If you plan to have some cheese this Christmas, consider buying locally.
There are more than 700 different kinds produced in Britain and they are exceptionally good. It is likely there will be at least one cheese produced near you so do try some if you haven’t already.
Some of the more widely available are:
- Baron Bigod – a delicious soft cheese, deep and rich in flavour, this raw cows’ milk cheese is produced in Suffolk;
- Colston Basset Stilton – it wouldn’t be Christmas without this distinctive, crumbly blue pasteurised cows’ milk cheese made on the border of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire;
- Lincolnshire Poacher – a fruity, nutty, savoury hard cheese made with unpasteurised cows’ milk made, not surprisingly, in Lincolnshire.
These together would provide a contrasting choice of flavours and textures.
But you could also consider some unpasteurised ewes’ milk cheese such as Wigmore – it has a fruity, mild, sweet flavour and creamy crumbly texture produced in Berkshire, or unpasteurised goats’ milk cheese such as Ragstone – a soft, creamy, cheese with a tangy hint of citrus flavour, produced in Herefordshire.
Sherbhert is planning to sample a wide selection of British regional cheeses over the coming year.
