A Bit of Cheese

A very different blog this week from the usual topical, political or musical musings. One of my other passions is food, with British Cheese being a particular favourite, I’m not into your foreign runny or smelly stuff, no, a good quality, traditionally made local cheese gets me everytime.

Did you know it’s British Cheese Week next week? Nope? Well neither did I until about an hour ago, so it does seem an opportune time to write on the subject. 

Heathens 

Despite the fact that research has shown that almost two thirds of adults claim that cheese is one of their favourite foods, the vast majority have no idea how many different types of cheese are made in this country.

Unbelievably, almost 99% of us have no idea how many cheeses are produced in Britain, almost 1 in 10 don't even know that milk is the main ingredient in cheese and the average, unadventurous Brit apparently only buy 2 types of cheese each month. It isn’t even as if foreign cheeses from France or Italy are catching our attention either, as Cheddar and Red Leicester continues to feed our staple needs.

But there’s so much good stuff on our doorsteps we don’t even know’s there. So for the people in my neck of the woods (ie the North West) I’d thought I’d let you know about some of my favourite, quality cheese that’s produced locally. Some of it you’ll find in the supermarket, some is bit trickier to track down, but it’s worth it when you do. So here goes: -

H.S BOURNE’S TRADITIONAL CHESHIRE

Probably the best Cheshire Cheese…Ever !!  This is award-winning handmade Cheshire cheese, made in Cheshire. The Bourne family has been making cheese in Cheshire for over 250 years. They milk their own cows and use their milk to make a range of traditional, full-flavoured cheeses, including cloth-bound. Unpasteurised and oak-smoked Cheshires; and a limited quantity of Blue Cheshire.

Not that struck on the blue cheese but these two are my all time favourites:

•  Mrs Bourne's Mature Cheshire. None of your bland dry taste of own brand supermarket Cheshire, this is a full-flavoured traditional Cheshire cheese, smooth textured and not crumbly, just the way it should be. This tastes superb!
• Tom Bourne's Oak Smoked Cheshire. Traditional Cheshire cheese, slowly smoked over oak chips to give a subtle and striking combination of flavours. An unusual but very appealing taste. Delicious!

 You can buy the range on-line at their website; however, I usually buy Bourne’s cheese from their own stall on High Legh Farmers Market, which is usually held on the first Sunday in the month, Well worth a visit!

MRS KIRKHAM’S TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE

This is a traditional Lancashire cheese made by the Kirkham family in Goosnargh, Lancashire. The flavour is quite complex and is described on another website as a deep, mouth-filling mixture of citrus, lemony acidity with buttery, savoury richness. This sounds a bit odd but is about right.  The texture is a moist, buttery, breadcrumb-like crumble which somehow opens the flavour up even more.

My favourite in their range is Tasty Lancashire. A proper traditional Lancashire made from 3 days of milkings, clothbound and buttered and matured for around 3 months. An excellent table cheese, Tasty Lancashire come into its own when you use it to make a truly unforgettable cheese-on-toast.

You can buy Kirkham’s from supermarkets such as Booths. I’ve also bought it from the Farmer’s Market in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.

DELAMERE DAIRY GOATS CHEESE

Goats cheese isn’t to everyone’s taste I know, but I love it. Delamere Dairy was founded nearly 30 years ago in 1985 by Roger and Liz Sutton in the heart of Delamere Forest. Their first herd consisted of only three goats, which they would hand milk to produce and sell goats cheese locally. At this time there was no market in the UK for goats milk and it was this 'gap in the market' that Delamere Dairy aimed to fill and boy did they fill it. Along with milk and yoghurt they produce one of the region’s best goats cheeses.

Delamere’s goats cheese products range from hard cheese, spreadable, creamy and even Greek style. My favourite though, has to be the Farmhouse Mature, Unmistakably tasty; this award-winning cheese has a full and nutty flavour.

The really good news about Delamere goats cheese is it’s available in many supermarkets, including Morrisons and Booths so no excuses for not trying it.

SNOWDONIA CHEESE COMPANY

From across the border in North Wales, the Snowdonia Cheese Company produces some of the best Cheddar not only in the region but that I’ve ever tasted. Forget your supermarket blocks of rubber cheddar, this is the dog’s bollocks of cheddar cheeses!!

Their high animal welfare standards lead to a high quality, tasty cheese that has won medals at the International and World Cheese Awards. Wonderful served with a crusty baguette and some good chutney and pickles - this is a cheese that has the strength of character to stand up to assertive flavours.

Their range is very diverse and includes smoked, pickled, ginger, chilli cheese and much much more. My favourite though has to be Black Bomber, the master of all Cheddars. Strong, creamy, long aftertaste, perfect on your cheese board. Leave to get to room temperature before you taste and you will not be disappointed. If you like strong cheddar with a fabulous bite then this really is the one.

You might have to hunt around a bit for this cheese, Red House Farm in Dunham is where I normally go and you can buy it on-line at Amazon if you want. One word of warning though, make sure you buy the right product as another company is tweaking the name and producing an inferior product. There is truly only one cheddar at this standard of flavour and texture and it’s Black Bomber

SADDLEWORTH CHEESE COMPANY

Famous as the company set up by Sean Wilson, who played Martin Platt in Coronation Street after he left the Street? There’s been a lot of hype about Sean’s cheese and the fact he pushes his own profile to publicise his product, but in his circumstances you would. None of this detracts from the fact he does have a very good product.

The range has a number of variations of Lancashire Cheese including, ‘How’s Yer Father’, a creamy fairly traditional Lancashire and ‘Muldoon’s Picnic’, a crumbly and again traditional Lancashire. ‘Mouth Almighty’ is a pretty good quality mature Lancashire, best of the bunch for me though is ‘Smelly Ha'peth’, a slightly nutty blue cheese with a hint of the sweetness of Gorgonzola.

Martin, sorry Sean has used his fame to get his products into a number of supermarkets including Asda and Morrisons so you shouldn’t have to go far to track them down.

BUTLERS FARMHOUSE CHEESES

Another award winning Lancashire cheese maker.  They recently celebrated a very successful International Cheese Awards taking home more trophies than any other cheese maker in the country with six gongs and an impressive 23 medals, including 11 golds. Butlers pride themselves on using their old family recipes, along with their traditional cheese making skills that take years to perfect and local Lancashire milk from our own farm.

Butlers have a diverse range of changes including standard fare such as Red Leicester and Double Gloucester, various Lancashire cheeses, then there’s the famous Blacksticks range which includes Blacksticks Blue, a strong tasting, but very palatable slightly soft, orange blue-veined cheese. My favourite though, happens to be Goosnargh Gold, a traditional rinded golden cheese, matured for up to eight months, has a rich and mature flavour with a buttery, caramel edge and a mellow, nutty bite, Sainsburys throw you off the scent a little by actually selling it on their cheese counters as Farmhouse Double Gloucester.

Most of the standard range of Butler’s cheeses are easy to track down being available in the likes of Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys and even Aldi ! So you’ve no excuse not to try them.

BURTS CHEESE

Last, but no means least amongst my favourite cheese is Burts Blue Cheese. Burt’s is a semi-soft blue made in Altrincham Cheshire, with quality locally sourced milk which seems to bring a richer flavour. The cheese is produced in tiny batches and is lovingly tended by cheese maker, Claire Burt during its maturation period.

You can buy Burts Blue Cheese from Harvey Nicks off whose website I’ve robbed their stunning description of the cheese. “The cheese is a semi-soft blue, which is slightly crumbly while young but gradually becomes meltingly soft with maturity. The paste is creamy, fresh and mild, with a lingering citrusy freshness and nutty complexity on the finish, whilst the rind imparts a tongue-tingling bitterness. Burt’s Blue is also very versatile, equally at home in rarebit, a blue cheese sauce, melted atop a burger, or better yet as the star attraction of your cheeseboard!”

Only downside to Burts is it’s not cheap, (usually about £6.50 per 250g) but it’s worth it. You can usually track it down in local deli’s and farm shops. I’ve bought it before from both Red House Farm in Dunham and the Hollies Farm shop at Tarporley.  

SO THERE WE HAVE IT

Whether you’re in the North-west or not, stop buying mass-produced blocks of tasteless rubberised cheddar from supermarkets and support your local producers. Alternatively put away a pound a week, then treat yourself at the end of the month to a slice of quality, you never know, you might actually like it.