Cheese Identification - UK Flashcards
Stilton, Colsten-Bassett
Region: Nottinghamshire Country: England Milk Type: Cow Milk Treatment: Pasteurized Rennet: Traditional Rind: Natural Texture: Soft Aging: 12-18 weeks
Ardrahan
Producer: Ardrahan Dairy Products Ltd., Burns Family Country: Ireland Region: Co. Cork Size: 7 ins diameter, 2-3 ins high Weight: 3 lbs Milk: Cow Classification: Semi Soft Rennet: Vegetable Rind: Washed Aged: 4 Weeks
Bonchester
PDO. A soft Scottish cheese, made from unpasteurized Jersey cows milk.[1] Not currently in production
Buxton Blue
PDO. English blue cheese that is a close relative of Blue Stilton, is made from cow’s milk, and is lightly veined with a deep russet colouring. It is usually made in a cylindrical shape. It is an orange coloured blue veined cheese made from pasteuised cows milk. It has a close texture, smooth body and becomes softer as it ages. It can be sold at anything from 4 to 10 weeks and has a mellow creamy flavour with a characterisitc tang of blue cheese. Buxton Blue can only be produced within a 30 mile radius of Buxton with milk being sourced primarily from the Buxton area but may from time to time be sourced from Staffordshire or Cheshire. It is sold in cylinders with an average weight of 8 kgs
Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire
PDO. Made exclusively in the Preston area from local milk which is pasteurized. Cylindrical shaped cheese made from the curd of two or three days. The cheese is lightly pressed for 2 days, waxed or buttered or cloth bound and is fully mature at 6 months. It has a light yellow rind and a rich creamy taste.
Single Gloucester
PDO. Can only be made in Gloucestershire at least in part from milk from Gloucester breed cows - either raw or pasteurised. It is a flat disc shaped cheese with a smooth surface. The cheese is kept for at least two months by which time it is hard but slightly crumbly, yellow or dark yellow in colour and has a strong and decidedly salty flavour.
Staffordshire Cheese
PDO -This hard cheese can only be made in the County of Staffordshire from local pasteurised milk. Bertelin Staffordshire cheese is made using their own cow’s milk from their farm. The recipe is monastic and is historically linked to the County of Staffordshire. The cheese has been recently revived. Vegetarian rennet is used to form the curds which are then salted and placed in muslin lined stainless steel moulds and pressed overnight. They are left to mature for between 2 and 12 months during which time they are turned regularly and develop a natural rind. At 5 months of age the cheese is creamy and full flavoured with a clean taste.
Swaledale Cheese
PDO - A young crumbly cheese which can only be made in the Swaledale area of North Yorkshire from local cows’ milk or ewes’ milk which is heat-treated before use. Once the curds are formed and the whey drained off, they are cut and placed in moulds lined with cheesecloth and lightly pressed for 18 hours and turned regularly. The cheeses are removed from the moulds and then brine salted for 24 hours before being sold at about 4 weeks of age. The cows’ milk version is white in colour and soft and crumbly with a salty flavour. The ewes’ milk version is slightly harder with a more pronounced flavour and meadowy notes.
West Country Farmhouse Cheddar
PDO - The cheese takes its name from the village of Cheddar and the Cheddar Gorge where the cheese was originally stored. West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is made using the traditional recipe to produce the real Cheddar flavour and texture. It can only be made on farms in Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall and Devon from milk produced on the farm and where necessary supplemented with locally farmed milk. The cheese can be made in cylindrical or block form from either raw milk or pasteurised milk. An essential part of the Cheddar making process is that of “Cheddaring” which entails stacking and turning slabs of curd to facilitate drainage - this must be done by hand and not mechanically. The curds are milled, salted, put into moulds and pressed. The cheese is put into store and graded at regular intervals being kept for a minimum of 9 months before sale.
It is a hard textured cheese with a creamy background flavour and varying degrees of complexity depending on age and the individual farm.
Blue Stilton Cheese
PDO - Can only be made in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire from locally produced milk which is pasteurised before use. Most Stilton is made with non-animal rennet and is suitable for vegetarians. The cheese can only be made in a cylindrical shape, is never pressed and is allowed to form its own coat or crust. The blue veining develops in the tiny cracks and fissures in the cheese which having not been pressed has a slightly open texture. The cheese is typically sold at between 9 and 12 weeks of age.
White Stilton Cheese
PDO - This relies on the same conditions that pertain for Blue Stilton and is made in a similar way except that no blue mould is added to the milk. The cheese is stored for a few weeks before sale and has a fresh, creamy flavour and a crumbly texture. It is widely used in the UK for blending with sweet or savoury ingredients for such products as White Stilton with Apricots or White Stilton with Ginger.
Dovedale Cheese
PDO - Originally produced by the Hartington Creamery of Dairy Crest, production stopped when the creamery closed in 2009. However, production has re-started at the Staffordshire Cheese Company. Dovedale is a shallow cylindrical shaped blue veined cheese with a soft body which is matured for anything from 4 to 6 weeks of age. Unlike most of the blue cheeses made in the UK which are dry salted, Dovedale is brine salted (i.e. is immersed in a salt water bath). It can only be made in the County of Derbyshire from locally produced milk although in times of shortage milk may be sourced from the neighbouring counties of Shropshire or Cheshire.
