the cheese blog

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 »

Valentine’s Day (Goat Cheese) Special

The wife and I were at Whole Foods in London and came across these heart-shaped, fresh goat cheeses. They were coated in yellow curry powder, fine green peppercorn, and mild paprika. Quite tasty with the herbs. I have to admit I’ve never had curry powder on a cheese before. Happy Valentines Day!

Posted in England | No Comments »

Stichelton

It was Christimas time in the UK, and Stilton is basically a requirement for Christmas dinner. However, I wanted something more authentic than even “approved” Stilton, so off to Neal’s Yard for some Stichelton.

Stichelton is an unpasteurized, organic cow’s milk ,English blue cheese made by Joe Schneider at Collingthwaite Farm on the Welbeck Estate. Stichelton is made in a partnership between the owners of Welbeck Estate, Joe Schneider and Randolph Hodgson of Neal’s Yard Dairy.

Stichelton is simply what Stilton used to be prior to laws being passed requiring it to be made from pasteurized milk. Now that Stilton has its own Certification Trade Mark and is an EU Protected Food Name (granted in 1996), any “Stilton” not made in the three designated counties, with pasteurized mik, not pressed, etc. cannot be called Stilton. Hence, Stichelton was born.

The cheese has a medium hard, natural rind with the traditional oranges and grays. The interior is simply amazing. It has so many colors running through the veins (emerald green, turquoise blue, navy blue, medium gray ..) The paste looks like Normandy butter. The aroma is constrained, with just a whiff of pepper and brine. The taste is what I expect from a top class blue cheese. There is a rich buttery background with slight sharpness and pepper from the mold, with some butterscotch and hazlenut flavors swirling around. This is about the complete package, not a single characteristic dominating the experience. If you’re lucky enough to have access to Stichelton, I say get some, get a nice Port, and have a great cheese experience.

Posted in England, Nottinghamshire | No Comments »

Milleens

Milleens is from the Beara peninsula of South West Ireland. It is made from pasteurized milk from Friesian cows. There is a great write-up available on Neal’s Yard website.

Milleens is a washed rind cheese with a nice reddish-orange colored exterior. The paste is soft and the color is a deep butter yellow. Allowing the cheese to warm to room temperature allows the paste to become creamy, almost to the point of runny. The aroma definitely has that washed-rind funk. It is very earthy. This one almost knocked me over after being out for a few hours. Without the rind, it’s a bit more subdued, with the mushroom and barnyard aromas kept in check. The taste is not overly sharp, tangy or salty. It is well balanced, but definitely not a cheese for everyone as it is definitely one of the more stinky cheeses I’ve had in a while.

Posted in Ireland | No Comments »

Homefield House Goats Cheese

The SO and I finally managed to walk the 250m or so across the road to Reading Farmers Market. I had been wanting to see if any dairies or cheese makers had a stand, but was never around when the market was in town.

Homefield House Dairy Goats, located in Bray, Berks,  had a stand with various types of their goat cheese. Always a sucker for goat cheese, I decided to keep it simple and try the Plain Pressed version. The cheese is made from pasteurized goats milk from Homefield House’s herd.

The cheese is definitely drier than most fresh goats milk cheeses. The texture was almost crumbly, but had enough moisture to retain some shape. The taste is ok, not great, but not bad. It has the traditional goat tang, but there was a lingering bitterness. I have to admit I left this cheese in the fridge for a few days after buying it (too many cheese bought that day!) so I suspect, although the label said it was good for a few more days, probably didn’t do well in the fridge. I have a nagging feeling that the cheese didn’t hold up well, so I’m going to reserve judgment until I’m able to try some more. Goats milk is also sensitive to the seasons and I suspect it’s a bit late in the year, as the goats are into their breeding period, so I’m definitely going to get some more early in the spring and do a comparison. Stay tuned!

Posted in Berkshire, England | No Comments »

Blacksticks Blue

Blacksticks Blue is a pasteurized cows milk made by Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses. The interior color is a bright amber, from being colored with annatto, with veins of blue-gray mold and a nice beige and gray mottled rind. The interior paste is soft and creamy. It has a quite pungent aroma.  The taste is a bit salty, tangy, and spicy sharp when you hit a vein of mold, but overall it’s reasonably restrained and subdued. It’s mild-ish.

I really enjoyed this cheese. I wasn’t expecting to as it’s sold in almost every major grocery chain in the UK, which raises the quality question. Yet, it fulfills that satisfying cross between a cheddar, blue-cheese, while having a cracker-friendly, spreadable paste.

Posted in England, Lancashire | No Comments »

Cornish Cruncher

Cornish Cruncher is made by Davidstow Creamery in Cornwall. It is sold by Marks and Spencer as part of their “try me for 99p” promotion. The cheese is a Cheddar-style that is matured for at least two years, although when originally released it was promoted as being matured for three years. I’m not sure where that extra year went or if the cheese was so popular they had to release it sooner. M&S rate this as a 7 in their cheese strength scale (honestly I haven’t seen a 10 yet, so I have no idea what cheese will earn that rating).

The paste is a butter yellow color. The aroma is a bit salty and slightly yeasty. The texture is firm, but it melts nicely in the mouth, with a buttery mouthfeel. The flavor is sweet upfront, followed by slightly nutty, and then salty with a solid crunch from the calcium lactate crystals. Overall, a very pleasing cheese. I’ve seen a number of postings on the internet by individuals who love this cheese. Maybe if I can find a three year old version, I’ll move into the “love it” group.

Posted in Cornwall, England | No Comments »