Ardrahan

Made by Mary Burns, near Kanturk, Co. Cork, Ireland

Washed rind pasteurized cows milk cheese made with vegetarian rennet 

Ardrahan is a semi-soft cheese with a buttery textured honey-coloured centre with a complex delicate flavour.  Smells like that guy you're hoping won't sit beside you on the bus.

Beenleigh Blue

Made by Robin Congden, near Totnes in Devon

Blue cheese made with pasteurized sheep's milk cheese and vegetarian rennet.

Milk all comes from one farm 

Today, this cheese is still made by hand deep in the English countryside.  This delicious tangy raw ewes milk cheese is made from the milk of Dorset-Friesland cross ewes that graze on the banks of the River Dart.  Beenleigh Blue is one of only three sheep's milk blue cheeses made in Britain.  It has a moist and crumbly texture with a blue green mould running through an ivory paste. It has a rich and slightly sweet flavour, similar to Roquefort but not so salty. It is matured for six months and is available from early summer through to winter.  Known as the Roquefort of Devon, it is matured for about seven months from ewes which are only milked between March and July, so is only seasonally available. les amis du FROMAGE has been lucky enough to get hold of some.

Beenleigh Blue is excellent when enjoyed on its own or when served as part of a cheeseboard and is versatile in the kitchen for making fabulous sauces or serving as part of a salad.

Cashel Blue

Made by Louis & Jane Grubb at Beechmount, near Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

Blue cheese made with pasteurized cows milk cheese and vegetarian rennet 

Cashel Blue is a semi-soft blue cows’ milk cheese. It is unique, as it is Ireland’s first farmhouse blue cheese. While some milk is purchased, the majority of the milk comes from the pedigree Friesian dairy herd on the farm.  Much of the cheese is sold young, while it is firm and crumbly, but for a fuller flavour it is best eaten at about three months of age, when it has a softer texture and more mature flavour 

Cheddar - Isle of Mull

Made by Chris and Ian Reade and their sons, near Tobermory, Isle of Mull

Hard cheese made with unpasteurized milk from the Reade's Friesian-Holstein Cows - Natural cloth rind.  Natural rennet.

This cheddar is sometimes called Tobermory.  This farm is right out in the Scottish Hebrides, and if you visit in the summer, the sun hardly sets.  There is not a great abundance of grass and the cows feed is supplemented by the spent grain (known as draff) from the Tobermory Malt Whisky Distillery.  The cheeses can be quite pale, as there is not a lot of color coming through the milk from grass.  The texture is much softer than the southern Cheddars, and the flavors wilder.  Strong Stuff.

Cheddar - Keen's

Made by The Keen Family, Morrhayes farm, Wincanton, Somerset
Hard cheese made with raw milk from the Keen's Friesian-Holstein Cows - Natural cloth rind.  Natural rennet.

Made only five miles from the Montgomery and made to a similar recipe, the Keen's cheese has a very different character.  Keen's Cheddar has a moister, creamier texture and a sharper flavour.  Both keen's and Montgomery's use bacterial starter cultures produced by Ray Osborne, from cultures originally isolated from milk 40 years ago and more.  The resulting flavors are rich and complex.  Keen's Cheddars are selected by Neal's yard Dairy on the farm every eight weeks. 

Cheddar - Montgomery's

Made by James Montgomery & Steve Bridges at Manor Farm, North Cadbury, Somerset

Hard cheese made with unpasteurized cow's milk and traditional rennet 

The Montgomery family is one of only a handful of Cheddar producers left in Britain who make raw milk farmhouse cheddar in the traditional way. For well over a century, they have made their cheddar at Manor Farm in Somerset. The 56 lb. cheeses are cloth-wrapped and typically aged between 14 months and 2 years. During this time, the cheese develops a full bodied richness, commended for its wonderful balance and lingering nutty flavour.  The lovely grassy aromas offset the fruity mellow rich taste that lingers gently on the tongue.   Montgomery Cheddar uses traditional rennet.

Crozier Blue

Made by Jane & Louis Grubb at Beechmount, near Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

 Blue cheese made with pasteurized sheep's milk cheese and vegetarian rennet.

Doddington 

Made by Maggie Maxwell at Doddington Dairy near Alnwick, Northumberland

Hard cheese made with unpasteurized cow's milk and traditional rennet 

Gubbeen

Made by Tom & Giana Ferguson, near Schull, County Cork

Pasteurized cow's milk produced on the farm.  Vegetarian rennet.

Generations of Fergusons have been farming at Gubbeen House on the South West tip of Ireland. The salty sea air is perfect for this type of washed rind cheese, which has a silky, pliable texture and a fresh, milky flavour. Bronze Medal Winner 2003

Lincolnshire Poacher

Made by Simon Jones at Ulceby Grange, Alford, Lincolnshire

Hard cheese made with raw milk from Friesian-Holstein Cows.  Natural rennet.

Simon learned to make cheese from the late Doug Campbell, who was a mountain climber and learned cheese making in the Swiss Alps.  There is something Swiss in the texture of what is otherwise a cheddar cheese.  The flavors in the Poacher develop later than the West Country Cheddars, but they are worth waiting for.  Very rich and deep with a long finish. 

Spenwood

Made by Anne & Andy Wigmore, Risely, Berkshire

Raw Sheep's milk from 2 farms

Spenwood is named after the village where Anne & Andy Wigmore make this cheese. It has a rich nutty and a slightly flakey texture. Kept longer it hardens and becomes piquant.

Stichelton's Blue

Made from unpasteurized organic cow milk by Joe Schneider at Collingthwaite Farm on the Welbeck Estate.

Unpasteurized cow's milk blue made with natural rennet

Strathdon Blue

Made by Ruaridh Stone at Blarliath Farm near Tain, Ross-Shire

Pasteurized cow's milk blue made with vegetarian rennet

Ticklemore 

Made by Robin Congden, near totnes in Deveon

Pasteurized goat's milk from one farm

Robin Congdon has never been one to follow convention, and has always strived to master some of the more unusual types of cheese. Ticklemore is no exception and is one of only a handful of hard goat's milk cheeses. It is a cheese with a very delicate flavour, without the overpowering aroma often associated with goat's cheeses. It therefore makes an excellent alternative hard cheese for those suffering from allergies to cow's milk. 
It can be accompanied by a full-flavoured fruity wine such as Brouilly. It is made with full fat milk, giving it a fat content of 48%. Each cheese is hand moulded in baskets, giving them an unusual flattened sphere shape. They are matured for two to three months and turned twice a week. Finished cheeses weigh approximately 2.3 kg and bear the markings of the basket on the rind.