CHEESEWIRE
news & views from the cheese counter
Competition provides boost to growing UK affinage movement By Patrick McGuigan
A new contest celebrating the art of affinage has been launched as British cheesemakers invest more in cheese maturation to boost quality and consistency. The Affineur of the Year competition, launched by Quicke’s and the Academy of Cheese, will see cheesemakers and mongers across the UK maturing truckles of Quicke’s cheddar in different ways to see how flavour and texture are affected. Three-month-old cheeses have been delivered to Brindisa, Buchanans, Rennet & Rind, Heritage Cheese, Lincolnshire Poacher, Neal’s Yard Dairy, No2 Pound Street and Paxton &
Whitfield, who will mature the cheeses for nine months, before a judging event in February. “The art of the affineur is perhaps the most underappreciated aspect of artisan cheesemaking,” said Mary Quicke MBE. “We know from experience that the hard work of our farmers and cheesemakers can be elevated or squandered in the maturing rooms.” The importance of affinage has long been appreciated in Europe, where expert affineurs use time, temperature, humidity and specialist techniques to improve quality. The process has historically been less well understood in the UK, but this is changing. Neal’s Yard, Cambridge-
Mary Quicke is backing the inaugural Affineur of the Year competition
based Rennet & Rind and Scotland’s IJ Mellis have all invested in specialist maturing rooms in recent years, while cheddar-maker Westcombe built its own cave in 2016 with a cheese robot nicknamed Tina the Turner. Lincolnshire Poacher invested £500,000 in new wooden shelving and a cheese robot (called Florence the Machine) at its store last year. “Maturation is something we’ve spent more time on recently,” said co-owner Tim Jones. “It’s part of the evolution of artisan British cheese, which has gone from being a fledgling industry 20 years ago to being much more mature now. Knowledge has grown and people are more experienced. Wholesalers and makers are realising they can add value and create new products by handling the cheese differently.” Bath Soft Cheese Co built three temperature- and humidity-controlled ripening rooms last year and has invested almost £30k in a bespoke machine, called Basil the Brush, which can brush thousands of Wyfe of Bath cheeses in a few hours. “It was laborious to do by hand, so it makes life easier, but it will also help with consistency and quality,” said owner Hugh Padfield.
NEWS IN BRIEF The Westcombe Project, a new 12-part podcast by cheesemonger Sam Wilkin, launches this month. It will follow Somerset cheddar maker Westcombe Dairy as it moves towards a regenerative farming model. The Royal Bath & West Show has been forced to cancel the British Cheese Awards for the second year running because of “growing concern” that it “would not be able to deliver the standard of awards that the exhibitors, judges and public are used to experiencing”. Paxton & Whitfield welcomed Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, to its flagship Jermyn Street shop last month. The mayor was visiting businesses in Piccadilly to promote domestic tourism for the area and to urge the government to continue with financial support for businesses beyond the end of June.
The first-ever Ukrainian ProCheese Awards Cheese Festival was held at the Parkovy exhibition centre in Kyiv, on 22nd-23rd May. A host of expert judges deemed Shedevr (which translates as ‘Masterpiece’) from Dooobra Farm to be the winning cheese while Nadiya Frantovska won the Grand Prix of the Cheesemonger competition for the best cheeseboard. Both winners will be at the forthcoming World Cheese Awards, held in November this year. awards.procheese.ua
THREE WAYS WITH...
Witheridge Made with organic cows’ milk by Nettlebed Creamery in Oxfordshire, Witheridge is matured for 6-8 months in hay, which imparts sweet and aromatic notes to the semi-hard, nutty cheese. White wine The hay for Witheridge comes from a specific meadow on the farm, where a diverse range of grasses is grown, giving the final cheese a grassy, almost chamomile flavour. Aromatic white wines complement these really well. Master of Wine Alistair Cooper, who has worked with Nettlebed on cheese and wine matches, recommends peachy and floral Viogniers or spicy Pinot Gris from Alsace. Soave Classico, made from Garganega grapes, has a distinct almond note that also dovetails nicely with the nutty cheese. Damsons As well as being herbaceous, Witheridge has sweet and umami notes that are reminiscent of Alpine cheeses. The sweet tartness of damsons both complements and contrasts with the cheese in a very pleasing way. The Fine Cheese Co’s Damson Fruit Purée is particularly good, thanks to a fragrant woodsmoke note that picks up on the hay flavours from the rind. Highmoor Matching a cheese with another cheese might sound strange, but not when it’s in a toastie. Nettlebed has built a cult following for its cheese toasties, served from a converted shipping container near the dairy. Made with white bread from a local bakery, the toasties are filled with a mix of Witheridge and Highmoor – a soft washed-rind cheese also made by the company, which brings “lots of savoury depth,” says Nettlebed owner Rose Grimond. Vol.22 Issue 6 | July 2021
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