CHEESEWIRE

Cheesemongers want more British blues and so s to plug Euro gap

By Patrick McGuigan

Gaps in the market for new British cheeses are growing as online sales boom and Brexit requirements make Continental cheeses harder to import.

While COVID initially presented serious challenges to British artisan cheesemakers, sales have bounced back and are growing rapidly with big opportunities for new and innovative products, according to cheesemongers.

Better packaging and branding, smaller products and new so and blue cheeses were all identi ed as gaps in the market.

“We’re looking for more British lactic goat and sheep’s milk cheeses in di erent shapes and sizes,” said Rory Mellis, director at IJ Mellis in Scotland. “That’s only going to continue because new paperwork requirements for imported cheeses are likely to mean price increases and delays, especially for small, so cheeses.”

He added that packaging was also a more important consideration to protect cheeses during delivery.

“Online sales are such a big part of what we do now that cheesemakers need to work with us on that, supplying individual cheeses in wooden cases or boxes.”

At Paxton and Whit eld, buyer Dan Bliss echoed these comments.

“There’s de nitely more room for British goat and sheep’s cheeses in di erent styles, shapes, sizes and age pro les,” she said. “I’d also like to see more innovation in blues beyond crumbly and Gorgonzola-style cheeses. Rogue River Blue and Cabrales are good examples of [foreign] blues that are really di erent.”

Di erent sizes are also an easy way for cheesemakers to innovate, she added. “If you look at Baron Bigod, it comes in 3kg wheels for large farm shops, 1kg wheels, which are great for foodservice, and 200g cheeses for delis and hampers.”

Ruth Raskin, care & quality manager at The Fine Cheese Co., also highlighted British blues as an area for evolution.

“It would be nice to see some really spicy, piquant blues, as well as more oozy, gooey cheeses,” she said. “There’s also a burgeoning market for retail-ready cheeses, but better label design and good quality paper are essential.”

Paxtons’ Dan Bliss added that the name of a cheese is also vital. She said: “A lot of British cheeses are named a er a saint or for some reason start with the letter ‘B’. Choosing a name that stands out and is easy to remember can make a big di erence.”

Paxton & Whitfield is one of several retailers seeking more UK cheese

NEWS IN BRIEF

Retail cheese sales at Christmas fell in volume by 2.8% compared to 2020, but were up by 13.8% compared to Christmas 2019, before the pandemic began, according to data from Kantar for the four weeks ending 26th December 2021.

Derbyshire Stilton-maker Hartington Creamery has launched a new soft blue cheese to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The limited-edition Platinum Blue is “sweet, savoury and mild”.

Brighton-based The Great British Charcuterie Co has opened a cheese shop and wine bar in Worthing. Curds and Cases in the Montague Quarter is the company’s second shop, joining Curds and Whey in Hove.

Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar is the world’s first carbon-neutral cheddar, according to maker Wyke Farms in Somerset. The 18-month cheddar was recognised as carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust, which has undertaken a “cradle-to-grave” footprint analysis of the company’s processes. Wyke has reduced its carbon footprint by cutting farm emissions through incentive schemes and regenerative farming practices, but also by focussing on areas, such as cheesemaking techniques, green energy and conservation.

THREE WAYS WITH...

La Retorta

Made by Finca Pascualete in Extremadura, Spain, this 160g tortastyle cheese is made with raw sheep’s milk and cardoon rennet. It’s aged for more than two months and has a pungent, orange rind with a smooth, soft interior that liquefies over time. Flavours range from sweet sheepy notes to hay and mustard, with a distinct herbal bitterness at the finish.

Vermouth For a small cheese, La Retorta packs a big flavour punch, so needs a wine that can match it for intensity. Amontillado is a popular choice – the salty, nutty sherry faces up to the intense cheese – but vermouth also works well, dovetailing with the sharpness in the cheese. Sussex-based Bolney Estate’s Rosso English Vermouth is lovely with a rich fruity flavour, taking in sloes and blackcurrants, plus a floral, herbal bitterness. Serve it with tonic and ice in the summer or straight up in the winter.

Sauerkraut Sweet chutneys and honeys jar with the bitterness of La Retorta, making condiment matching tricky. There are no such problems with a sharp, crunchy Sauerkraut, however, which contrasts with the richness of the soft cheese and brings complementary vegetal notes to the cheese’s funky rind.

Breadsticks In Spain, the cheese is often smeared onto crusty bread, while ‘picos’ breadsticks are also good dipped into the silky paste. Try Picos Artesanos from UK distributor Delicioso, which are made with extra virgin olive oil in Andalusia and won a one-star award in last year’s Great Taste.

Westcombe launches “higher tier” extra-mature cheddar brand

By Patrick McGuigan

Somerset cheesemaker Westcombe Dairy hopes to spark a discussion about farming practices with the launch of a premium, extramature cheddar called Oxonlees.

The new cheese is aged for 18-24 months, compared to around 14 months for standard Westcombe, and fetches a higher price.

It was rst released last year and is being sold exclusively by Neal’s Yard Dairy, which charges £29.30/kg for Oxonlees compared to £24.05/kg for Westcombe.

“We’ve honed in on big changes in our farming process and in the dairy and now have more con dence to have a higher tier,” said owner Tom Calver. “Oxonlees has a bigger, rounder avour.”

Westcombe has been changing the way it farms to improve biodiversity and the quality of its cheese, which is being documented in a podcast called The Westcombe Project.

Herbal leys and paddock grazing have been introduced, while soya and maize silage is no longer fed to the cows.

The dairy has also been trialling historic cheddar recipes by in uential 19th century cheesemakers, including Joseph Harding, Edith Cannon and TC Candy, while the company also plans to explore making its own starter cultures by culturing raw milk.

Named a er one of the elds on the farm, the Oxonlees brand aims to highlight these changes, especially on the farm.

“Terms like mature, extra mature and vintage have been eroded by block cheddars that use di erent adjuncts and starter cultures to speed up the maturing process,” said Calver. “Oxonlees helps tell the story of what we’re doing on our farm. It will promote conversations in cheese shops and allow cheesemongers to talk to their customers about farming and cheese.”

The new Oxonlees brand will sit as a premium option in the dairy’s line-up

westcombedairy.com

BEHIND THE COUNTER TIPS OF THE TRADE

Laura Billington, Graze Cheshire, Warrington

After 20 years in the legal profession, Laura Billington started creating cheese grazing platters for special events, business meetings and parties in 2020. Inspired by a trend in the US, the eye-catching platters comprise pre-cut slices of cheese and a colourful array of accompaniments, such as berries, dragon fruit and carved kiwis, plus edible flowers, nuts and charcuterie. Prices range from £12 for an individual box to £145 for a 10-person platter.

“Blues or goats’ cheeses are quite controversial, so I tend to stick with more popular cheeses like cheddar, Emmental and Manchego.”

Picking a theme is also a good idea, she adds, so use greens and reds at Christmas or Welsh cheeses for St David’s day.

Customers collect from her and the platters are best eaten on the day, she says.

grazecheshire.co.uk

CHEESE IN PROFILE with

Corra Linn

What’s the story?:

Errington Cheese was set up in 1983 when Humphrey Errington took on a smallholding at the foot of the Pentland Hills in South Lanarkshire. The rugged landscape lent itself to sheep, as opposed to cows. So, with that in mind, Errington travelled to France and sourced his herd of Lacaune sheep (the breed used for Roquefort) and started making Lanark Blue. The company is now run by his daughter, Selina Cairns and her husband Andrew, with a farmhouse herd of 450 sheep. With an abundance of milk in the spring and summer, they needed to develop a cheese that could be aged for longer than the blue cheese, so they developed Corra Linn in 2008. This hard sheep’s milk cheese, similar in style to a cheddar, is now one of the most sought-after Scottish cheeses.

Milk:

Sheep’s, Unpasteurised

How is it made?

The cheese has a similar make to that of a small cheddar. After animal rennet is added, and the curd is finely cut, it is then scalded at 37°C before being pitched, piled, milled and salted in the vat. The cheeses are pressed overnight, then rubbed in locally produced rapeseed oil before being bound in muslin and aged for between 4 months and 2 years. age, the paste becomes progressively harder and more crystalline. At 9 months, the cheese exhibits sweet, floral, hazelnut notes which develop into rich, brothy flavours and a long-lasting caramel complexity.

Variations:

None

Cheesemonger tip:

You can compare a Corra Linn to a fine Manchego. If eating on its own, suggest pairing with fruit and nuts, such as figs and almonds. On an oatcake, a partnering of spiced apricot chutney or quince jelly wouldn’t go amiss.

Chef’s recommendation:

Corra Linn lends itself well to any recipes that call for a Pecorino. It would work particularly well in a homemade pesto or melted with roasted vegetables. Serve with a brown ale, or even a single malt whisky.

Appearance & texture:

At a young age, cheeses have a delicate flavour and are smooth and creamy in texture. As they

There are a number of ways you can study Level 1 & 2 Academy of Cheese courses: online as self-study eLearning, interactive virtual classes or traditional classes at a venue. Visit academyofcheese.org for more information.

Bought by the farm

Meet the new owners of the Traditional Cheese Dairy

Interview by Patrick McGuigan

DRIVE ALONG ONE of the lanes that crisscross Burnt House Farm near Horam, East Sussex, and you may well see owner Joe Delves in a field waving what looks like a vacuum cleaner.

Despite what it looks like, he is not hoovering the grass. Instead, he is actually measuring how much is growing in each field, using an upright device called a plate meter, so he can calculate the exact amount his cows will be able to graze most efficiently.

It’s all part of Delves’ farming mantra, which is focused on efficiency and sustainability rather than chasing volumes.

“Dairy farming is a low-margin game,” he says. “And there are two types of farms. Those that push up volumes to dilute costs. Or those that actually look at the costs. We’re definitely in the second camp.”

A third-generation farmer who took over the business from his father in 2005, Delves has an approach that is influenced by a research trip taken in 2013 to visit dairy farms in the UK, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and the US as part of a Nuffield Farming Scholarship. As well as introducing ideas such as efficient paddock grazing and improving pastures with different plants, the trip also convinced him to introduce hardier Jersey cows to the previously all-Holstein herd.

“Wherever I went in the world I saw Jerseys because they can cope with so many different climates and landscapes,” he says. “They’ve got hard feet, handle temperature stress well and are very efficient converters of food into fat and protein. They were thriving in places where most Holsteins would have rolled over and had their hooves in the air.”

The scholarship also highlighted a need to add value to the farm’s milk, which led to the acquisition of the Traditional Cheese Dairy in nearby Stonegate in 2020. Previously run by the Dyball family, the company is best known in Sussex for Burwash Rose and Lord of the Hundreds. After learning how to make cheese with the Dyballs, Delves moved production to a purpose-built dairy on the home farm in June 2021, where it has become very much a family affair.

Delves’ wife Becky handles orders and packaging, while mum Liz looks after maturation. Dad Andy, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year, is the head cheesemaker – a role he wasn’t expecting to have after a life spent as a farmer and then as a local pastor.

“I was meant to be retired, but Joe had other ideas,” he says. “But seriously, I get bored easily and I like to be busy. We used to be price-takers, not price-makers. We got what people wanted to give us for our milk. But the cheese business is an opportunity to make a premium product that recognises its true value.”

The dairy currently makes two or three times a week, producing around 1.2 tonnes of cheese a month, much of which is sold by Brighton-based wholesaler The Cheese Man. Other customers include Harvey & Brockless and Curd & Cure, while direct sales to local retailers are also on the up. The cheese business now brings in almost as much as the farm with plans to bring in a new cheesemaker to work alongside Andy.

It means there will be plenty more grass measuring going on in the future, or as Andy Delves puts it, with a pastoral turn of phrase: “Grass underpins the business. What we do is turn sunshine into food.”

thetraditionalcheesedairy.co.uk

We used to be price-takers, not price-makers

CROSS SECTION

Burwash Rose

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Burwash Rose is a soft, pasteurised cows’ milk cheese with a washed rind, it was named after a local village and because it used to be washed in rose water. Today the cheese is only washed in brine.

The company has a 2,400-litre vat for its Olde Sussex cheddar and hard sheep’s milk cheese Lord of the Hundreds. Burwash Rose is made in a smaller 450-litre vat, where the curd is cut into small pieces and stirred, before being ‘washed’ by replacing some of the whey with hot water. Each batch renders around 95-100 of the 700g cheeses. Orangey brown with yellow hues, the sticky rind is washed every few days in brine as it matures in around five weeks. The aroma is smokey and brothy with an earthy pungency, while the paste is golden and buttery, thanks to the higher butterfat and betacarotene content of the Jersey-Holstein milk. The cheese breaks down over time to a gooey texture, which balances out the fragrant rind.

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