Rooted in tradition

It’s their unique blend of craft techniques and regional roots that makes many PFN products so special. Five very different examples – Arbroath Smokies, Welsh Lamb, West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, Manx Loaghtan Lamb and Three Counties Perry – demonstrate the depth of provenance on offer.

West Country Farmhouse Cheddar

Modest food producers they may be, but the 14 members of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers (WCFC) group see themselves as the knights of a round table founded to protect a tradition clearly defined before the 12th century.

Cheddar cheese is made all over the world, but WCFC members reckon they possess the Holy Grail. West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is made only on farms in the region according to authentic methods and using only milk from West Country cows.

All the cheddars produced by WCFC producers have been awarded PDO status.

Philip Crawford, chairman of the group and a retired cheese-maker, explains: “Formed in the 1970s, our group was already united to protect the reputation of a traditional food, define its authenticity, preserve its place of origin and traditional methods of production and prescribe its essential ingredients. When the PFN scheme was established in 1993 we immediately recognised in it the opportunity to secure a sustainable future for our farms and our cheeses.”

Undergoing a continuous process of auditing developed by the group, cheese can only be dubbed West Country Farmhouse Cheddar if it is made using milk from local herds reared and milked in the counties of Somerset, Dorset, Devon or Cornwall. It is made and cut in these same four counties and production is undertaken largely by hand.

From the outset the process maintains a close relationship between raw ingredient and cheese-maker. The junket – a product of milk from a single local origin, warmed with starter cultures specific to the individual farm in a vat left open to the local atmosphere – is ‘cut’ and drained only once it is deemed ready by a cheese-maker, trusting his sense of touch.

After the whey has been drained off, the curd is repeatedly turned by hand to ensure only the requisite level of moisture is retained – the process known as ‘cheddaring’. Salting of the curds, packing the moulds and wrapping the cheeses is all undertaken by hand.

The PDO cheddar must be made and matured on the same farm and must be aged for at least nine months. Authentic West Country

Farmhouse Cheddar doesn’t leave the confines of the farm from the moment the milk arrives from the parlour until it’s ready to cut and pack. This means the cheese remains encapsulated within the same microenvironment and under the care of the same farmer until, after three separate independent gradings, it is deemed good enough to release into the custody of discerning retailers or restaurateurs.

Simon Clapp of Brue Valley farm, a cheese-maker whose family has farmed in Somerset since 1538, works alongside brother Bob to craft an awardwinning cheddar under the watchful eye of Glastonbury Tor. He is certain that handmade production in an open environment is the key to the special nature of the group’s cheeses: “Exposing milk to the microscopic flora and fauna resident in the air around our farms is what makes our cheeses different.

“Cheese-making is a delicate process and carefully handled milk is very receptive to what you might call ‘terroir’. Milk from the same cow used to make cheese in the same way on two different farms only a few miles apart will taste different. If you pick up a cheese with PDO on the label you know that it will have a character of its own. Our cheddar will eat differently to Westcombe’s or Denhay’s. PDO is an indication of diversity – something you only really get from committing to traditional methods.”

A ‘horizontal’ or comparative tasting of West Country farmhouse cheeses bears witness to the influence of terroir on cheddar-making. Each PDOdesignated cheddar shares some top line characteristics: a depth and length of flavour, a complexity in the mouth which unfurls over time and an open but resistant texture.

However, a tour of the handsome wedges reveals subtle differences that serve to transport the taster across hill and valley.

Keen’s retains a sweet hint of green twigs behind the fulsome strength of its unpasteurised extra mature. The Calver’s of Westcombe preserve a unique woody note within each traditional round. Parkham, the only Devonian in the group, has a particularly close texture and unrivalled creaminess you might expect from pastures fanned by the coastal breeze passing Bideford.

But isn’t PDO status just a romance, a marketing myth? Philip Crawford raises his shield: “Not at all. We have all invested time, money and effort in crafting fine cheeses to the very highest standards to meet consumer demand for great food produced in a way they expect and cherish. We wouldn’t do otherwise. The PDO symbol on our labels serves as a guarantee to the shopper that they are getting what they pay for.”

Wales’ 1200km coastline provides fresh, sea air to three sides of Wales; a sweep of rich, green landscape rolls back inland, offering mile after mile of hills and mountains where sheep are able to roam and feed on the best nature can offer.

This is reflected in the taste of Welsh Lamb, awarded PGI status in 2002 in recognition of its regional significance.

PGI provides consumer assurance that only lambs and cattle born and reared in Wales and slaughtered in an approved abattoir can be marketed as Welsh, says Hybu Cig Cymru/Meat Promotion Wales (HCC). The stock must also be traceability compliant to Farm Assured Standards. HCC acts as guardian of the PGI designation, with an independent body appointed to monitor its use. All plants that use the Welsh Lamb designation must be approved by HCC on an annual basis.