Cheesy Does It

Say Cheese

As we face the autumn larder, it’s time to start stocking up for winter, so what’s more comforting this time of year than a fridge full of cheese? Nerys Howell, of Howel Food Consultancy, shares her Welsh ‘caws’ expertise...

A470, Caws Rhyd y Delyn

Award winning cheese-maker Menai Jones of Caws Rhyd y Delyn produces cheese from her pedigree Holstein Friesian cows, who graze on the lush green pasture from spring to autumn. The A470 cheddar is made in the small dairy on the farm in Pentraeth, North Anglesey before being transported down to Cardiff along the A470 where it is smoked and sold in daughter Elin’s deli-café Canna Deli. Smoking adds an additional layer of complexity to this tasty cheese as well as golden hue to the crust.

www.cawsrhydydelyn.co.uk/

Brefu Bach, Cosyn Cymru

Hand-made in small batches, Brefu Bach is produced with raw organic milk from a small flock of almost entirely grass-fed Llŷn ewes. The milk is only available from March to October and the cheese has a delicate flavour with a warm finish to it, reminiscent of fresh cream and butter. Using thistle rennet, Brefu Bach is suitable for vegetarians and has a light, fluffy texture with a silky breakdown at the rind.

www.cosyn.cymru/en/home/

Caws Cerwyn, Pant Mawr

This family run farm located in the Preseli hills of North Pembrokeshire produces some great cheeses including Caws Cerwyn, named after the highest mountain in the Preseli range. This young cow’s milk cheese is light and creamy, with a mellow, nutty and buttery taste.

pantmawrcheeses.co.uk/

Ffetys, Y Cwt Caws

Y Cwt Caws is a family run artisan cheese maker based at Cors yr Odyn farm in Dulas, Anglesey, producing a range of cheeses from their mixed herd of goats. The cheeses are all hand-made, using traditional local methods and Ffetys is an award winning salad style cheese with a crumbly texture and a clean, lemony flavour.

Black Bomber, Snowdonia Cheese Company

The multi-award winning Black Bomber is a contemporary cheddar classic with a delicious rich flavour and a smooth creaminess. Voted the number one cheese brand for the fourth time in five years by the prestigious Guild of Fine Food, Black Bomber’s appeal shows no signs of slowing down.

www.snowdoniacheese.co.uk/

Pwll Mawr Cheddar, Blaenafon Cheddar Company

Covered in a smooth coal-black wax, Pwll Mawr Cheddar is named after the Big Pit mining museum in the World Heritage Site town of Blaenafon. It’s matured at the bottom of a mine shaft over 300 feet underground, giving this mature cheddar plenty of flavour and a creamy texture. Pwll Mawr also won a Bronze medal at the British Cheese Awards.

www.chunkofcheese.co.uk/

If you’re looking for a natural or flavoured cream cheese to serve on crackers, bagels or even stirred into a pasta dish, why not try Castell Gwyn artisan cream cheese which is produced in a dairy in Llandudno. The young cheese is made with pasteurised local milk and comes in a range of flavours including natural, Welsh honey, chives, cracked black pepper and pesto. These new flavours have already proven a success as the honey cream cheese won silver at the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich in 2018, while their cracked black pepper won gold this year.

www.castellgwyn.com/

Pembrokeshire Goat’s cheese

A herd of 200 milking goats occupy the small family farm in Llawhaden in Pembrokeshire and include Toggenburgs, Sannans and a few Nubians. The milk is transported a short journey to a purpose-built dairy where it is pasteurised to make a range of creamy cheeses. The flavours include natural, garlic and herbs, brie and chilli, as well as a blue cheese that’s matured over the course of two months giving it a rich and robust taste.

www.pembrokeshiregoats.co.uk/

The packaging on this cheese carries a beautiful image of the Teifi Kingfisher, and 10 pence of every cheese bought is donated to the Welsh Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran near Cardigan. Buttery yellow in colour and buttery in flavour, Teifi’s Halloumi looks and tastes superior (in my opinion!) to most other cheeses of this style. Delicious lightly griddled with a squeeze of lemon juice to finish.

www.teificheese.co.uk/

Welsh Slate Cavern Aged Cheddar, South Caernarfon Creameries

This mature cheddar cheese is made to a bespoke recipe and matured for a minimum of 11 months before travelling a few miles to the Slate Caverns in Blaenau Ffestiniog, where it is left to age 500 feet underground. This traditional ageing process takes place in original mining caverns converted into cheese caves. This step adds unique characteristics to the cheese, resulting in a firm but smooth texture and a real depth of flavour with rich, savoury, flinty notes.

www.sccwales.co.uk/

Celtic Promise, Caws Teifi Cheese

Treated with the utmost care, this multi award winning cheese is washed in cider twice a week for 7 weeks to create the distinctive amber-coloured rind. Made with unpasteurised milk, Celtic Promise is a Caerffili type cheese which develops a slightly pungent aroma along with a soft, rich, buttery flavour. It melts well and is a perfect topping for a baked potato and will add another dimension to a bowl of soup!

www.teificheese.co.uk/

Colliers Powerful Cheddar, Fayrefield Foods

Another great tasting mature cheddar from North Wales - this cheese packs a punch with a distinctive long and powerful taste. It has an open and slightly crumbly texture and is smooth and creamy in the mouth. You may come across a few crunchy bits, due to the calcium lactate grains which develop during the long maturation.

www.collierscheese.com/

Traditional Welsh Caerffili, Caws Cenarth Cheese

Caerffili cheese is Wales’s only native cheese dating back to the 19th century, and this Traditional Welsh Caerffili was awarded a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in 2018. It has a mild, slightly lemony taste designed to be eaten young from 10 days old, or can be matured for up to 6 months for a fuller flavour.

Hafod, Holden Farm Dairy

From Wales’s first certified organic 130 acre dairy farm, Bwlchwernen Farm in Llangybi near Lampeter - Hafod (meaning pasture ground in the summer) is a traditional hard cheese. It’s made from raw unpasteurised milk from Ayrshire cows, who graze in the ‘Hafod’ next to the river Aeron when they are not being milked. The milk is rich in butterfat and protein and widely regarded as being ideal for cheese making. The 16 months maturation develops a traditional mould rind and a distinctive, rich, nutty cheddar.

www.hafodcheese.co.uk/

Merlin cheeses

You may have come across Merlin cheeses at one of Wales’ food festivals, with their multi-coloured display of waxed cheddar cheeses that are infused with herbs, fruits and spices. Based in Pontrhydygroes, Ceredigion, this family-run business makes a range of exciting and unique flavoured cheeses made with cow’s milk.

merlincheeses.com/

Peli Pabo, Y Cwt Caws

These mini balls of soft, delicate goats’ cheese made by Y Cwt Caws in Anglesey are ideal served as part of a sharing platter, along with charcuterie, semi-dried tomatoes and olives. Alternatively you can spread them on some fresh crusty bread, and for an additional kick try the chilli flavoured Peli Pabo!

www.facebook.com/YCwtCaws/

Pant -Ys-Gawn, Abergavenny Fine Foods

You can appreciate why Pant -Ys-Gawn goat’s cheese has won so many awards over the years when you taste this mild clean-flavoured cheese with a slight lemony back note. The texture is soft and creamy and is perfect spread on toasted crusty bread. You can even use it to make a cheesecake by replacing your usual cream cheese.

www.abergavenny.uk.com/

Môn Las, Caws Rhyd y Delyn

One of my favourite blue cheeses is Môn Las (Anglesey Blue) which is made by Menai Jones of Caws Rhyd y Delyn. Not dissimilar to the Italian Gorgonzola, this richly veined medium-firm blue cheese has a delicious creamy texture with plenty of flavour!

www.cawsrhydydelyn.co.uk/

Perl Wen, Caws Cenarth Cheese

Another award-winning cheese, Perl Wen (translated to White Pearl) has won 6 Gold medals including the Best Welsh Cheese at the Royal Welsh Show. Perl Wen looks a little like the classic French Brie and also behaves like Brie with a mild taste and creamy texture – delicious!

www.cawscenarth.co.uk/

Cracker Jack

All good cheese deserves a good cracker and you won’t find a finer cracker than Cradoc’s. From their bakery in the Brecon Beacons they produce a lip-smacking range of golden baked biscuits and vegetable crackers that are a perfect accompaniment to any cheeseboard, comprising novel and refreshing flavours including Beetroot and Garlic, Pear and Earl Grey, Miso and Wasabi alongside more conventional Water Biscuits and cheddar and onion crackers.