The most famous of all the Yorkshire Dale cheeses and a cheese with history, the recipe for Wensleydale can be traced back to the Cistercian monks who came over to England with William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Eaten comparatively young, usually between one month and three months of age, Wensleydale tastes delicious when complimented by a nice slice of apple pie for an alternative dessert or afternoon snack. Wensleydale is a moist, crumbly and flaky textured cheese with a mild and slightly sweet flavor.
Double Gloucester is crafted using a mixture of morning and evening milk, hence the name, Double Gloucester. It is a traditional, unpasteurized, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire since the sixteenth century. Ours is by the inimitable Ford Farms on the south coast of england, and is aged in a traditional cloth binding for 6 months.
Our Wessex cheese is a goat cheese made in the Northern pastures of England. It is a semi hard cheese with a chefirm and chewy texture. The taste is nutty and bold, and grows sharper the more it is aged. This cheese works well as a low lactose melting cheese.
Cheddar is the most widely made cheese in the world and as a result it is often known by the derogatory title of mousetrap cheese. In fact top-quality Cheddar, both farmhouse and factory made is very good indeed but much of the mass-produced cheddar cheese is bland and rubbery, bordering on tasteless. A small amount of real is still made in the Cheddar area and in other parts of the southwest region of England. The cheese is traditionally drum-shaped and weighs up to 61 lbs, and is bound with a bandage to ensure a good hard grayish brown rind. Cheeses may be matured for anything from six to 18 months. Cheddar had a smooth and fairly hard texture, which should neither bend nor crumble. The paste is golden yellow in color, darkening a little with age. The flavor starts off fairly mild and meadow sweet with nutty tones, often with a light salty tang. It matures to a strong full, wonderfully nutty taste with a real piquancy to it. Older cheeses attack the tongue with their salty acidity.
Sometimes called "Double Gloucester with Chives", our Clawson Cotswold is a delicious blend of Double Gloucester cheese with chopped chives and onions. This cheese is called after the picturesque Cotswold shire of Britain. It is wonderfully cheddary and smooth, powerfully flavored. Cotswold is also well known in Britain as "Pub Cheese." Do not worry about small amounts of white mold it is natural.
This stunning cheese by Clawson features layers of their famous Windsor Red, with prime Blue Stilton, long known as the King of Cheeses, sandwiched between. The name Royal Windsor Red, then, is only fitting for this fabulous savory combination. The marbled red color of the Windsor Red is produced by the addition of port and brandy to a pale cream cheddar cheese. Blue Stilton is one of a handful of British cheeses granted the status of a ôprotected designation originö (PDO) by the European Commission. Only cheese produced in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, and made according to a strict code, may be called Stilton. Royal Windsor Red is a masterpiece which could only be created by Clawson Dairy, one of the UK's most successful and progressive dairies, and a leading innovator and producer of blended cheeses.
Hunstman is an English cheese, consisting of a layer of Stilton cheese between two layers of Double Gloucester cheese. The creamy, forceful Stilton is sandwiched between layers of mellow, satiny Double Gloucester. The result is an excellent flavor combination that is as delicious as it is beautiful. Our Hunstman is by Ford Farms of southern England, creators of tratitional farmhouse style cheeses. We also carry their Stilton and Double Gloucester each sold separately.
Stilton is named for the little village of Stilton, but is has never been made there. It was, however made nearby and is still made locally within the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire (now including Rutland), and Nottinghamshire. Known in Britain as the "king of cheeses", Stilton has been protected by a copyright invested in the Stilton Cheese Makers' Association. There are currently five members of the association and one other producer. Stilton cheeses are drum shaped with a thick, hard, un-cracked crust, which is usually grayish brown and slightly wrinkled with whitish powdery patches. The paste is crumbly when young, softening and darkening at the rind as it matures. It is a lovely creamy ivory color with well spread blue veining growing from the center outward. The veining increases in area and turns a bright blue-green with maturity. The aroma is sharply nutty and the flavor is full of mellow nuts and fruit. The flavor strengthens as it matures. Stilton is not sold until it is at least three months old and a few cheeses are sold when they are more mature. The best Stilton, made from the summer milk, is in the shops from September to Christmas. The age at which Stilton should be eaten is very much a matter of personal preference. But much of the cheese sod in supermarkets is fairly immature. More mature cheeses are to be found in specialty cheese shops. Stilton is a good after dinner cheese. It was traditionally served with Port. At one time it was fashionable to slice the top off a whole cheese and to spoon or scoop out the past with a special scoop. Sometimes the cheese was also pierced with knitting needles and Port was poured over the cut surface and encouraged to penetrate into the cheese. Our Stilton comes from the incomparable Ford Farms, producers of artisan farmhouse style cheeses.
This is a green veined, semi-hard vegetarian cheese with a delightful, mild sage flavor. The custom of adding sage to Derby cheese began in the seventeenth century, when the herb was widely believed to possess health-giving properties, and gives the cheese another subtle level of flavor. Originally, Sage Derby was only made for festive occasions such as Harvest and Christmas, but today it is available all year round. These days, the process has changed some, but the flavor is still distinct and delightful, developing further with maturity. Ours is an incomparable cheese made by Ford Farms.
Red Leicester is a traditional, creamery, hard cheese made from cow's milk. It has a round shape. The bright, orange-red rind has fine, powdery moulds. A good Red Leicester has a firm body and a close, flaky texture. The flavor is delicately sweet. This cheese can be eaten young, but it should ideally be left to mature for six to nine months.
