SPECIALITY CHEESES
- Ardrahan - Modern, farmhouse, vegetarian, washed-rind Irish cheese made from cow's milk. The ridged, brine-washed rind is encrusted with brown, ochre, gray and yellow moulds. Ardrahan is made by Eugene and Mary Burns. It has a distinctive, earthy aroma. Beneath the brine-washed rind, the deep yellow interior is firm and slightly chalky. It exudes a wonderful complexity of flavors, the zesty acidity underscoring the buttery, savory, meaty character. Maturing in four to eight weeks, the finish is reminiscent of a young Gruyere.
- Bruckley's - A mature organic sheep's cheese made in north-east Scotland near Maud in Buchan. Flavours include Natural, wild garlic, coriander & fenugreek, and Italian herb.
- Caerphilly - Traditional, farmhouse, unpasteurized, vegetarian cheese made from cow's milk. It usually has an ivory-white rind dusted with fine flour. As the cheeses are aged in a moist cellar, the white and gray moulds become thicker and more leathery. This cheese is known as "the crumblies". These cheeses originate from South and West Wales. It was first made in Caerphilly in about 1830. When young, Caerphilly has a fresh taste, the texture is moist yet supple. With maturity the edges become creamy and the flavor becomes more rounded.
- Colston Bassets Blue Stilton - Historically referred to as "The King of Cheeses" Stilton is an English blue-mould cheese with a rich and mellow flavor and a piquant aftertaste. It has narrow, blue-green veins and a wrinkled rind which is not edible. Stilton is milder than Roquefort or Gorgonzola, and is equally excellent for crumbling over salads or as a dessert cheese, served with a Port Wine. Rennet is added to milk at 86 degrees F and after an hour curd forms. The curd is drained and moulded. One week passes and then Stiltons are allowed to mature for 6 to 8 months.
- Cooleeny - An Irish cheese made by Breda Maher. It is a soft-white, full-flavored and grassy cheese with aroma of mushrooms when it ripens. Affinage takes four to eight weeks and has a fat content of 45 per cent.
- Crottin-Chavignol - The name of this French goat's cheese comes from ‘crot’, a small day lamp that inspired its shape. It can be eaten creamy or very dry and is excellent for grilling.
- Golden Cross - An unpasteurised mould ripened goats cheese based originally on the Saint Maure recipe. Log shaped and around 5 inches long it has a bright white paste, firm but creamy texture and a mild to medium mellow flavour. Made by Kevin and Alison Blunt at Greenacres Farm, Whitesmith, Lewes, East Sussex.
- Isle of Mull Cheddar - A traditional, artisan, unpasteurized, hard Scottish cheese of cylindrical shape made from cow's milk. This cheese, as the name already suggests, is made from the milk of this part of Scotland. The cheeses are bound in cloth and matured for up to twelve months. The cheeses are made in winter, when the cows are being fed hay, and are therefore whiter in appearance than those made when fresh, green grass is more readily available. Isle of Mull cheese is recognised for its individuality of flavour and taste - not by the brightness in colour!! From time to time, blue veins develop in "Isle of Mull". This is a natural blueing considered by many to be a delectable bonus; certainly it is not harmful and generally such blueing is found in cheese of especially rich maturity.
- Keens Cheddar - This popular cheese is produced by the Keen Family in West County in England. It is one of two cheddar farm-made chesses still produced in England. With a nutty richness to its taste, the cheese takes 12 months to age.
- Smoked Cuddy's Cave - Semi-soft with a rind to match. The recipe to this fantastic lemony English Dales' style cheese is kept a closely guarded secret by it's maker.
- Staffordshire Organic - Made by Dougal Campbell's Tyn Grug, a hard, unpasteurised cows' cheese flavoured with garlic and with a sweet, summery tang and a wonderfully smooth texture, and the second oldest organic cheese in Britain. The distinctive flavour of organic milk is due to a combination of the breed of cow and their feeding habits. Organic farmers tend to favour lower-yielding, hardier breeds such as Meuse-Rhine-Ijssel or Ayrshire, whose milk is more concentrated and homogeneous.
- Strathdon Blue - This firm, meaty blue won "Best Scottish Cheese" for Highland Fine Cheeses in 2002. Made in Ross & Cromarty, it has a strong creamy flavour, and a deep, powerful finish.
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