Adventures in Cheese: Gorwydd Caerphilly

This is a delicious creamy, slightly citrusy, Caerphilly cheese, which was originally made on their parents' Welsh farm by two brothers: Maughan and Todd Trethowan, in the Teifi Valley, but since 2014 has been made near Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset, by Maughan and his wife Kim in their new dairy. 

Gorwydd Caerphilly Cheese

An organic raw-milk (unpasteurised), hand-worked cloth-bound cheese with a natural rind, it is normally matured for around 3-4 months. 

Gorwydd Caerphilly cheese  has won several awards, including Best British Cheese at  the World Cheese Awards 2021 held in Spain on 3rd November. 

It's a cheese that goes incredibly well with savoury crackers, tomatoes, olives etc. or just enjoy it on its own! 

Adventures in Cheese: Garstang Blue

Dewlay Garstang Blue cheese, image from www.dewlay.com

I'm funny about blue cheeses, some of them I can't eat, others are fine. However, this one, Garstang Blue by Dewlay Cheeses in Lancashire is the best I've tried so far.  It's wonderfully creamy and tasty, slightly tart but not too much so, with a delicious aroma that makes my mouth water just unwrapping it. 

It's a cheese that I enjoyed eating on its own, but that also worked well on Booth's sub rolls with a slice of Booth's smoked German ham, as the combination of flavours was delightful. It also works well as a cheese to flavour a white sauce with - cauliflower cheese with Garstang Blue sauce sounds yummy!

Dewlay Cheesemakers of Garstang are based just outside Garstang in central Lancashire, and have been making cheeses since 1957. Along with Garstang Blue, the range includes Lancashire and Wensleydale, smoked cheese, Garstang White and Nicky Nook blue, as well as flavoured cheeses such as Double Gloucester with chive and onion, Lancashire with chili, chives or garlic, and Wensleydale with cranberries.

In addition to their cheese range, Dewlay also offers (via their webshop) cheese selection and gift boxes, hampers, and their amazing cheese cakes - perfect for a wedding feast or other celebration! 

Dewlay webshop hampers, gift boxes and cheese cakes, image from www.dewlay.com
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Adventures in Cheese: Snowdonia Beechwood Smoked

As a lifelong lover of cheese in all its types, one of my big worries about Brexit has been a possible reduction in the range of cheeses available in the UK. I might be worrying prematurely, so I thought it was time to explore some more of our wonderful British cheeses, starting with Snowdonia's Beechwood naturally smoked mature cheddar. I found this on sale in Booth's supermarket so had to try it and I have to say it's delicious! 

The Snowdonia Cheese Company was formed in 2001, and is based in Llanrwst on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, hence the name. Their range currently includes 12 cheeses and 4 chutneys, which can be purchased individually or in gift packs from their webshop. They also have a page of recipes using their cheeses which is worth checking out - the Smoky Beechwood Fishcakes sound very tempting. 

I admit to having a liking for smoked cheeses, but with some I have found the aroma of smokiness exceeds the taste. With Beechwood smoked cheddar the taste is just as forthcoming as the aroma. It's a firm, tasty cheese in a yellow waxed coating, and is sold by Snowdonia Cheese Company via their website if you can't find it locally. They offer 200g and 2kg options in their webshop where it is described as a, "Mature Cheddar naturally smoked over beech wood chips for a smoky depth of flavour throughout."

The texture is slightly crumbly and definitely creamy. I had mine with olive, tomatoes and home-made crackers for lunch and it was delicious. Snowdonia's other cheeses will be featured in future adventures with cheese here on the blog, but to start with the Beechwood is highly recommended!

Adventures in Cheese: A Champagne Cheese!

"What?" I can hear you saying, "a Champagne cheese, what's that all about?"   Let me tell you about this most delicious cheese, from the Champagne-Ardenne region of Normandy in France. It's called Vignotte and is a high-fat, triple-cream cheese from pasteurised cow’s milk.

Vignotte contains nearly 75% fat due to the amount of cream it includes, and the cheese has a powdery white bloom on its outside and an seriously creamy, rich texture within. It's Brie on steroids! 

With a slight lemon-citrus flavour, it's delightful to eat on its own, or with crackers or artisan bread, and is one of the most delicious cheeses I've tried so far. I found it on sale in our local Booth's Supermarket at Carnforth. It's highly recommended if you enjoy rich creamy French cheeses.

Tipsy on Cheese - hic! (Adventures in Cheese)

Have you ever opened something which says it includes wine or spirit, only to find it smells of the drink but there's no taste of it at all? Isn't it disappointing?!

We picked up a piece of Belton Port Wine Derby and wondered if the same would happen: it didn't!

Unwrapping the beautifully veined cheese from its case, the aroma of port wine was strong enough to make my mouth water. Slicing off a piece I tentatively popped it in my mouth and immediately enjoyed the wonderful sweetness of port and the wine flavour along with the traditional Derby cheese texture. Wow! It was good!  The wine gave the cheese a fruitiness, described by its maker as "real blackcurrant undertones." 

Belton Farm, in Shropshire,  has been a cheese-making farm for more than a century, surely one of the great British cheesemakers! 

"Honestly h'officer, I've h'only been eating cheese... hic!"

PS It's also suitable for vegetarians!

Fettled in Yorkshire (Adventures in Cheese)

Our latest Adventure in Cheese is Yorkshire Fettle, a superb substitute for Greek Feta in recipes that call for it.  Made by Shepherd's Purse near Thirsk, in North Yorkshire, this is a Mediterranean salad-style cheese, which is made with milk from English ewes and its slightly tart creaminess is perfect with olives, tomatoes and lovely fresh bread.

The Shepherd's Purse website has this to say about Yorkshire Fettle,

This is Yorkshire's version of feta. Made with whole ewes’ milk, we handmake and hand-salt each cheese to encourage the piquant, lemony flavour and slightly crumbly texture. Matured over a minimum of two weeks, the salt infuses the whole cheese. We then hand-wax each truckle to lock in the fresh flavour and creamy texture. Originally called Yorkshire Feta, we renamed it Yorkshire Fettle in 2008 due to Greece being awarded the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). This was Judy Bell’s very first cheese, produced in 1989. It’s won international awards, and was featured on Paul Hollywood's BBC One cooking program, Pies & Puds.

All I have to add is, it's yummy, try it and see for yourself!

Truffly cheese: Villa Truffo (Adventures in Cheese)

If you love cheese and you love truffles, this is the cheese for you!

Treur's Villa Truffo is a delicious creamy Dutch farmhouse cheese made with unpasteurised milk and traditional rennet, with the addition of  Black Italian Truffles. Known as Truffle Gouda, it is ripened on wooden planks for only 8 weeks, and comes sealed in a black wax coating.  It is perfect with rosemary crackers or fresh bread. Mmmm!

Villa Truffo won two Gold Stars at the 2013 Great Taste Awards. The Judge's comment was: "A special
farmhouse cheese with a beautiful look and a nice creamy texture. The aroma of truffle is amazing!"

Morning and evening milk Morbier (Adventures in Cheese)

We popped into Booth's supermarket at Carnforth one Monday evening, and found a huge hunk of Morbier cheese on offer, so it came home with us. Morbier is a cheese we've not tried before, and as cheese lovers we had to put that right!

Hubbie doesn't do cheese at all (his usual comment on finding pungent cheese in the fridge is, "Something's died in the fridge!"), son decided he didn't fancy the Morbier - he prefers English cheeses on the whole, which meant that I have to eat it all... how sad is that?!

A bit more about this lovely cheese, from Wikipedia...
"Morbier is a semi-soft cows' milk cheese of France named after the small village of Morbier in Franche-Comté. It is ivory colored, soft and slightly elastic, and is immediately recognizable by the thin black layer separating it horizontally in the middle. It has a rind that is yellowish, moist, and leathery.

Traditionally, the cheese consists of a layer of morning milk and a layer of evening milk. When making Comté (cheese), cheesemakers would end the day with leftover curd that was not enough for an entire cheese. Thus, they would press the remaining evening curd into a mold, and spread ash over it to protect it overnight. The following morning, the cheese would be topped up with morning milk. Nowadays, the cheese is usually made from a single milking with the traditional ash line replaced by vegetable dye.

"The Jura and Doubs versions both benefit from an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), though other non-AOC Morbier exist on the market.

"The aroma of Morbier is strong, but the flavour is rich and creamy, with a slightly bitter aftertaste."

Pinch the cow's udder again... (Adventures in Cheese)

Now you'll be wondering what the title is all about!  It is the literal translation of the word reblocher, which gives its name to today's cheese adventure Reblochon.  Most of my cheese adventures will cover cheeses that are new to me but this one isn't, as I have met the mighty Reblochon before courtesy of my cousin's ex-wife who is French. On a visit to see them Cathy made a wonderfully tasty French dish called Tartiflette and I was so enamoured with it she brought another for me when they came to visit us.

Reblochon was the first cheese of the Savoie - that mountainous Alpine region - to be granted the Appellation d'origine contrôlée certification back in 1958. It is a soft washed-rind and smear-ripened cheese traditionally made from raw cow's milk. The cow breeds best for producing the milk needed for this cheese are the Abondance, Tarentaise and the Montbéliarde.

Reblochon derives from the word "reblocher" which when literally translated means "to pinch a cow's udder again". This refers to the practice of holding back some of the milk from the first milking. During the 14th century, the landowners would tax the mountain farmers according to the amount of milk their herds produced. The farmers would therefore not fully milk the cows until after the landowner had measured the yield. The milk that remains is much richer, and was traditionally used by the dairymaids to make their own cheese.

This cheese measures 14 cm (5.5") across and 3–4 cm (1.2"–1.6") thick, has a soft centre with a washed rind and weighs an average of 450 grams (16 oz). As proof of its being well-aged in an airy cellar, the rind of this cheese is covered with a fine white mould.

It is a strong flavoured cheese with an equally pungent aroma, and it does leave a pleasant after-taste in the mouth after eating it. It is a slightly sticky soft cheese, rather like a ripe Brie in texture but not in flavour.

So other than eating it as is (which is delicious), how about having a go at making Tartiflette, which Cathy told me is a French peasant-style dish, but don't let that put you off! It's simple to make with easily found ingredients, but it tastes superb. 

To make Tartiflette you will need:

1 Reblochon cheese

1kg of firm-fleshed potatoes

200g smoked bacon or lardons

2 large onions (about 200g)

10cl of white wine (a small glass)

Ground Pepper

Optional: grated nutmeg

How to make it: 

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces.

Cut the onions into slices.

In a frying pan, cook the bacon or lardons for 3 minutes with the onions so that they begin to brown.

Add the potatoes and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200 ° C - Thermostat 6-7.

Deglaze with white wine and cook for 5 minutes.

Add a twist or two of Ground Pepper (no salting with the bacon), and add the nutmeg according to your taste.

Cut your Reblochon in half to make two wheel shapes, keeping the rind. Keep one side to put on the top of the dish to make the topping (gratin) and cut the other side into small pieces to be mixed into the potatoes - bacon - onions. 

In a baking dish, arrange the potatoes-bacon-onions mixture and pieces of Reblochon and then put on the top the half Reblochon to gratinate, rind upwards.

Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes so that the Reblochon becomes golden.

Serve warm with a green salad.

Click the image above to find the Hairy Bikers' tartiflette recipe on the BBC Food Recipes website.

"Tasting of barnyard and goat..." (Adventures in Cheese)

A couple of weeks ago my hubbie went shopping alone as I was busy working. He's quite good at shopping, gets what we need but also keeps an eye open for interesting bargains in the reduced aisles... and so it was that he came home with a huge grin on his face. "I bought you some cheese" he announced, "two chunks from Booth's." My ears pricked up - firstly I adore cheese, and secondly if it came from Booth's then the chances are it's not a common "mousetrap cheese."  

So it transpired...  in the fridge were two cling-filmed packets, each about the size of the palm of my hand, containing a dark skinned aromatic cheese.  The label didn't enlighten me much... Monte Enebro it said, each pack weighed 0.086kg (that's 86g or just over 3 oz for us non-metric folks), and was reduced from £2.58 per pack to 52p per pack. Hubbie stood looking smug, "Did I do well?" he enquired.  

Well it was certainly a good saving, but what is Monte Enebro? It smelled interesting, not too overly pungent but probably a goat's cheese, I thought.  A quick search on Google brought the answer - it is an award-winning goat's cheese made in Spain by one family in Avila. Originally created by the "legendary cheese maker Rafael Baez and his daughter Paloma" at the Quesería del Tietar, it is now made by Paloma and her children (Rafael died in 2012) at the Queseria. 

Regarded by many as the best goat's cheese made anywhere in the world, Monte Enebro was certainly a new experience for me.  It was sharp with the distinctive goat cheese flavour and a hint of lemony-ness, but with a good texture and was strong enough to hold its own and not be drowned out by my favourite Piccalilli. 

A review on Culture, the cheese magazine website, described it as, 

"Flavors in the younger cheeses are mild, bright and tangy, with distinct citrus notes combined with a cellar-like aroma and flavor imparted by the blue rind. As the cheeses mature, the aromas become more pungent and the flavors evolve and strengthen, becoming quite assertive, tasting of barnyard and goat."

If I had read that before buying it might have put me off... cellar-like and barnyard are not attributes that I normally go for in a cheese!  The outer rind was a bit peculiar too - very dark and dusty - apparently it is made using a sprayed on coating of water mixed with a blue mold Penicillium Roqueforti. I assumed I shouldn't eat the rind, and to be honest the outside looked less appetising, unlike the inside which was creamy and enticing!

"Was it worth buying?" hubbie wanted to know. Yes indeed at 52p/pack!  Would I have paid £2.58 for such a small amount?  Probably not - I am such a frugal shopper that I would feel guilty doing so - and if you translate the per pack price before the reduction it would equate to £30 per kilo! Yes I know it's rare and special, and so for me it will probably remain the one and only time I get to try this amazing goat's cheese! 

Nothing beats a local cheese! (Adventures in Cheese)

OK I admit it, I'm a cheese-o-holic, as is my son!  I have a passion for cheese in the way others have a passion for chocolate or wine.  It's just so more-ish!  Not only that, but there is so much variety with cheese and there are so many things you can do with it, other than simply eat it as it is.

Imagine then my delight at meeting Clare Noblet from Whin Yeats Dairy at today's Christmas Fair in Burton-in-Kendal. Clare and husband Tom started making cheese in the Summer, and are selling it from their hilltop farm at Hutton Roof, almost on the Cumbria/Lancashire border.

Having "spoken" to Clare on Twitter previously it was lovely to meet her in person, along with her delightful children, and we had a chat about my son's current dairy intolerance which has prevented him eating cheese for several months. Whin Yeats cheese is made with unpasteurised milk, and Clare mentioned that it appears that the pasteurisation process can cause intolerance issues with some people, as it kills off the microbes that naturally occur in milk, and thus in cheese.

As my son's dairy intolerance began after a bout of food poisoning, and his GP said this is not uncommon as the good bacteria get washed out of the system with the bad bugs, it might be the case that unpasteurised cheese will help redress the balance in his gut.

An interesting story in the press includes an explanation of how this happens,

Traditional cheese is one of the richest sources of living healthy microbes and fungi. 

Unpasteurised cheeses and those with rinds contain even more species. Just a crumb of raw cheese contains over ten billion microbes containing bacteria and fungi. Studies show that people who eat cheese regularly have fewer heart problems despite the high fat content. As well as supplying new healthy microbes, eating cheese also encourages other microbe species to grow inside us.

With that in mind we are trying him with the Whin Yeats cheese to see if it helps.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying their cheese! I bought two types: a creamy farmhouse cheese and a wax-wrapped Wensleydale. Clare recommended keeping the latter for another week or so to let it finish properly, but the farmhouse was fine to eat now, so as soon as we arrived home after the Fair I tried it. It looks good, smells fab, and tastes amazing! It is, I have to say, one of the best tasting cheeses I have ever eaten!!!

The Whin Yeats Farmhouse Cheese. 

You'll have to wait a wee while to see the Wensleydale one as it's not unwrapped yet!