the cheese blog

Dewlay Lancashire

This is the first of several cheese I purchased when visiting The West Country Cheese Co. in Barnstaple, North Devon. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit. Lovely people, great advice, and excellent prices!

Dewlay Cheesemaker’s Lancashire is a cow’s milk cheese that is made from milk from local Lancashire farms. This was the fresher version of Lancashire. Apparently it ages well too. It’s a clothbound cheese that has a slightly off-white colored interior that looks both creamy and crumbly at the same time. There is a faint tangy aroma. The texture is the same – both creamy and crumbly. The taste is wonderful. It starts out acidic and tangy, moving towards lemony citrus flavors on the finish. Overall, it has a very fresh taste too.

This was a definite hit with me. I don’t think it would work too well on a cheese board as it is quite crumbly. I also think it would be excellent in a modern update to a rarebit since it looks like it would melt quite easily.

You can read more about Dewlay in this recent  BBC article that explains their positive environmental efforts while not losing the traditional, handmade quality of their cheeses.

Posted in England, Lancashire | 1 Comment »

Capricorn

Capricorn is made by Lubborn Creamery, in Cricket St Thomas in South Somerset. It is a goat’s milk cheese made from the milk of West Country Saanen goats.

Capricorn has a natural, bloomy rind. The paste is soft and has a brie like consistency — very runny even before coming to room temperature. Apparently, this is indicative of an aged version of Capricorn compared to fresh versions that are more crumbly. There is a slightly grassy aroma. There is no traditional goat’s milk cheese taste. It starts mild, then becomes a bit sharp with a slightly nutty and vegetal finish. This was a really enjoyable cheese. It was a nice alternative to cow’s milk surface ripened cheeses, like Brie and Camembert.

Posted in Devon, England | 1 Comment »

Cromarty

Cromarty is a Camembert style cheese made in Tain Ross-shire (Scotland, North of Inverness). I picked this up during a visit to Neal’s Yard as I had never heard of the cheese and it looked like it would be good. The cheese monger gave me a wink when I asked for some, so I figured it was a good sign. Doing a search on the Internet, there isn’t much information about it. Apparently it’s made by Rory Stone at Highland Fine Cheeses (?). So, back to the cheese.

Cromarty is very similar to Camembert. I presume it’s made from cow’s milk. It has a natural, slightly bloomy rind with a faint earthy aroma. The paste is soft and shows the typical ripening from the outside in. At room temperature it is just ready to ooze. The color is like butter. The taste is pleasant, slightly mushroomy, with a bit of earthiness.

Thanks to Cheeses Online for the picture as I couldn’t find mine!

Posted in Scotland | 1 Comment »

Verulamium

Verulamium (after the Roman’s name for the site that is now St. Albans) is a pasteurized goat’s milk cheese made by Elizabeth Harris at Childwickbury Estate near St. Albans, Herts. The cheese is set quickly and uses penicilium camemberti mould in the starter. Why is this important? Have a look at the picture. Verulamium has the typical bloomy rind in an aged goats cheese, but look at the edge. It’s almost liquid. The process to make Verulamium gives it this wonderful effect and a great texture. The paste is very soft, but then you get these liquid smooth textures as well. It’s a similar texture to Bipartisan. The taste is great too. It has almost no goat’s milk taste. Instead, it has a very clean, fresh milk taste with hints of grass and herbs. I’m completely intrigued by this cheese and will definitely be picking up some more the next time I’m at Neal’s Yard.

Posted in Hertfordshire | No Comments »

Ragstone

Ragstone is a goat’s milk cheese (unpasteurized) made by Neal’s Yard Creamery, near Dorstone in Herefordshire. It comes in the form of a log, about 15cm in length. The exterior has a wonderful craggly, bloomy rind that is marbled in pale gold. The interior is the usual goat’s milk bright white, with some ripeness near the edge. The paste is quite firm for an aged goat cheese. It is slightly crumbly, but manages to hold itself together. The taste is fantastic! It is well balanced between goat tang and a very lemony aftertaste, that lingers for quite a long time. Between the wife and I, this cheese was gone in minutes. Just a wonderfully perfect cheese.

Posted in England, Herefordshire | No Comments »

Ravens Oak Goat Cheese

Ravens Oak Goat Cheese is made by Butlers Cheeses at their Ravens Oak Dairy in Cheshire. The cheese, as implied in the name, is a slightly aged goat’s milk cheese made in small rounds, in a similar size to Camembert or Brie. The exterior is coated in a pillowy, bloomy rind. The interior paste is snow white, with a slight amount of ripening near the rind (the amount all depends on the age of the cheese). The paste is soft and smooth as you would expect in an aged goat’s milk cheese. There isn’t much aroma. The taste is fresh, without too much goaty tang. There is a hint of citrus tartness, like a light lemon flavor (Raven’s Oak says white wine, which I think it apt, maybe like a sauvignon blanc). Overall, a nice cheese for a snack with some water crackers or as the goat cheese selection a cheese board, e.g., the kind of goat cheese that people who don’t like fresh goat cheese would likely enjoy and not even notice.

Posted in Cheshire, England | No Comments »

Spenwood

I’m a huge fan of goat and sheep’s milk cheeses, and Spenwood is right up there with one of the best sheep’s milk cheeses available.

Spenwood is made by the Wigmore’s (in my neck of the woods in Berks) from unpasteurized sheep’s milk. It is a hard pressed cheese, which is then brined. This leads to Spenwood having a lovely white, suede-like textured, hard rind. The interior is pale yellow, but it kind of glows. It’s just a wholesome looking paste. The aroma is mild, a little briny. The texture of the paste is firm, not hard. It has a bit of tooth, but then goes a bit soft when warmed. The taste is fabulous! It’s a bit nutty (walnuts, almonds) and has a hint of sweetness. It’s quite rich tasting, but not in an unctuous way. You could eat a lot of this cheese and not notice it! Overall, just a wonderful cheese. Something that you could serve anyone, cheese lover or not, and they would know they were eating something special.

Posted in Berkshire, England | No Comments »