a ending weekly meetings when the full range is tasted and graded. The result of this diligence is clear: All six cheeses are multi-awardwinners, while Stoney Cross received the Golden Fork for England trophy as well as a 3-star in this year’s Great Taste awards.
Maybe there is still some small whiff of romance here. As Mike notes with some pride, the family’s cheeses arose out of sheer practicality, but they are also a reflection of the surrounding terroir and the milk and the cows. They possess a mysterious and ineffable character that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
“I don’t know what’d happen if somebody else tried to make it in Yorkshire,” Mike says of Stoney Cross, though the comment could apply to any of the Smales’ six cheeses. “It might turn out quite differently. It is what it is.” lyburnfarm.co.uk
THROUGH THE CENTER OF
JOURNEY PORTUGAL
With this region, and the city of Viseu, hosting the 2024 World Cheese Awards, it makes sense to learn more about the area’s rich cheesemaking history and its Protected Designation of Origin cheeses.
Queijo Serra da Estrela PDO
Queijo Serra da Estrela PDO cheese is made with the raw milk from the Bordaleira Serra da Estrela and Churra Mondegueira breeds of sheep, which graze on hill pastures and are tended to by local shepherds with generations of knowledge.
There is historic evidence of this cheese that stretches back centuries, with the Romans said to have introduced its production to Portugal and poet Gil Vicente referencing it during the 1400s. By the late 1800s the cheese was available in the major cities of Lisbon and Porto and it has remained wellknown nationally ever since.
washing taking place daily. The second phase lasts until the 45th with temperature raised to 6-14°C and humidity at 90-95%, with less frequent turning and washing.
The resulting 9-20cm diameter of Queijo Serra PDO has a delicate, clean and slightly acidic flavour delivered via a semi-soft buttery paste, which is white or yellow in colour.
There is also an aged version of this classic Portuguese cheese.
Its manufacturing process remains artisanal to this day, with the cheese being created by heating the raw milk to 28-32°C before salting and adding cardoon flowers (often referred to as thistle rennet) to coagulate it. The resulting curd is then cut manually for up to an hour before draining, moulding and further salting.
The maturation process has two phases. For up to 20 days, the cheeses are stored at 6-12°C and a humidity of 85-90%, with turning and
Queijo Serra Velho PDO is matured for up to 120 days and is similar in size to the younger cheeses, but its paste is much firmer (varying from semi-hard to extrahard). The paste is a darker brown-orange shade and it offers up a similar clean note but with a stronger, saltier, spicy flavour and a longer finish.
The cheese is made across central Portugal in regions including Gouveia, Aguiar da Beira, Coimbra and the area surrounding World Cheese Awards 2024 host city Viseu.
It should be served simply with rye bread and accompanied by a local wine.
Queijos da Beira Baixa PDO
The Queijos da Beira Baixa PDO covers three different cheeses: Queijo de Castelo Branco, Queijo Amarelo da Beira Baixa, and Queijo Picante da Beira Baixa.
They are made in the district of Castelo Branco and part of the Santarém district. All three varieties, to some degree, feature raw sheep’s milk from the Merina and other breeds that graze in the open air yearround, with some of the pastures specifically planted to aid their diet. Some of the varieties are made with a mixture of this and goats’ milk.
curd is slowly drained and then aged at a high humidity for at least 45 days (90 days or more renders the Velho version of the cheese).
Weighing in at 800-1300g and 12-16cm in diameter, the finished cheese is said to be strong and increasingly spicy in flavour with age.
Beira Baixa cheese production can be traced back to 1870 in the region, where sheep were previously only kept for their wool.
Differentiating between the three varieties is relatively simple. Castelo Branco is made with just raw sheep’s milk. A natural cardoon (thistle flower) rennet is used to coagulate the milk before the resulting
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Although is is also a semihard cheese, Queijo Amarelo differs because it can be made with just sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep’s and goats’ milk. Like Castelo Branco it is aged for a minimum of 45 days, but at slightly lower humidity. There is also a minimum-90-daymatured Velho variety.
Amarelo cheeses are the smallest of the trio (200-500g) and they have a clean and slightly acidic flavour. As you might expect Picante is the strongest of the group, with paste that could be billed as hard and the spiciest flavour notes. This grayish-white cheese is made with both sheep’s and goats’ milk, as well as animal rennet. After maturing for 120 days, finished cheeses vary in size from 400g-1kg.
Ideally located between Portugal’s two main airports, the Center of Portugal region offers up stunning landscapes and more than 1,000 years of history – as well lots of opportunities and experiences for gastronomic tourists. For ideas on itineraries involving the area’s PDO cheeses, visit rotaqueijoscentrodeportugal.com
Queijo Rabaçal PDO
Still produced using traditional methods, Rabaçal cheese dates back to the foundation of Portugal. Described by the Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz as “round and divine”, the cheese can trace its origins back to a village of the same name. It is mentioned in documents that were written in 1139.
Since its creation it has been produced in an artisanal way from a mixture of sheep’s and goats’ milk from breeds adapted to the defined geographical area for production. This 850 km2 area lies between the districts of Coimbra and Leiria.
hole. Erva de Santa Maria, an aromatic herb that grows in much of the pasture where the animals graze, is said to be the reason behind the cheese’s unique flavour.
Billed as “semi-hard to hard” in consistency, Queijo Rabaçal has a dull white paste featuring the odd irregular
It production process begins by straining the milks through a cloth before they are mixed and animal rennet is added. The curd is ready to be drained after an hour and is placed in a mould. When it has dried out, each cheese is hand pressed and salted and turned out of the mould after a further 2-4 days. It is matured on shelves and washed three times a week, scraped with a piece of tile, a knife or even a fig leaf before being wiped with cloth and turned. This maturation process is a minimum of 20 days.
Truffle cheeses
Meet our best truffle cheeses. Both very delicious and delicate with black Italian truffle. The only difference between these two is the type of milk: Villa Truffo is made of cow’s milk, Villa Chèvre Truffo is made of goat’s milk.
Goat
Maasdam
The best goat’s cheese with beautiful holes. Matured for 8 weeks, very creamy and a bit sweet.
WHITE STUFF MAKING THE
O en when we think about cheese, we don’t think about where it all begins – with milk and those who produce it. SAM WILKIN explores just what it takes to make cheese’s most vital raw ingredient.
Ask any chef and they’ll tell you that a dish is only as good as its ingredients. That said, you can eat in plenty of restaurants, taste their wares and leave knowing virtually nothing about their suppliers.
The same theory can be applied to cheese. When someone tries a piece of cheese off a beautifully presented board or samples something at a deli counter, they’re not o en thinking about its key raw ingredient – milk – and how its production has shaped and defined what they’re now tasting.
It takes a lot to produce milk for cheesemaking. A dairy farmer’s decisions are influenced by the land, the herd they care for and the climate in which they live. They also face the pressures of rising costs, tumbling prices and political indifference.
“We o en don’t consider the milk producers when we talk about cheese,” says Michele Buster, co-founder of New York-based importer Forever Cheese. “And without the value placed on a profession that is under pressure it will inevitably fall to large industrial farms to provide our milk.”
While she offers up harrowing political and financial context – such as the Spanish Government funding dairy herd culls to counteract climate change or the paltry €10,000 average annual turnover of an Italian shepherd – Michele Buster says her core mission is just to make people more aware of the profession.
“If we don’t find ways to make the job more visible, we will have more people leaving the industry. People have to feel proud of what they do.”
It’s a cause that has she pursued by creating
Save The Shepherd, a community that celebrates those who work with animals to produce the milk for cheesemaking. You might call this article Good Cheese’s contribution to that cause.
The best place to start seems to be with what those shepherds, herdsmen and farmers are aspiring to: milk of the right quality for cheesemaking.
“Quality” is a word that can be confusing, though – as Tom Calver of Somerset cheesemaker Westcombe Dairy points out.
“‘Quality’ milk from a commodity perspective means you’re measuring fats and proteins, urea and cleanliness. So, good ‘quality’ can be really dead milk from a cheesemaking point of view”.
If we don’t find ways to make the job more visible, we will have more people leaving the industry. People have to feel proud of what they do.
Within the wider dairy industry, “quality” refers to specified hygiene quality. Under EU Law, that focusses on acceptable levels of pathogens in the milk. Milk with certain pathogenic indicators is deemed unfit for human consumption. These indicators however are not necessarily indicators of pathogens alone; they can also indicate a high bacterial load, which in some cases is seen as desirable by providing a range of beneficial microorganisms that contribute to flavour and texture development in cheese.
“When you’re producing really good food, those [pathogen] metrics are not always that useful,” adds Calver.
What is required of milk for cheesemaking is clearly far from one size fits all, so “quality” is less strictly defined and more determined by suitability for the style of cheese being made.
Katy Fenwick, co-founder of the Northern Dairy Cheese School, says she defines quality as something that “gives the cheesemaker the best opportunity to make the best expression of that milk”.
As an example of this, she references an experimental Wensleydale make undertaken by a number of producers at the School, using each other’s milk. This proved revealing in the case of Stonebeck – which is a traditional style Wensleydale using raw milk from the herd of fell-grazed dairy Shorthorns. “It’s a make that perfectly suits their milk. They found it challenging to replicate Stonebeck with milk from more conventionally managed herds”.
Producing the perfect milk for cheesemaking then is a confluence of variables, a perfect balance of farming practices and cheesemaking that respects and responds to the milk. Milk that is perfect
milk production
for a certain style of cheese might be unsuitable for another.
Whether the cheesemaker is a farmer producing their own milk or a producer who buys their milk in from an outside source, in both cases a farmer has made decisions around how the milk is produced.
Animal species is a key part of the puzzle. The most common milk producing species are cows, sheep, goats and buffalo but in some parts of the world the list includes camels, donkeys, reindeer and yak.
In Northern Europe the vast majority of dairy is produced by cows and, in the UK, every other piece of dairy branding features the classic black & white Holstein-Fresian cow. This cow was bred for high volume production, efficiently filling the largest number of milk bo les. Cheesemakers are not too interested in the liquid. Whey is a waste product. It is the solids that count and so a high-volume breed isn’t always the most desirable option.
Fen Farm Dairy, run by the Crickmore family in Suffolk, is a testament to this. When the farm began its cheesemaking journey with the now-famous Baron Bigod, Jonny Crickmore introduced the Montbéliarde breed of cows for their milk’s high solid content and balance of fat and protein. The herd there is a variety of pure bred Montbéliarde as well as varying degrees of Holstein x Montbéliarde mix. There are also Jersey cows within the herd that bring a much higher bu erfat content that enriches the milk at times of the year when bu er fats can drop.
Jonny is passionate about diversity in his herd. “It makes your herd more unique having all these shapes and sizes and colours, in fact no other dairy farm has quite got the split of breeds as we have”.
But cheese is not just about cows. The Lacaune breed of sheep is famous for its association with Roquefort. In Campania, Mozzarella is made from the milk of the Italian Mediterranean Buffalo and in Bhutan and Nepal the Arunachali Yak produces milk for the world’s hardest cheese, Chhurpi.
At Norton & Yarrow, producers of Sinodun Hill, they initially favoured Anglo-Nubian Goats. “They have higher milk solids which produces more cheese
per litre of milk than other breeds,” says Rachel Norton. “Increasingly we have crossed with other breeds as higher milk solids is not the only thing we’re a er. We want a longer lactation period which allows us to kid less regularly.”
Rachel adds that a degree of balance is needed in the milk as well. “Too high in fat in early lactation makes it harder to drain the curds, the proportion of the solids is important, we want to moderate consistent volumes”.
In addition to ge ing the milk’s make-up correct, Rachel is using breeding to create a hardier, more selfsufficient herd. “We are now selecting for goats that can be milked from pasture rather than high levels of in parlour feeding. Goats than can maintain their condition, whilst producing good quality milk for cheesemaking, are unusual here in the UK”.
It is extremely unusual that a farmer producing milk for cheese will be starting from scratch, so the choice of species is o en not theirs to make. The climate and landscape of the area farmed tends to define this. For instance, lush pastures in Northern Europe (in places like the South West of England or the island of Ireland) lend themselves to cows while the rugged southern Mediterranean is home to wirier, lighter footed, lower input species like goats and sheep.
Increasingly we have crossed with other breeds as higher milk solids is not all we’re a er.
Many great British cheesemakers emerged from a necessity to diversify with the dissolution of the Milk Marketing Board and the end of a guaranteed price for milk in the early 1990s. The majority of dairy farmers then were managing herds of HolsteinFresian cows, pushing for volume to maximise their bo om line. To this day, many herds that produce cheesemaking milk are descendants from that era and the example of Fen Farm Dairy is not typical.
While not every herd has as much variety as the next, milk itself remains a changeable beast and susceptible to the seasons.
Seasonality is o en perceived as an issue of availability. Mont d’Or, for example, is only available through the autumn and winter months. But this notion only really applies to the more archaic system of herds calving once a year and the lactation cycle of the animal determining availability of milk, with milk solids peaking at the start of lactation and slowly falling away before drying up completely.
Nowadays, herds tend to be split into multiple calving blocks – o en a spring and an autumn block – so the loss of availability is mitigated by having two lactation cycles operating at different stages of the year.
Seasonality in sheep’s milk production is a significant issue. Sheep’s fertility cycles are controlled in part by day length, so it is much harder to get a ewe to conceive in the spring than it is in the autumn. A sheep will become more fertile as the days begin to shorten due to a rise in melatonin produced in the increasing hours of darkness. Due to this photosensitivity, most lambing happens in the spring months – with the milk coming shortly a er.
Seasonality in milk is also a result of feeding pa erns through the farming year. Depending on the time of year or the geography of a farm, animals will be fed on a variety of different things. It makes sense for dairy farmers in a climate that supports rich pastures to put their herd outside during spring and summer months. The weather is (generally) clement and the ground not so wet that the herd will churn it into a quagmire. The herd can graze on
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milk production
natural pasture or be put out onto fields that have been deliberately planted with a diverse range of grasses, herbs and legumes.
The biodiversity of the pasture, whether it be naturally occurring like Alpine Meadows or a planted herbal ley, contributes to the health of the soil, the animal and ultimately the complexity of flavour in the milk.
Animals on fresh summer pasture produce milk with a lower fat percentage by volume. This milk lends itself be er to fast draining, hard, longer aging cheeses such as West Country Farmhouse Cheddar or Comté. The diversity of fresh feed is o en reflected in a range of complex flavours which develop as the cheese ages.
As winter approaches, the herd move indoors and onto feed with densely packed nutrition, such as haylage, silage, dry hay or mixed ration feeds. The fat content goes up by volume and the cheesemaker will face a curd that drains less readily than that of summer milk cheeses. At this point they will either adapt the make or change to a different style of cheese. The oozing silky Mont d’Or is the classic example.
Other systems see a different solids trend. Tim Starnberg of Hol Ysteri in Norway farms goats. He and his herd follow the snowline up and down the mountains as the seasons come and go. The effect on the milk is profound.
As the goats leave behind winter’s barn-fed silage and head up the mountain, their diet changes.
We see that the protein doesn’t change much in volume but the fat increases by more than a third when mushroom season really hits.
“They do not eat much grass,” says Tim. “They will eat juniper, silver willow, heather, reindeer lichen, blueberries, black crowberry and mushrooms. We see that the protein doesn’t change much in volume but the fat increases by a third and even more when mushroom season really hits”.
To adapt to this, Tim says they cut this fa ier, more obstructive curd smaller and stir it for longer to make sure that whey drains away as it should.
Before the milk makes it into the cheesemaker’s vat, there are a number of key decisions to be made in the milking parlour. As soon as milk leaves the sterile confines of an animal and hits the outside air, it is inoculated with the microbiome native to that environment. This is a critical moment in production.
Some farmers wash the udder with soapy water, others use a sterilising spray to clean any trace of bacteria from the teat and some a simple scrub of wood wool, allowing some of the microbiota to enter the milk bringing with it the diversity of the soil and of the feed itself. Raw milk production leans
heavily on the naturally occurring microbiome in the environment, the variations of bacteria within the milk bringing a natural variation in the cheese.
The question here is whether the cheesemaker leans into these variations, producing cheese that, batch to batch, can vary greatly, or whether they seek to control the variation by adapting the make.
One of the ways a milk producer can do that is to pasteurise, heating the milk to 72 °C for 15 seconds. The process was invented to destroy dangerous pathogens in the milk, but it does of course destroy much of the other native bacteria as well. Pasteurisation in effect fla ens the curve and produces a primary ingredient that is more predictable by being relatively inert.
The cheesemaker can then introduce specifically chosen bacterial strains to achieve the desired cheese make. Many of the classic Protected Designation of Origin cheeses do not allow for pasteurisation, but for those not under these restrictions it can be a useful tool to manage both the safety and the predictability of the milk.
A small number of cheesemakers in the UK aspire to raw milk cheesemaking seeing it as the purest, traditional approach.
Andy Swinscoe of retailer The Courtyard Dairy champions raw milk cheese, saying: “There isn’t a clearer expression of terroir. If you want to make something truly unique to your place it has to be raw milk”.
“But don’t get me wrong, it is incredibly difficult and challenging to do, and definitely not for everyone. I have the utmost respect for anyone who puts their head above the parapet and commits to making safe raw milk cheese”.
Given the myriad decisions to be made throughout their processes, it would be a hard thing to argue against Michele Buster’s desire to bring milk producers more into the spotlight. She even thinks they should be winning accolades alongside the cheeses and cheesemakers.
“They should be recognised, they should be winning awards”.
The brief was simple. Find out what British cheesemakers recommend as the best pairing for their cheeses and see if a crack team of cheesemongers can find a be er match.
PATRICK MCGUIGAN and his expert panel chose nine British cheeses and tried them with two accompaniments each. One from the maker and one from a monger. The best pairing wins.
MONGERSMAKERSVS
WHO PAIRS BEST
British cheese traditionalists might want to sit down before we break the following news: you don’t always have to serve cheese with chutney and crackers.
From grazing pla ers strewn with exotic fruits and edible flowers to chefs creating weird and wonderful condiments, the rules on what you can serve with cheese are being ripped up and rethought by a new generation of cheese lovers.
Pick & Cheese in London is a prime example. Set up by Mathew Carver in 2019, the restaurant is home to the world’s first conveyor belt of cheese.
This wondrous revolving belt is laden with plates of British cheese paired with cu ing edge accompaniments that go far beyond the traditional. Think Cornish Gouda with clo ed cream fudge,
Cenarth Brie with chilli jam or Stilton with kimchi.
It’s the perfect venue to explore what makes the perfect cheese pairing, but before we start our experts get into a discussion about what makes a great match.
“I’m looking for an accompaniment that makes the cheese taste be er,” says Stephen Fleming of George & Joseph in Leeds. “I want it to amplify the characteristics of the cheese or take it in a different direction.”
Pick & Cheese general manager Hero Hirsh agrees: “You’re looking for an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. So both the cheese and the accompaniment taste be er together.”
Complementary and contrasting flavours and textures are a good starting point, says Mathew
Carver. “Goats’ cheese o en has a herbaceous flavour, so anything with rosemary or thyme will work with it. A crunchy accompaniment with a so cheese is also a nice contrast. It’s why rosemary shortbread with goats’ cheese is lovely.”
Lucy Hunt, who runs LucyCheese, also argues that ratios are important. “Ge ing the right amount to go with the cheese so it doesn’t overpower the flavour, but you can also still taste the accompaniment is key. I sometimes serve cheese with just a few shavings of dark chocolate, rather than whole pieces because you only want a li le of that bi er-sweet flavour.”
With these thoughts fresh in our mind, and plates of British cheese trundling along the conveyor belt behind us, we start our tasting.
Patrick McGuigan, cheese writer, author and educator, and chair of the panel
Lucy Hunt, cheesemonger and owner of LucyCheese, a cheese tasting business in London
Mathew Carver, owner of the Cheese Bar group, London & Settle (Yorkshire). Co-author of The Cheese Life
Hero Hirsh, cheesemonger and general manager, Pick & Cheese – part of the Cheese Bar group
Stephen Fleming, cheesemonger and owner, George & Joseph, Leeds
They eat their Baron Bigod a bit differently in Suffolk. At least cheesemaker Jonny Crickmore does. He recommends popping a hunk of honeycomb on his gooey, Brie-style cheese so that it slowly sinks into the paste. He then adds a few drops of syrupy balsamic.
Our cheese experts are intrigued by the advice and immediately warm to the combination. “This does take the cheese to a new level,” says Carver. ”The balsamic adds a real kick, which cuts through the cheese and the honey.”
Fleming’s idea of serving white chocolate with the cheese is less successful. The chunks of chocolate are deemed too waxy against the soft cheese, although thin shavings worked better.
“There’s a silky, glossy mouthfeel to white chocolate that is quite similar to the texture of Baron,” he says.
Hirsh finds the vegetal notes of the cheese too much for the creamy chocolate. “They have different melting points, so the chocolate struggles to make its mark.”
WINNER: Baron Bigod and honeycomb & balsamic vinegar
Ticklemore
Cheesemaker’s choice: Fig chutney
Cheesemonger’s choice: Morello cherry jam
Part Caerphilly and part Brie, Ticklemore is made from pasteurised goats’ milk by Sharpham Cheese in Devon. Owner Greg Parsons recommends “anything fig based” as a match, especially the dairy’s own-brand Caramelised Fig & Pinot Noir Chutney.
We try the crumbly white cheese, which has a fudgey breakdown, with The Bay Tree’s Sticky Figgy Chutney, but there’s a strong caramelised onion note to the condiment that clashes with the cheese’s lactic notes.
Hunt’s suggestion of morello cherry jam (ours is from Harvey Nichols) has our experts lost for words as they taste, before they all start to voice their approval. “I’m getting afternoon tea vibes here,” says Fleming. “It’s like clotted cream and jam.”
Hunt compares the match to a fruity milkshake. “It reminds me of a cherry drop, which brings out a milky sweetness, like caramel, in the cheese. I love it.”
WINNER: Ticklemore and morello cherry jam
Pyghtle
Cheesemaker’s choice: Dried mango
Cheesemonger’s choice: Turkish Delight
Emily Tydeman, owner of Broughton Hall Dairy in Suffolk, started making her log-shaped, raw sheep’s milk cheese in 2023, and is adamant that dried mango pieces, specifically from Forest Feast, are the ultimate pairing for the creamy cheese (pronounced ‘Pie-tul’).
Our experts, however, have other views. “There’s a yielding quality to the cheese, but the mango pieces are quite leathery,” says Hirsh. “Texture-wise it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
Fleming agrees: “I’m losing most of the flavour of the cheese. There’s a lot of chewing required for the mango, but the cheese just melts away.”
Mathew Carver has another suggestion. Turkish Delight with goats’ cheese is a favourite at Pick & Cheese. “I think the perfumed, floral flavours will work in a similar way with a lactic sheep’s cheese,” he says.
Hunt agrees: “The rose flavour brings out something floral in the cheese.”
WINNER: Pyghtle and Turkish Delight
finding a match
Cornish Kern
Cheesemaker’s choice: Honey & apple
Cheesemonger’s choice: Date molasses
Otto Mead, son of Lynher Dairies owner Catherine Mead, is a purist when it comes to the Alpine-style Cornish Kern. A good English apple and a drizzle of honey is all he wants for the sweet, nutty cow’s milk cheese.
Our experts tend to agree. “I’m getting a kind of sticky toffee apple effect, but not as sweet, which I’m really enjoying,” says Hunt. “Kern is so compact and dense, but the juicy apple helps balance it out. Hirsh has reservations, however. “It’s not bringing out enough of the nuttiness of the cheese.”
She proposes a dash of date molasses from Odysea instead. “One of my favourite wine pairings with Kern is a Tawny port, so I wanted an accompaniment that brings those nutty, butterscotch notes,” she says. “This date molasses is like liquid sticky toffee pudding.”
Carver is convinced: “The sweetness is really complementary, but there’s bitterness that keeps it in balance,” he says, as Fleming and Hunt nod in unison.
Kirkham’s Lancashire served with an Eccles cake has been a stalwart of the menu at famous London restaurant St John for 30 years, so it seemed the obvious place to start.
The Eccles from St John’s Covent Garden bakery didn’t disappoint. Crisp flakey puff pastry filled with dense, sticky currants seasoned with nutmeg and all-spice. It’s an intense partner for the fluffy, buttery charms of Kirkham’s Lancashire.
“It’s the most supreme Eccles cake I’ve ever tasted,” says Hirsh, while Carver says that he is going to buy one for his lunch straight after the tasting.
Ratios are important in this match, adds Hunt, who says the richness of the Eccles cake requires a hefty wedge of cheese. “You want 2:1 cheese to Eccles cake.”
The alternative pairing of salty liquorice, proposed by Fleming, unfortunately stands no chance. “I was hoping the salty flavour would pick up on the salty, savoury flavour in the cheese,” he says.
“Yes, but this is too salty,” says Carver. “I quite like the treacle flavour with the cheese, but it’s too salty and chewy.”
Ashcombe
Cheesemaker’s choice: Saucisson & cocktail onions
Cheesemonger’s choice: Salted crisps
We try Lucy Hunt’s suggested pairing first, which is unusual to say the least. Piper’s Anglesey Sea Salt potato crisps are doled out to our experts, who start crunching away with slices of the Morbier-style cheese, made by King Stone Dairy in Gloucestershire.
“The idea for this came from raclette with potatoes,” explains Hunt. “I thought the smooth texture of Ashcombe would work well with the crunchy crisps.”
“This combines really well in the mouth,” says Hirsh. “I’m really enjoying the textures.”
“I really like it too,” says Carver. “It reminds me of crisps in a cheese sandwich.”
By contrast the saucisson and pickled onion combo feels too complicated, says Hirsh. “Ashcombe is so meaty in flavour anyway that it feels like it’s too much,” she says. “I’m not sure the texture works that well either. The saucisson is too chewy.”
WINNER: Ashcombe and salted crisps
WINNER: Kirkham’s Lancashire and Eccles Cake
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SUPREME CHAMPION
Pitchfork Cheddar
Cheesemaker’s Choice: Kimchi
Cheesemonger’s Choice: Piccalilli
Both matches are popular. Rosebud Preserves Piccalilli, suggested by Hirsh, is a hit. “Show me a better Piccalilli,” she says, banging the table.
Fleming agrees: “It’s a classic combination and the piccalilli is not too sharp. The texture works really well too.”
Valdasz Kimchi is also really popular with our experts. This was recommended by Todd Trethowan, co-owner of Trethowan Brothers, who makes Pitchfork in Somerset. He also makes his own kimchi and says matching it with his savoury, nutty raw milk cheddar is one of his favourite snacks.
“It’s amazing how different the cheddar is with the kimchi,” says Carver. “There are more salty and brothy notes in the cheese which is really delicious. The spice adds another layer too.”
In the end the vote is close, but the Piccalilli pips it.
WINNER: Pitchfork and Piccalilli
Lanark Blue
Cheesemaker’s choice: Poached pears
Cheesemonger’s choice: Mango chutney
Cheesemaker Selina Cairns of Erringtons in Scotland serves her famous sheep’s milk blue with poached pears and gingerbread in her farm shop café.
We run with the poached pears element in an effort to accentuate the fruity, almost boozy notes of the cheese. But our pears are steeped in a syrup with spices and vanilla and they overpower the cheese slightly.
“I would have preferred just a simple poached pear, because that fruity sweetness is lovely with the salty blue, but the vanilla gets in the way,” says Hirsh.
Hunt thinks it tastes a little like a frangipane tart and Fleming liked the grainy texture of the pear with the crumbly blue.
Even more popular is a spoonful of fragrant Geeta’s Mango Chutney, recommended by Hirsh, which adds contrasting sweetness to the savoury cheese, but also complements its spicy character.
“This is really unique pairing, like a big warm hug,” says Fleming.
WINNER: Lanark Blue and mango chutney
TOPTHE
Golden Cenarth
Cheesemaker’s choice: Tomato salsa
Cheesemonger’s choice: Bacon jam
This pungent washed rind cheese from Wales proves a sticky cheese in more ways than one. Cheesemaker Carwyn Adams at Caws Cenarth in Carmarthenshire recommends grilling slices of the soft cow’s milk cheese on toast with tomatoes and Worcestershire Sauce.
However, an executive decision is made to adapt this idea with a chipotle tomato salsa as an accompaniment, thereby keeping the tomato idea, but adding smokey chilli notes.
It’s a bad decision by the panel. The Gran Luchito salsa is too watery and not flavourful enough to cope with the powerful cheese.
Mathew Carver’s idea of a few dabs of bacon jam, made by Eat17, is a much better idea. The meaty spread emphasises the savoury depths of the rind. “Bacon jam leans into the beefy, smokey notes of these kinds of cheeses,” he says.
“There is a real beef burger flavour with this combination,” says Hunt. “Lots of meaty flavours and then the cheese comes back at the end a bit like a cheeseburger.”
WINNER: Golden Cenarth and bacon jam
Ticklemore and morello cherry jam
Cornish Kern and date molasses
Ashcombe and salted crisps
Queso Castellano: strength in unity
Sheep’s milk cheesemakers in Castile and León have joined forces to win protected status for Queso Castellano, and are reaping the benefits. Over the next four pages we explore the people, places, flavours that make this hard sheep’s milk one of Spain’s best
ASK A CHEESE lover to name a Spanish queso and they will probably mention Manchego. But there’s another hard sheep’s milk cheese from Spain that is making its mark on cheeseboards across the world, as well as at international cheese awards.
Queso Castellano from Castile and León is one of Spain’s newest protected cheeses, a er gaining Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in 2020, although the nu y cheese has a history that stretches back centuries.
Farmers have been making hard sheep’s milk cheeses in this beautiful part of Spain since the Middle Ages and Queso Castellano is an integral part of the region’s food culture. It’s why the region’s dairy industry federation, representing cheesemakers across the region, applied to register the cheese under EU law in 2019.
Under the terms of its PGI, the cheese must be made in the Castile and León region using either raw or pasteurised sheep’s milk from farms in the region, with at least half of the animal’s diet sourced from the the same area. Produced in wheels weighing up to 3.8kg, smaller cheeses (below 1.5kg) must be matured for at least 30 days, while larger cheeses must be aged for a minimum of 60 days. In practice, however, Queso Castellano is o en aged for much longer, up to a year or even more.
The texture and flavour of the cheese varies depending on the age, maker and location of production (see overleaf for full tasting notes), but expect a firm granular texture and lactic, caramel and
animal aromas, plus nu y, fruity and spicy notes on the tongue.
There are 19 cheesemakers producing Queso Castellano in Castile and León, which only tells part of the story. These businesses also support 950 farms and 16 sheep cooperatives, while around 3,000 families are involved in Queso Castellano production in total.
One of these makers is Quesos El Pastor, which has been producing cheese in Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa in Zamora since 1967.
“Being part of the PGI has been a milestone and a success of the effort of all its associates for many
years, it has been fundamental for us,” explains export director Israel Santiago Capdepont. “The accreditation guarantees the quality and authenticity, endorsed by the European Union, of our products, which generates confidence in both consumers and distributors. In addition, it has helped to increase the visibility of Queso Castellano both nationally and internationally, as it ensures that this cheese comes from the region and meets traditional production standards. This has been key for many markets to recognise and become interested in the value of our cheese.”
El Pastor makes Queso Castellano under the Ruffino brand, using raw sheep’s milk from native breeds, such as Churra and Castellana sheep. “The climate of Castile and León, with cold winters and hot summers, naturally influences the milk, the animals and the maturation process, providing a unique flavour profile,” says Capdepont. “The result is a cheese with personality, with an intense flavour and persistence in the mouth.”
Queso Castellano is aged for different lengths of time to create a range of different styles. These include young cheeses, sometimes labelled Tierno (tender) at 30 or 60 days, Semi-Curado (semi-cured) at 2-4 months, Curado (cured) at 4-9 months and older cheeses from nine months to over a year labelled as Viejo (old), Añejo (aged), Reserva (reserve) or Gran Reserva (grand reserve) cheeses.
Queso Ilbesa makes Queso Castellano under the DM and Fundador brands in Tapioles de Campos in Zamora
a promotion feature for castile & león
with various different age profiles. Maria Martin, export director, explains more about the differences:
“Queso Castellano can be matured in several stages. A Semi-Curado cheese tends to be milder, with a creamy texture and a fresh dairy flavour. As it ages, as in a cheese aged for 4-6 months (Curado), the flavour becomes deeper and more intense, with notes of dried fruits and a hint of acidity. In older cheeses, Reserva and Gran Reserva, the texture becomes firmer and grainier, and the flavour develops greater complexity, with spicier notes and a lingering a ertaste.”
At Valladolid-based El Gran Cardenal, which has been making cheese since 1951, marketing manager Víctor Martín Osona explains that sheep’s milk cheeses gain greater aroma and flavour from around three or four months. “This is when it increases significantly,” he says. “Even so, all ages have their audience and their demand, since a so or semi-cured sheep’s cheese also has multiple nuances.”
This is backed up by multiple award wins for the company’s Queso Castellano at cheese awards, across various different age profiles. Its Semi-Curado cheese
won Gold at Spain’s Cincho Cheese Awards in 2024, while its Curado cheeses have also won Gold at the World Cheese Awards in the past.
The awards success, along with PGI status is really helping put Queso Castellano, on the map, says Osona. “The PGI provides us with higher quality standards than usual and therefore purchasing professionals in the main markets are more receptive to cheeses that are covered by this quality figure. The PGI is allowing us to go to more customers and more countries than before.”
One of the driving forces behind the creation of the PGI was Entrepinares, Spain’s largest cheesemaker, which is based in Valladolid. It makes Queso Castellano in three different styles: Semi-Curado, Curado and Viejo. “Our cheese is elaborated with 100% Castilian sheep milk,” explains sales director Gabriel Martinez. “All our barns are certified, not only with being geographically with Castile and León, but all their food is also from this region. This way we can confirm that from the animal to the final product, there is almost no mileage.”
In other words, it’s a cheese that is rooted in history, tradition and place. There truly is strength in numbers.
MILK, MAKE, MATURE
There are clearly defined steps involved in the production of Queso Castellano, which are specified in the PGI.
The milk
The cheese must be made with whole sheep’s milk (pasteurised or raw milk) from farms located in Castile and León. These can be extensive, semi-extensive or intensive. In extensive or semi-extensive systems, the sheep are often put out to graze on crop stubble. During the winter and on intensive farms, animals are fed forage-based diets in which legumes, oats and alfalfa feature prominently.
The make
The milk is heated to between 27 and 37°C, before rennet is added. Queso Castellano is typically made with animal rennet, sometimes lamb rennet. After curdling, the curd is cut into small pieces, ranging from the size of a grain of rice to a hazelnut, and stirred and scalded to a maximum of 39°C. The whey is drained using sieves, and the curd placed into cylindrical moulds to shape the cheese. The moulds are often embossed with a design creating a zig-zag effect on the rind, which replicates the pattern created by
the woven grass moulds used in antiquity. The cheese is then pressed and brined or dry salted.
The maturing room
Queso Castellano is aged at 3-18°C with humidity levels ranging from 65-95%. During this time, it is regularly turned and cleaned to develop its rind and flavour.
The minimum maturation period is 30 days for cheeses up to 1.5 kg and 60 days for larger wheels up to 3.8kg. Queso Castellano may be sold whole, sliced, grated or in portions.
A CHEESE WITH A LONG HISTORY
Queso Castellano’s history dates back to the late Middle Ages when sheep farming, particularly the Merino breed, thrived in Castile and León. Shepherds would move their flocks across different pastures, spreading cheese-making knowledge and techniques as they went, resulting in a rich exchange between the different parts of this vast region of Spain.
The cheese became a vital commodity, widely traded due to its durability and transportability. It often served as currency for bartering among shepherds and traders. Historical documents from the 15th century reveal its economic significance, with details
of its prices and transactions underscoring its value in the local markets.
Originally, the cheese was made on a small scale by shepherds using lamb rennet and sheep milk from natural pastures. These traditional, artisanal methods resulted in distinctive flavours, influenced by the local environment. In the early 20th century, these groups of artisan producers evolved into more organised and industrialised production, so that by the 1950s and 1960s, Queso Castellano had gained broader recognition, expanding beyond its provincial borders and earning national and international acclaim.
King in the kitchen
As well as working on cheeseboards and as an aperitif, Queso Castellano is a flexible friend in the kitchen working in a wide range of recipes. The below recipes have all been devised by Quesos Ilbesa, Valladolid, and use different ages of its Queso Castellano DM cheese.
Cheese, chicken and pesto panini
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 panini
4 thin slices Queso Castellano Curado
DM cheese
1 cup roasted chicken, cut into strips.
4 tablespoons of previously prepared pesto sauce
1 cup spinach leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup smashed avocado
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Method
• Mix the chicken strips, avocado, pesto sauce, salt and pepper in a bowl. Chop and sauté the spinach in a pan with a little olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper for approximately 6 minutes. Allow to cool.
• Heat a griddle over medium heat (or use a panini grill). Open the panini lengthwise and coat both sides of the bread with a touch of olive oil. Place a layer of the chicken mix, a layer of spinach and the slices of cured DM cheese inside. Close the panini and cook both sides on the griddle until cheese has melted turning as required.
Cream of cauliflower soup with cheese toasts
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g steamed cauliflower
1 large onion, chopped
500ml vegetable or chicken stock
60g of Queso Castellano Semi-Curado DM cheese, cubed
30g Queso Castellano Añejo DM cheese for the slices, grated
4 thin slices of white bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Cheese and mustard potato churros
Serves 4 people
Ingredients
400g mashed potatoes, skins removed and pureed until smooth
2 egg yolks
50g corn flour 50 g
20g Queso Castellano Añejo DM cheese, grated
15g Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Method
• Mix the mashed potato with the egg yolks, corn flour, grated cheese and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir well until you obtain a smooth mass. Fill a pastry piping bag (with a star nozzle) with the mass and cool in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fill a frying pan halfway with olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Pipe strips of the potato puree into the hot oil. Turn when the bottom half is golden and fry the other side before removing. Drain excess oil and serve immediately.
Method
• Sauté the onion until transparent. Add the cauliflower and sauté for a few minutes more, before adding the stock. Simmer over a medium heat for five minutes.
• Once cooked, blend to a fine texture. Add the cubed cheese and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it melts. Adjust seasoning.
• Meanwhile, toast the bread on one side, turn over, sprinkle with the grated Queso Castellano Añejo and then grill until the cheese has melted.
• Serve the soup in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, and the toasts on the side or partly submerged.
a promotion feature for castile & león
The taste of time
The name Queso Castellano covers a multitude of different styles depending on how long the cheese is matured for. Each cheese is different, but below is a rough guide to the flavours and textures you can expect to find with different ages of the cheese.
Young (30-60 days)
At the start of its life, Queso Castellano is wonderfully tender and milky. The texture is pliable and semi-hard with buttery, lactic notes on the nose. The flavour is creamy and sweet with just a a hint of animal notes.
Perfect pairing: fresh figs and hazelnuts
Semi-Curado (2-4 months)
The texture begins to change at this age with a slightly drier, firmer body with a hint of crumble, but still relatively elastic. Likewise, the aroma starts to deepen with more caramel and animal notes, plus a hint of fruitiness. On the palate, there is more acidity and salty notes, plus nutty and vegetal flavours.
Curado (4-9 months)
The ageing process is really starting to make its mark at this stage with a darker colour and firmer texture with noticeable graininess. Expect strong caramel and animal notes, with roasted nuts and dried fruits. There will also be spicy and savoury notes on the tongue, plus an earthy depth.
Perfect pairing: membrillo and roasted almonds
Viejo (9 months and beyond)
Old Queso Castellano, which is sometimes sold as Añejo, Reserva or Gran Reserva, achieves a remarkable complexity. Dry, crumbly and brittle with a distinct grainy texture in the mouth, the cheese has interesting layers of aromas and flavours. Think butterscotch, brown butter, dried herbs and distinct animal notes on the nose, plus pronounced spicy, nutty and savoury flavours in the mouth.
Queso Castellano is made by different companies in Castile and León. Below is the full list
Valle de San Juan
Campos Góticos
Campoveja
Cañarejal
Cerrato
Consorcio Promoción del Ovino
El Gran Cardenal
El Pastor
Entrepinares
Ilbesa
Lácteas San Vicente
Marcos Conde
Pago los Vivales
Quesería La Antigua de Fuentesaúco
Quesos del Duero
Quesos Félix
Perfect pairing: truffle honey and rosemary crackers
Perfect pairings: Cecina de León PGI (air dried beef from Castile and León) and sundried tomatoes
Salud! Five drinks for Queso Castellano
Queso Castellano pairs well with a variety of drinks, enhancing both the flavours of the cheese and the beverages. Here are five perfect pairings.
Rueda
Light, crisp white wines like Rueda, which are full of zingy citrus flavours, are a great foil to complement the mild and fresh flavours of a young Queso Castellano. These wines have bright acidity that cut through the creaminess of the cheese.
Beer
A great match for snacking. The malty, caramel notes of an ale align with the nutty and slightly caramelised flavours in Semi-Curado cheeses for an easy pairing that is extremely moreish.
Ribera del Duero
This red wine, also from Castile and León, broods with dark fruit flavours and earthy notes that pair beautifully with the
savoury, earthy flavours of Queso Castellano Curado.
Oloroso Sherry
Another good match for Curado cheeses, the nutty, dried fruit flavours of an Oloroso pick up on similar flavours in the cheese to create a roasty, buttery pairing.
Vintage Port
The richness and sweetness of a vintage port provide a delicious contrast to the cheese’s spicy sharpness, while its full body complements the intense flavours. A great match for Christmas.
Quesos García Filloy
Quesos Lavega
Quevedo
Revilla
For more information on Queso Castellano PGI, visit www.quesocastellano.es info@quesocastellano.es
www.jcyl.es
For more information on food and drink from Castile and León, contact: promocion.ice@jcyl.es
Maren Gangstad couldn’t quite believe it when a cheese she had made was named the best in the world at the World Cheese Awards in 2023.
“I guess we’re still in the same disbelief that it actually happened, because we did not expect it at all,” she says, 10 months on from that momentous day in Trondheim, which is just under two hours’ drive from the dairy where the now world-famous Nidelven Blå is produced.
But this Norwegian blue cheese’s success didn’t come totally out of nowhere. Gangstad Gårdsysteri has entered its cheese into the competition every year since 2017, and it had won an award each time – including Best Norwegian Cheese in 2019.
“We were hoping for a Super Gold [one of the top accolades at WCA], but never expected anything like that,” says Maren, who runs the farm with her husband, Ole Morten Gangstad.
The phones went off “instantly”. Buyers from across Norway and further afield were keen to get their hands on some. But Maren’s response was: “we have the production that we have.”
She adds: “And since it takes six months to mature, we didn’t have that much extra to sell.” When we speak, almost a year a er the event, the Gangstads have just sold their first wheels of Nidelven Blå abroad – in Spain and the UK. Consumers in the la er can get hold of it via The Fine Cheese Company.
With its delicate, creamy, bu ery and so paste and those mild, peppery blue veins, it is the kind
of cheese that will appeal to most blue lovers out there, but it’s unique too.
At the 2023 awards judge Finbar Deery, of Sheridans Cheesemongers in Ireland, was enraptured. “I loved it,” he said. “There’s an interplay between the milk flavours and the blue flavours – it’s not barrelled over by the penicillium. It has a short creaminess, a real dense fudginess. It’s a reasonably bi er cheese as well, and I don’t think we appreciate bi erness enough. It cuts through the richness.”
Cathy Strange, the renowned cheese expert and Whole Foods Market buyer, agreed. “This cheese is very balanced, the creaminess shines, and what
I like is it has fruity overtones, some wine-like characteristics that really speak to me.”
Nidelven Blå has been made since the turn of the century, a couple of years a er Ole Morten’s parents, Astrid and Perry, turned to cheese in a bid to become more profitable. Ole’s great-grandfather John Aasen bought the farm in 1913, and for almost a century it produced milk, which was sent to a cooperative that set the price.
“They were a bit tired of working a lot without making any money,” says Ole Morten. “My father figured he was working twice as much and taking half as much as he would in a regular job.” His mother, a teacher, was also looking for a career change.
In the late 1990s, however, farmhouse cheese in Norway wasn’t anything like it is today. Those familiar with the history of British cheese before its ‘90s renaissance will be aware of the story – scores of farmhouse cheeses had been wiped out in a bid to industrialise and centralise production. “They started shu ing down smaller cheese producers, so a lot of cheese culture and different types of cheeses died out,” says Ole.
So Astrid, along with a few other interested individuals, travelled to Sweden (where there were more farmhouse dairies) to take courses. In 1998, Gangstad became the first dairy in Norway to get authorisation to produce and sell cheese made from their own cows’ milk and sell to shops. “My grandfather was not very positive about her starting cheese production,” Ole recalls. “To him, it was a step back. Obviously, he was wrong.”
NORTH PRIDE OF THE
Nidelven Blå is the third Norwegian cheese to have been named the best on the planet in less than a decade. TOMÉ MORRISSY-SWAN checks in with the owners at maker Gangstad Gårdsysteri a year on from their remarkable triumph at World Cheese Awards 2023.
The first cheese produced was a salad cheese similar to feta, which they still make, and soon Astrid was experimenting with blue and white moulds, so cheeses, hard cheeses, and wrapping cheese in spruce.
Now, with Maren heading a team of 10, they produce 12 different cheeses and award-winning ice cream. All the cheeses are handmade with pasteurised milk. “Obviously Nidelven was one of our biggest-selling cheeses before the award, and now even more,” says Maren. But one of the other bestsellers is Granstubben, a washed rind variety wrapped in spruce that should be heated before eating. It won a Gold at the World Cheese Awards in Spain in 2021.
Although it’s slowly growing, Gangstad Gårdsysteri remains a small operation. There are just 50 milking cows, with a current capacity for around 70, all of which are Norwegian Reds, a milking breed that also produces meat.
Just a kilometre from a ord, the farmhouse is on a small hill above lush pasture, with a total of 100 acres. The cows spend six months a year indoors because Norwegian winters are harsh.
In winter, Ole Morten (who takes charge of the farming and milk production) hunts moose, black grouse and capercaillie; in summer, the family fishes in the sea. Ole Morten and Maren’s three children are the fi h generation to grow up on the farm. It’s an idyllic image.
Norwegian cheese is booming. Last year there were 293 cheeses from the country entered in the World Cheese Awards – a record – and there have
Obviously it was one of our biggest-selling cheeses before the award, and now it is even more
world champion
been a trio of winners since 2016, making three of the past seven winners Norwegian. Not bad for a country with just over 5 million inhabitants.
In 2018, the gouda-style Fanaost won the top prize, while two years previously the winner was Kra kar, a blue cheese from the south of the country. That win “opened our eyes” to how good Norwegian cheese is on a global scale, says Maren.
While the quality is improving, there is still work to change domestic consumer habits.
According to Maren, none of the top 10 cheeses sold at one Norwegian supermarket chain in the weeks before last year’s World Cheese Awards was Norwegian – France, Spain and Italy still led the way.
“The week a er, there were three Norwegian cheeses in the top 10,” says Maren. “I guess this makes people open their eyes a bit more. Now it’s about keeping them open, to not forget about it.”
Not that Norwegian cheese producers will rest on their laurels, and the Gangstads describe a vastly improving scene. “There’s a lot of good cheese in Norway,” says Ole Morten, who’s particularly fond of its goats’ cheeses, while blues are clearly doing well, too. “It has spread a lot, I think the culture has come back.”
And the Gangstads are intent on making more of it available, having just increased their capacity, making 1,600 more wheels of Nidelven blå this year than last. For anyone who’s tried the wonderful cheese – and for the many more who haven’t yet – that can only be a good thing. ysteri.no
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2019: Bath Soft Cheese.
2020: Wyfe of Bath Extra Mature.
2021: Merry Wyfe.
CRAFTED IN SOMERSET SINCE 1833
Cheddar that is powerfully intense and complex with an exceptional depth of flavour. The slightly brittle and sometimes crunchy texture is a natural result of its long and slow ageing.
Mongolia
This gnarly looking snack can actually be made from goats’, camels’ or cows’ milk. It’s boiled before adding a little yoghurt or fermented milk, which helps to separate the curds. These are then air-dried until it resembles a coarse, chewy, almost jerky-like snack. Find it in the markets of the capital Ulaanbaatar for on-the-go sustenance.
KHACHAPURI
Georgia
This cheese-filled bread dish is a Georgian staple but comes in many forms, depending on where in the country you happen to be. At its most basic, it’s a bread crust filled with Imeruli – a bouncy, salty fresh cheese (although aged versions are often used too). However, the most well-known version is the Adjaran khachapuri which is formed into a boat shape and often holds an egg at its centre.
BEYOND
THE TOASTIE
From flakey spanakopita to stringy quesadillas, cheese finds its way into street food dishes across the globe. NICK BAINES goes searching for some of the more obscure curd-driven dishes that can be found kerb-side.
RUBING & RUSHAN
China
Rubing and rushan are two cheese products that hail from the Yunnan Province of China. Both are formed from cows’ milk curds and lightly fried in oil. Rushan, which means “milk fan” in Chinese, is made by stretching the curds thinly and wrapping them around bamboo to dry into thin sheets.
Meanwhile, rubing is formed into a heftier, Halloumi-like block and sliced. Both variations are then fried, and often dusted in sugar and served as-is.
street food
POUTINE
Canada
Poutine, also known as “disco fries”, has become a mainstay in the Canadian fast food canon. Fresh curds cover salty French fries before being baptised with a liquid slick of gravy. While this might sound like a perfect meal for the inebriated, it has long been a staple of diners and pubs throughout the state of Quebec. These days you’re as likely to find a high-end version in Montreal, as you are the greasy spoon variety in Quebec City.
WAGASSI
Benin
The reddish rind of this cows’ milk creation comes from steeping fresh cheese in the extract of a specific herb that grows in Benin, affectionately known as “cheese herb”. Wagassi doesn’t melt very easily, lending itself to being fried and used in sauces as a meat substitute, or to bulk out meals. Similar versions of this cheese can be found throughout West Africa and it is most commonly eaten as a snack with pepper paste.
COIN BREAD
South Korea
This street-side snack has garnered a lot of interest on TikTok. So much so that it can now be found in many major cities throughout East Asia, from Singapore to Hong Kong. Originally from South Korea, coin bread (also known as 10 Won bread), is a waffle-like batter that’s cooked in the mould of a Korean 10 Won coin and filled with a Mozzarella-style cheese. Last year, following the surge in popularity, the Bank of Korea actively requested that vendors stop making the bread to resemble the country’s currency, but coin bread continues to pop up on social media.
MISH
Egypt
The Egyptians have a bit of a thing for pickling cheese. Areesh is a crumbly cottage cheese-style product made from yoghurt that is heated until it curdles, and then separated. Mish is perhaps the most famous iteration, and takes areesh a step further, leaving it to pickle and ferment in a mixture of buttermilk, whey, salt and a small amount of an older mish. It’s believed to be the same cheese found in a First Dynasty tomb, but you can find it today in local markets across Cairo and beyond.
KUE KEJU
Indonesia
From bakeries to street vendors, you’ll find kue keju throughout Indonesia. These salty savoury biscuits are actually a carry-over from Dutch colonial times in the 1600s, and are known in the Netherlands as kaasstengels. Seek them out across the islands of Indonesia, particularly during Lebaran, a festival that follows Ramadan, Eid, and Christmas.
Trending in Cheese
We speak to Patrick McGuigan, cheese writer and educator and advisor to the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food and Drink’ campaign, to find out what he thinks will be trending in cheese in 2025.
What new trends in cheese should retailers look out for?
Over the past few years social media has really inspired people to get creative in the kitchen with cheese and as such we have seen lots of new cooking trends coming to the fore. The viral baked Feta PDO pasta recipe from a few years ago has inspired people to cook with feta in lots of different ways and gave this cheese a whole new audience and appreciation for its flavour profile. Since then other feta dishes, such as shakshuka, whipped feta and browned feta with fried eggs have become popular. Beyond feta, Pecorino Romano PDO is becoming more commonly used in homecooked Italian pasta dishes such as carbonara, as it traditionally would be in Italy. Alternatives to Camembert for baking are also in demand such as Vacherin Mont D’Or PDO.
There is a great opportunity here for retailers to understand trending recipes and show customers how they can use cheese creatively in their cooking. People are seeking out more authentic ingredients for their home-cooked dishes so offering them information on alternatives to the more obvious choices is a fantastic way to extend their repertoire.
What cheeses are you particularly enjoying at the moment?
I’ve been really enjoying Cabriolait, an organic goats cheese from Belgian. It’s an abbey-style goat’s milk cheese. The milk for the cheese comes from Saanen Alpine cross goats which is delivered to the dairy every day. It has a washed rind which gives it earthy and caramel, malty notes. It is very delicious and approachable.
I’ve also tasted some fantastic Greek cheese recently. Aged Cretan Graviera PDO is a sheep’s milk cheese that is matured for two years. It’s an award-winning cheese that is hugely popular in
Crete.
Another fantastic Greek cheese is Galotyri PDO – a goat and sheep’s milk cheese which is creamy and spreadable. This is a highly-awarded cheese with long-standing traditional origins and the taste speaks for itself. It is fantastic drizzled with honey, used as a dip or smeared over bread.
What cheeses are the ones to watch for 2025?
There are some really exciting cheeses coming through from Northern Europe – cheeses produced in Belgium, Germany and Holland. These are undiscovered hidden gems which are starting to catch people’s a ention.
Herve PDO is one of the most popular cheeses in Belgium and known for its strong aroma. It’s a cow’s milk cheese with a so , washed-rind. It has a pungent aroma and creamy texture. The flavour is bu ery and tangy with sweet undertones.
Hornkäse is an incredible mountain cheese from Germany. It’s made from Allgäuer Braunvieh cows milk – of which there are only 600 le in the world. It’s washed in elderflower and hay ash.
How can fine food retailers continue to excite their customers with their cheese selections?
Think about visual appeal. There are lots of more unusual cheeses that will really make an impact on the cheese counter. Leaf wrapped cheeses like Banon PDO from France, Tiny Blossom cheese from Austria which is coated in dried flowers and Fleur de Maquis, a ewes’ milk cheese coated in wild herbs from Corsica, can make fantastic talking points. Drunken cheese like L’Ubriaco from Italy which is soaked in beer and wine are also visually appealing and taste amazing.
I always encourage cheesemongers to be able to
recommend at least one accompaniment and one drink for every cheese that they sell. Think outside the box when recommending cheese pairings and stocking accompaniments. Sweet and savoury combinations are fantastic. Fruit jams such as fig, blackcurrant and cherry; marmalade and even a syrupy date molasses. Gorgonzola PDO on a dark chocolate digestive is a delightful pairing. It doesn’t just have to be about crackers and bread.
Choose wines local to where the cheeses are produced and look for lesser known appellations. Greek wines are becoming more popular and pair perfectly with the up and coming Greek cheeses. Consider stocking Belgian beers and ales which will also pair fantastically with the Northern European options.
Stock a combination of the popular trending cheeses as well as lesser known, up and coming varieties. Be ready to advise people on how they cook with the cheeses, as well as pairings.
Patrick McGuigan is the author of The Philosophy of Cheese, published by the British Library, and The Cheese Life, cowritten with Mathew Carver, published by Kyle Books. For more information on the EU’s ‘More Than Only Food and Drink’ campaign, visit enjoy-its-fromeurope.campaign. europa.eu/unitedkingdom/en
washed rinds
Gubbeen feels like the right place to start a journey into the pungent world of washed rinds. Driving up to the farm and dairy through the fishing village of Schull in West Cork, the Atlantic crashes against rock on one side of the road as a sudden burst of rain slaps against the windscreen. It’s wet and briny and wild – just the sort of environment where a cheese with a funky rind is likely to flourish.
Fingal Ferguson confirms as much when I arrive at the dairy, which was set up by his mum Giana 45 years ago. She started making cheese as a way to use the milk from the farm’s herd, overseen then and now by her husband Tom, and there was something about this damp corner of South West Ireland that leant itself to washed rind cheeses.
“You work with what you have,” says the shockhaired Ferguson, who was newly born when Gubbeen cheese was first made. “If you have too many apples you make cider. If you have lots of milk you make cheese, and the milk here wants to make washed rind cheeses.”
It’s not just Gubbeen that has found the humid climate perfect for this style of cheese. Cork is home to some of Europe’s greatest washed rind cheeses. So and spicy Milleens, which kickstarted the country’s farmhouse cheese revolution, is made on the rugged Beara Peninsula. There’s also bu ery Durrus, named a er the village where it is made by Jeffa Gill, just 20km from Gubbeen.
Gubbeen is a cheese with “a bounce and a boing” explains Ferguson as we watch cheesemakers furiously fill metal moulds with silky slips of curd. The round cheeses are then submerged in brine baths, before being taken to warm maturing rooms, where the all-important washing takes place.
“Making cheese is easy. But making cheese that is consistent is the hard part,” says Ferguson as we wander among racks of blushing cheeses. “The devil’s in the detail. We’re constantly playing with heat, humidity and how we wash the cheeses.”
Gubbeen has built an international reputation, exporting its cheese to the UK, US and further
afield, where it is adored for its meaty, nu y flavour. This puts it at the milder end of the washed rind spectrum, but there’s also a growing appetite for even punchier cheeses.
In Scotland, cheesemaker Rory Stone, owner of Highland Fine Cheeses in Tain, decided to make a cheese inspired by the great stinkers of France, Époisses and Munster. Controversially named Minger, a slang word for something disgusting, his so cows’ milk cheese has a sticky orange rind (boosted by anna o in the brine wash) and eyewatering scent.
“I like malodorous, smelly cheeses and that’s
FUNK CREATORS OF
Washed rind cheeses take their name from the process of smearing a cheese’s rind with brine or alcohol as it matures to encourage particularly pungent cultures to grow. The result is a striking in colour, meaty in flavour and an unmistakable smelly. PATRICK MCGUIGAN dives into this pungent process.
definitely what I ended up making,” he says. “If you look at sales of these kinds of cheeses in supermarkets, they are growing rapidly. People want cheeses that are so and gooey, and have heaps of flavours.”
Stone puts this down to people travelling and eating out more. Minger was also helped by some priceless publicity last Christmas when newspapers and TV channels ran stories claiming it to be “the smelliest cheese in the world”.
“It’s a wonderfully spurious claim,” he says. “A journalist first suggested it and I’m certainly not going to disagree. All I can say is that when people open the fridge and Minger is inside, they suddenly think they need to get the dog out of the house and check on grandpa.”
The strong aroma from a washed rind cheese comes from sulphur compounds being released as the rind breaks down the paste underneath. Much depends on how o en you wash the cheese, but so cheeses ripen more fully, so the smell is o en more pronounced. Hard Alpine-style cheeses, such as Comté and Gruyère, are also washed, but the rind is le to dry, so the scent is less intense.
For a long time the aromatic character of washed rinds was a ributed to bacteria called Brevibacterium linens (B-linens), which also grow naturally on human skin. But it turns out the science is complicated. Diverse bacteria, moulds and yeasts have been found on washed rinds, including various types of Arthrobacter, Staphylococcus and the yeast Debaryomyces hansenii. In some washed rind cheeses no trace of B-linens could be found at all, even when the wash was actually inoculated with the bacteria.
Gubbeen’s rinds were tested in the early 2000s and a new bacterium was discovered, which was duly christened Microbacterium gubbeenense. “When mum was told, I could see her head
washed rinds
washed rinds
visibly swell,” jokes Ferguson.
The PDO that protects Taleggio, Italy’s most famous washed rind cheese, goes into great detail about rind microflora, naming specific bacteria, moulds and yeasts. “But maturing a cheese is not just about science, numbers or machines,” says Adele Ravasio, director of Taleggio affineur CasArrigoni. “It’s something you feel with your nose, hands and mouth. We don’t always know exactly why it is working, but we know that it does, so that’s enough.”
CasArrigoni matures Taleggio made with raw and pasteurised milk in underground cellars, which recreate the atmosphere of the mountain gro os where the cheese was aged historically. The cheeses are stacked in traditional pine crates on co on cheese cloths, and are brushed with water and Sicilian sea salt by hand.
“We don’t want the rind to be super pungent. It has to be thin with a rose colour,” says Ravasio. “We want lactic and acidic aromas, plus a mushroomy and nu y a ertaste.”
The origins of washed rind cheeses are thought to lie in the Medieval monasteries of Northern France, where the cool, damp cellars were the
Five newwave washed rinders to try
Le Barriquet, France
Made by Pierrick Brendani and Nicolas Trotot in the Loire Valley, this barrel-shaped raw milk goats’ cheese has a smooth supple texture and meaty, hazelnutty flavour.
All I can say is that when people open the fridge and Minger is inside, they suddenly think they need to get the dog out of the house and check on grandpa
perfect environment for the pungent rinds to form. Époisses, Maroilles and Munster all have their roots in monastic cheesemaking, and there are washed rind cheeses still being made by religious orders today, such as Abbaye de Troisvaux, hand-made by nuns in Calais, who wash the cheese in local beer.
Belgium also has a long history of abbey cheeses washed in the country’s world-famous beers, says affineur Frédéric Van Tricht, director at Antwerp-based Kaasaffineurs Van Tricht. “There are still abbeys that make cheese and beer, such as Westmalle and Postel,” he says. “Monks would make beer to disinfect the drinking water, and it wouldn’t take much to start using beer to wash the cheese.”
Belgium’s most famous cheese is Herve, a PDO protected cube-shaped cheese that is washed in brine, but there is also a new generation of washed rinders that are proving popular. “We don’t have limits in Belgium – there are not a lot of traditional recipes le – so cheesemakers will produce a huge range with different milks and in different styles: so , hard blue and o en washed rind.”
The wooden shelves in Van Tricht’s maturing rooms are testament to this with many new styles of washed rind cheeses, such as Palet, washed
in beer and apple & pear syrup, and the sweet, barnyardy goats’ cheese Cabriolet.
Van Tricht has also worked with cheesemakers to develop his own cheeses in the Trappist style, such as Funky Monk and the beer-washed Drunk Monk [see box-out]. “There is a good market for these kinds of cheeses in the US, the UK and Singapore, so we are creating new types,” says Van Tricht. “But they are also really popular in Belgium, on a pla er as an apéritif with beer and to melt like racle e.”
It’s not just Belgium where new styles are appearing. Spain is well known for its torta-style washed rind cheeses, made with sheep’s milk and thistle rennet, but cheesemakers are also creating new innovations, according to Rupert Linton, co-owner of London-based Spanish food importer Brindisa.
Quesos de Hualdo is a good example. The producer in Toledo has a 2,000 strong flock of Manchega breed sheep, whose milk is predominantly used to make Manchego, but the company has recently developed Lambda – a semiso washed rinder that brims with bu ery, fruity and vegetal aromas.
“There are hundreds of companies making Manchego, so washed rind cheeses are a good way to differentiate,” says Linton.
Brindisa has recently started importing Musgo Lavado, a springy washed goats’ cheese from Castile and León [see box-out], and Linton is also a fan of Puigpedrós made by Molí de Ger in Catalonia. This cows’ milk cheese has a ruddy complexion and earthy flavour, and won Super Gold at the World Cheese Awards in 2022.
“These cheeses are hugely popular in tapas and wine bars in Spain,” says Linton. “There are a lot more boutique cheese shops in Spain now, with English, French and Italian cheeses, and Spanish people travel much more now. They are much more adventurous when it comes to food.”
Back in Cork, Ferguson finishes our tour in the packing room, where his mother Giana Ferguson is wrapping her precious cheeses with a dexterity that comes from decades of practice. The springy cheeses are a pre y pastel pink with a dusting of white moulds, but their rinds will become more powerful over time, predicts Ferguson.
“A Gubbeen that is young and lactic can be inhaled in one go, but a ripe cheese will take over the fridge. I love that about our cheese – it has a life of its own.”
Drunk Monk, Belgium
Musgo Lavado,
Spain
Greensward, USA
Quintano, Italy
A modern take on a Trappist cheese, Drunk Monk is a collab between West Flanders cheesemaker Groendal and Antwerp affineur Van Tricht. The fudgey cows’ milk cheese is washed in Rex blonde ale and has a funky, malty flavour.
This raw goat’s milk cheese from Elvira García in Castile and León is washed daily with brine so that it develops a fruity, yoghurty flavour and semi-soft texture.
Named Best American Cheese at the 2022 World Cheese Awards, Greensward is a soft round cows’ milk cheese wrapped in a spruce band. It’s washed with cider and has a mustardy, vegetal flavour. The cheese is a collaboration between Jasper Hill in Vermont and New York cheesemonger Murray’s.
Made by Lavialattea in Lombardy in a similar way to Taleggio, but with raw sheep’s milk, this award-winning cheese has a bulging texture and notes of butter, earth and roasted beef.
For more than 40 years, we’ve been selecting, portioning and packaging PDO cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Mozzarella di Bufala and other traditional Italian cheeses, creating tailor made solutions to meet all your needs.
PAIR
PAIR
Picking the right cheeses to serve your guests is an important decision, not to be taken lightly – but a selection isn’t quite complete without the right accompaniments, or accessories. Here’s a selection of pairings and equipment to match your carefully curated board.
Made in Mevagissey, Cornwall, Boddington’s Chilli Jam is slowcooked in small batches to achieve what the producer says is the perfect consistency and flavour, balancing sweetness and spice. Boddington’s recommends slathering this all-natural jam in sandwiches and toasties, or giving it pride of place on a cheeseboard. RRP £4.60. boddingtonspreserves.co.uk
Gingerbeard’s Preserves’ Cider & Chorizo Chilli Jam is a twist on the producer’s original Beer & Bacon Chilli Jam, made in collaboration with Somerset Charcuterie The medium-spiced, onion-based chilli jam is made with farmhouse cider and chunks of cider-soaked chorizo, and will hold its own to a slice of rich cheese in a burger, sandwich or on a board. RRP £5.80. gingerbeardspreserves.co.uk
The Garlic Farm’s Red Onion Relish with Jalapeño & Garlic is the Isle of Wight-based producer’s suggested pairing for cheese and crackers, sourdough toasties, and baked washed rind cheese. The tangy, medium-heat relish is also said to complement a classic, nutty cheddar or a salty halloumi, as well as both cured and grilled meats. thegarlicfarm.co.uk
IT UP
Inspired by a popular curry dish, Cottage Delight’s Mango & Aubergine Chutney is made with Indian spices. The producer encourages spooning it over it a homemade curry, or adding it to a cheese toastie to give it a spicy and aromatic kick. RRP £4.39. cottagedelight.co.uk
Good Guys Bakehouse has introduced Paprika Biscuit Melts as an addition to its range of savoury biscuits. Made with paprika, chilli powder and a small amount of cheese, it joins the producer’s Black Pepper & Cheddar Melts. Both are said to pair well with cheese – in lieu of a cracker. RRP £1.75. goodguysbakehouse.co.uk
Perelló’s new range of Olive Oil Crackers, known as Regañás in Andalucía, are hand-cut and artisanal. The dough is made with Perelló’s sourdough starter, extra virgin olive oil, highquality wheat flour, rock salt from Jaen, and sesame. The crackers contain no additives, and the producer says key parts of the production remain handmade to preserve their traditional quality. The crackers come in three flavours — Classic, Flaked Salt, and Smoked Paprika. RRP £3.50. brindisa.com perellofoods.com
for the board
100-year-old balsamic vinegar producer La Vecchia Dispensa’s new flavoured balsamic jellies are now available via The Oil Merchant. The Cherry, Mixed Berry and Rosé variants, like the original, are made by hand, using Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and set with pectin, before being flavoured with fruit. The producer says the Berry flavour goes well with soft goats’ cheese, and the Cherry is best paired with piquant, strong blue cheeses. Meanwhile, it says the Rosé jelly is best suited to a hard, nutty cows’ milk cheese. oilmerchant.co.uk
Boska’s Cheese Commander Pro + is compact enough to fit on most domestic and commercial counter tops. The Dutch company says it is best suited to cutting smaller soft cheeses. Safer by design than any knife, the wire returns to its original cutting position after every slice. It has two types of non-slip feet and comes with six, easily replaceable wires. RRP £91.
The Bay Tree says its fruitladen Plum Chutney strikes the balance between sharpness, sweetness and spice, making it a great match for lactic and blue cheeses. Created as a limited edition to mark The Bay Tree’s 30th birthday, popular demand has made it into a permanent fixture. thebaytree.co.uk
New Forest Shortbread’s Rosemary flavoured biscuits are made by adding the dried herb to the original dough base to deliver a fresh and subtle green fragrance rather than an overpowering one. The shortbread was deemed worthy of a Great Taste 2-star in 2023, with judges praising its rich buttery aroma and “distinctive yet light approach to the rosemary addition”. RRP £7.50.
newforestcakehouse.co.uk
Whether you’re entertaining on a grand scale or working in the trade, Boska’s Blockbuster Cheese Dicer is ideal for those looking to cut perfectly symmetrical cubes in seconds. With three size options (8mm, 16mm and 24mm), it can be used on soft, feta-style or semi-hard alpine cheeses for prepping everything from salads to cocktail-stick canapés. Made from cast aluminium, it comes in black and red. RRP £585.
Tracklements
£15.75. tracklements.co.uk
Churchwarden’s Apple Liqueur is made in Hampshire with a blend of local apples brought by customers to their community apple press. The producer says its secret recipe 25% ABV liqueur pairs extremely well with the rich creaminess of goats’ cheese or blue cheese. Applying the ‘what grows together goes together’ rule, it is also a great match for traditional cheddars. RRP £34.00 per 50cl bottle. kimptonapplepress.co.uk
Finally, Boska’s induction-compatible cast iron Cheese Fondue Set Pro makes cheese melt evenly without sticking or burning. The 40oz pan is large enough to accommodate 1.9lbs (or 875g) of cheese, and comes complete with a base, burner and four forks. Its handle is made of oak, giving it a “rugged, yet stylish look”, according to the cheese accessory maker.
RRP £67. en.boska.com
Snowdonia Cheese Company has redesigned the packaging for its range of chutneys and crackers. The chutneys – Balsamic Caramelised Onion Chutney, Fig & Apple, Pear, Date & Cognac, Rhubarb & Gin and Spiced Tomato & Vodka (RRP, £3 per 100g jar) cater for a range of tastes and can be paired in a multitude of ways. Equally, across the range of Spelt & Sea Salt, Fig & Cranberry and Wholemeal & Extra Virgin Olive Oil Crackers (£3.50), there is something to match every type of cheese. snowdoniacheese.co.uk
’ Cheese Lover’s Collection Gift Pack is made for pairing with artisan cheeses. It contains a 200g jar of Apple & Cider Brandy Chutney; another of Apricot & Ginger Chutney and finally a jar of Caramelised Onion Marmalade. RRP
a promotion feature for comté
A truly co-operative approach
HOW MUCH DO you know about Comté and its rich heritage? There are so many fascinating stories to share with your customers, giving them a glimpse into its wonderful world that they can be a part of, with a cheese tasting experience like no other.
For more than 10 centuries, farmers, fruitières and affineurs of the Jura Massif region of Eastern France have been producing the internationally popular Comté cheese every single day of the year. It has been awarded AOC status, which means that it must be made following the traditional rules that generations have been using to create the cheese exclusively in this region that has integrated Comté into every aspect of the community life.
Its delicious flavour originates from the raw milk of the Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows of the Jura Massif, each of which has its own hectare of land to graze on. The cows eat grass and a wide range of plants and flowers out on the pasture in the summer, and locally harvested hay
Whether it’s
the history, terroir or technique
behind it, Comté’s
backstory is as rich and complex as its flavour. That means that this Alpine classic is bound to be a conversation starter – and a top seller – on cheese counters and boards across the UK.
in the winter, producing high-quality milk and giving Comté its very special taste, scent, colour and texture.
Every single day, the milk is brought in from a collection of the nearest local farms and transformed into large 40kg wheels of Comté cheese by small village dairies, known as fruitières. These dairies use the refined skills and expertise passed down from generation to generation, to make sure each batch of the cheese is at its most perfect for consumption.
The wheels are then moved to local ageing caves and cellars, where ‘affineurs’ take care of the wheels of Comté during the ageing process, regularly turning, salting and rubbing each one with brine solution for up to 24 months. It is down to their experience and expertise to decide when the cheese is ready for consumption.
As a result, one piece of Comté might have a firmer texture with a nu ier taste and another might be smoother with a more floral flavour,
dependent on several factors such as the altitude the cows were grazing at, the time of year and the skills of the affineur during ageing. Each wheel and bite of Comté is therefore completely unique. No fewer than 83 different flavour profiles in six flavour ‘families’ have been identified in Comté. These flavour profiles are as diverse as walnut, bu ered toast, artichoke, leather and vanilla.
By stocking multiple different ages of Comté, your customers can experience this first-hand for themselves, encouraging them to decide which age of the cheese they prefer, including whether their palate preference leans more towards a winter or a summer flavour.
Comté is a firm favourite of chefs and home cooks all over the world. With its array of delicious flavours, it is a perfect addition to many mouthwatering dishes, from gratins and riso os to seasonal salads and soups. Its ability to melt easily means it can be added to all kinds of recipes, giving each one of them a different flavour.
If you would like to stock Comté and enjoy a slice of the potential profits of this wonderfully unique cheese, head to www.comtecheese.co.uk/are-youa-cheese-reseller/ to contact us, as well as downloading promotional materials to support your sales.
Howard Shooter
Cheese from the rolling hills of West Wicklow
For over 20 years we’ve been producing our fresh Raw Milk Cheddar Made from creamy morning milk, from our own grass-fed cows. And crafted to an artisan recipe. Pasture to cheddar the same day. Enjoy our Mature, Leinster or Smoked cheddars aged to perfection.
Enquire from your cheese wholesaler for supply
coolattincheddar.ie
Mount Leinster Clothbound
It may have begun as purely an online business but cheesegeek has continued to diversify and do things differently – including a move into supplying supermarkets. Its founder tells MICHAEL LANE that every move has been about broadening the market for artisan cheese and discovering an untapped customer base.
THINKING LIKE A
G E E K
Cheese has definitely caused a stink on public transport in the past, and it’s certainly been banned from it before, but the most recent high-profile incident in the UK was very different from the classic ‘Paris Metro vs Époisses’ myth.
For a start, no actual cheese was involved – just a photo of some. But this was enough to prompt Transport for London to pull the plug in September 2023 on an advert featuring a picture belonging to cheesegeek – citing the clampdown on promoting unhealthy foods dubbed HFSS (high in fat, salt and sugar).
The advertisement on the Underground wasn’t even taken out by the online cheese supplier and wholesaler directly (it was part of a campaign by its landlord Workspace celebrating a range of its tenants), but its withdrawal ended up being a positive thing for cheesegeek founder Edward Hancock.
His impassioned LinkedIn post about censoring cheese on health grounds (arguing that his products are not the major cause of childhood obesity that TfL had inferred they were) was picked up by the newspapers, pu ing his company firmly in the spotlight.
“The decision was u er nonsense,” Hancock tells Good Cheese, while also acknowledging that cheesegeek ended up ge ing way more publicity than it would have done if the advert hadn’t been banned.
It was an opportunity to address a misconception about cheese and promote his own business, but Hancock says it was also a chance to promote artisan cheese to a far larger audience.
“This kind of thing reaches people that would not
You start thinking it’s going to be one thing and you realise the opportunity’s even bigger.
be thinking about buying cheese. And wherever they go a er that – whether it’s their local cheesemonger, Neal’s Yard at Christmas, on a tourism visit to The Courtyard Dairy in Yorkshire or buying a subscription from us – that’s a great thing for me.”
This view goes some way to addressing another common misconception that Hancock has encountered since se ing up cheesegeek – that an online business like his is on a mission to take market share from traditional cheesemongers. The truth is he thinks there are far more consumers out there who could become potential artisan cheese enthusiasts across all channels.
As a result, even Hancock has had to adapt his business model in the eight years since he began trading from the utility room of his mum’s house. Of course, it has built up a viable online business, selling subscriptions and gi boxes, but cheesegeek has also diversified into wholesaling to restaurants, developing exclusive cheeses with producers and even launching a branded range in Sainsbury’s.
“You start doing it, thinking it’s going to be one thing and you realise the opportunity is probably even bigger than you initially thought,” he says. “In the US, the proportion of speciality cheese
Grilling Cheese
Smokie
sales is over 21% of overall cheese revenue. In the UK it’s 12% – that’s according to Mintel in 2024.”
“The more I read these numbers, the more I feel that we’ve got a real opportunity to make a change and a huge difference.”
The idea for cheesegeek came nearly a decade ago, while Hancock was still working at a hedge fund. Professionally, he had been doing lots of research into the psychology of consumers, purchasing decisions and the power of brands. On a personal level, his foodie obsession began on childhood family holidays to France and had grown to the point that his nickname at university was “the Cheese Monster”. But, even with his knowledge, he still found cheese shops overwhelming, even “intimidating”.
“All of these things came together, with me thinking ‘I wonder if I can build a brand that is more accessible, slightly more modern, and try to leverage some of the things I’ve been learning about how consumers behave’.”
While he praises the work that many established wholesalers and retailers have done in fostering producers and developing cheese over the last 30 years, Hancock says he felt his business should concentrate its a ention on the consumer –especially all the people out there that aren’t especially engaged with artisan cheese.
As he points out, most people will tell you they love cheese but they can’t name more than a handful of varieties. “There’s a gap there and that’s what we’re really trying to bridge.”
But before a business can address that gap in knowledge, Hancock says there is a physical intimidation factor to overcome.
“Someone I worked with previously told me the most common thing that people say when walking into a cheese shop is ‘I’m not a cheese expert’.
“The first thing they’re trying to do is go on the defensive.”
Cheesegeek’s modus operandi is all about disarming the situation with a combination of colourful (very yellow) modern branding, humorously named selection boxes, and clear directions on the website guiding visitors to products for gi ing, entertaining and special occasions like Christmas. When you click on individual cheeses, the language used to describe them is more playful than the usual pa er. Tasting one is described as “like watching TV in HD for the first time” and another is billed as a “rockstar” and there is always very clear explanation of why someone might like it alongside the more nerdy information.
No ma er how good a salesperson’s chat is, there will always be the barrier of price when it comes to cheese – and Hancock is keen to steer the focus away from it.
“We try and dilute the conversation about how much the cheese is costing and make the conversation more about the experience.”
An entry level box from cheesegeek is £38, which is effectively 600g of cheese at £50/kg but he wants them to “forget about price per kilo. For £38 what you’re ge ing is an experience, you’re ge ing curation, you’re ge ing convenience, you’re ge ing to score the cheeses you’ve tried and rate them for next time. It’s interactive.”
It’s a convincing pitch but that doesn’t mean retaining customers, and the ultimate goal of converting them into subscribers, is an easy game. More o en than not a consumer’s first interaction with cheesegeek is buying a gi for someone else.
meet the supplier
The next stage in the product’s journey is at the table with the recipient and their guests (4-6 people usually), who are all hopefully drawn in by the aforementioned experience and then led to the website by marketing inserts and QR codes.
Hancock says that, in theory, if you can get that right you’ve acquired at least two customers in one transaction and the best result is that at least one of the people involved will then progress to taking a subscription.
The initial acceleration of the business from starting out in October 2016 was “very very quick” but Hancock says he was beginning to hit a plateau in sales. That was until Covid arrived.
“The pandemic exploded everything for online so essentially then it was just a case of trying to manage this crazy demand,” he says, adding that the first year a er lockdowns was challenging. “Generally a lot of e-commerce businesses, including us, had probably expected a continuation of that growth, which didn’t materialise.”
Although subscribers didn’t fall away, the reduction in one-off box sales made Hancock realise that cheesegeek was overexposed and needed to diversify, rather than plough money into marketing. The answer was to move into wholesaling.
“What we don’t do is try to win business that’s just providing white label to a catering company – and the cheesegeek brand is lost along the way,” he says, pointing out that clients such as wine bar chains Humble Grape and Vagabond, as well as Adam Handling’s restaurant The Frog, all display their supplier’s name on their menus.
Hancock describes the move as “a cash-positive way of acquiring customers”, with every one of these partners potentially funnelling people back towards online sales.
On the retail side, cheesegeek has just begun working with Selfridges’ food hall but it also has also raised eyebrows by supplying a packaged and branded range to Sainsbury’s nationwide.
“The minute you start working with a retail multiple people will start making judgements. What was interesting is the negative comments and pushback were from mongers rather than producers.”
We have to make it acceptable to have great cheese in multiples
In fact, Hancock says there was total buy-in from producers, who appreciated the theory behind introducing supermarket consumers to artisan cheese during their regular shop, at a decent price point of £4.50.
“What needs to happen in the UK is we have to make it acceptable to have great cheese in multiples,” says Hancock, adding that this also means normalising these cheeses appearing both in supermarkets and independent shops. “You’re not going to unlock the next stage of growth without that happening.”
He bolsters his argument by recalling a recent visit to Cashel Blue’s makers in Ireland and seeing their cheese in chains like Lidl and Dunnes. France, he adds, is another good example of a country where multiples carry top quality food. And returning to his point about the USA’s market, Hancock cites Kroger’s acquisition of high-end cheesemonger Murray’s and the rolling out of counters across its shops.
Ultimately, Hancock feels British cheese is in a “precarious” position. Producers are folding, other makers have no succession plan and many suppliers are facing a glass ceiling.
“The only way they can continue to grow and make more money is to consider multiples, which has been closed off because the minute your cheese is in a multiple you’re alienating your other routes to market.”
Again the spectre of price is there to stymie progress but Hancock argues that you can have two different pricing structures and that will be accepted by consumers in the same way they will pay four times the retail price of a bo le of wine if they have it in a restaurant. He also points out that he is testing the theory himself.
“In Sainsburys, you’re buying a piece of our cheese that’s £4.50 as part of your weekly shop, to try and elevate your Friday night. When you come to our website you are buying an experience. It might have the same product in it but it’s a very different use case.”
Hancock has also tried to assist cheesemakers’ growth via another project, which has seen him work directly with them to develop new cheeses made and sold exclusively by cheesegeek.
Dubbed the Genesis range, the current line-up of four cheeses was developed with two producers.
Hendrix is essentially a different format and flavour profile of Caws Cenarth’s Perl Las blue, while Washington draws upon the knowledge and unused larger moulds the Welsh maker had in its dairy for the Golden Cenarth washed rind cheese.
Meanwhile Bath So makes the accessible briestyle Eastwood and adapted a specific 9-month age profile of its Wyfe of Bath to create a cheese called Swi .
“All four are cheeses that the maker had capacity to make but didn’t have the route to market, so what we’ve done is work with them to refine and tweak and open up a new product that they automatically have a market for.”
Given this project’s mutual benefit to cheesegeek and the makers, Hancock says he is keen to expand the range and hopes to explore more possibilities in the future. More physical retail partnerships or ventures are also something he won’t rule out either. If the last eight years are anything to go by, it’ll certainly be worth watching what direction Hancock and cheesegeek take next.
thecheesegeek.com
WHERE TO BUY
GOOD CHEESE
East Anglia
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
C A Leech & Son Royston leechandsons.com
The Gog Cambridge thegog.com
The Larder at Burwash Manor Cambridge burwashlarder.com
