Good Afternoon Cheesy1’s,
It’s time for the 2nd Cheese Of The Month and for August I’m featuring an exciting new cheese called Sparkenhoe Blue. The Cheese Of The Month is in Partnership with The Courtyard Dairy who very kindly provided the cheese for me to use and write about for you to all enjoy reading & learning. Made on Sparkenhoe Farm in Leicestershire by David and Jo Clarke armed with a wealth of knowledge passed on by the generations before them, this truly helps make the cheese as best it can be. An important aspect of the Sparkenhoe Dairy farming is “David tries to grow as much of the feed on the farm as possible and buffer feeds the cows all year round to help produce milk as consistent as possible for the cheese making.” Having consistent milk quality all year round ensures that the cheese will always be at is optimum in terms of taste and ensures the Customers are always tasting it at it’s best.
Delicately blue this cheese has a richness & creamy texture with the familiarity of a tang like Stilton. Being unpasteurised helps retain a desired richness in the milk and the taste is reminiscent of old Leicestershire blue. The milk from the previous day’s milking is pumped across from the parlour to the cheese room at 4 am. An old recipe discovered by Jo and David is then followed and traditional animal rennet added. Blue mould is added to the milk and once set the curds are cut into blocks & turned to release further whey. They are then put through the mill and salt is added. The cheese is put into moulds and pressed for 24 hours, turned and pressed for a further 24 hours. The cheeses are bound in cloth and stored at 10 degrees and getting the right temperature & humidity helps the cheese mature perfectly.
This was a really nice cheese to enjoy and I will certainly be adding this to my Christmas cheeseboard in 2018. I love that it’s a unique blue cheese that was easy to enjoy and wasn’t soft like the current trend among blue cheeses. I would recommend you try this as part of your dinning experience and you can phone The Courtyard Dairy on 01729 823291 to place an order or you can purchase online via Sparkenhoe Blue.
The 3rd Cheese Of The Month was going to be Wendolyn cheese but unfortunately this is no longer being produced. Instead I will be recommending another cheese sold via The Courtyard Dairy and I will be posting a review of Wendolyn on blog instead.
Have a lovely afternoon,
The Cheesy1
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