CHEESE OF THE DAY: SAINT ALBRAY

After a trip to the Manchester Christmas Markets - I picked up some nice cheeses at a fantastic cheese stall - amongst which was this smelly delight! Yes its a real stinker (almost clearing the bus with the smell on the way home), but despite its extreeme odour, Saint Albray is a delicious rich and creamy cheese with a taste not unlike Camenbert. It is produced using pasturized cows milk and formed into a flower shape, and first made in 1976 in the Basque country and Bearn region of southwest France. A very nice if not pongy soft and creamy cheese.

CELEBRICHEESE: PHIL SPENCER

Its been a bumper crop of celebrity cheese tweets lately and the latest is TV property guru Mr Phil Spencer. It looks like when he's not flirting/bickering with Kirsty he's chomping on some cheese. Glad to hear he's partial to all cheese (but looks like if pushed he would opt for some strong Cheddar!

CELEBRICHEESE: ALEXANDER ARMSTRONG

Another "Pointless" celebrity - comedian & TV host Alexander Armstrong enjoys a bit of epoisses - looks like we've set him off thinking about it mmmmmmmmmmmm!

CELEBRICHEESE: DERMOT O'LEARY

We asked popular radio & TV personallity Dermot O'Leary what cheese had the X-factor for him. Looks like he found it a tough decision, but the 2 cheeses Dermot voted through were a mature Wexford Cheddar & Vacherin.

CHEESE OF THE DAY: AMBER MIST

The Snowdonia Cheese Company do a range of really good cheeses, I have a nice selection of 3 to sample - so here is the first one "Amber Mist". Its a slighty sweet & salty softer cheddar with a hint of whisky. I think what is good about this cheese is they have got the balance right - all the attributes of a good cheddar with a slight taste of whisky. I think if it was a stronger whisky taste it would have completely over shadowed the excellent taste of the cheddar. Lovely with a chutney with a bit of heat to it (I had it with apple, fig & chilli chutney) - another very tasty cheese from the Snowdonia Cheese Company!!!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: REBLOCHON

Reblochon is a French cheese made in the Haute-Savoire in the French Alps. It is a semi-soft rich creamy cheese with an earthy aftertaste. At room temperature it starts to soften and starts to ooze a little bit - its at this point it is best to eat - fully releasing its flavour. The name Reblochon translates as "to pinch a cows udder again" and is in reference to the fact that in the 14th century when this cheese was first produced, the landowners would tax the farmers according to how much milk was produced - so farmers started holding back milking until the milk was measured out for taxing each day - this produced a much richer milk from which this cheese was made. I certainly enjoyed "to pinch a cows udder again"!

TALKING CHEESE: THE OLD CHEESE SHOP HARTINGTON

 

Our new feature "Talking Cheese" starts with an interview with Claire Milner from the Old Cheese Shop in Hartington, Derbyshire.

Hi Claire, thanks for agreeing to talk to The Mighty Cheeseboard, how long have you been running the Old Cheese Shop in Hartington for?
Exactly 3 years. We bought the shop at auction when Long Clawson shut their dairy in the village. The shop had been their factory outlet and has been established for over 30 years.

What made you decide to make the leap from cheese fan to cheese shop owner?

Love cheese - what more can I say! And we couldn't see such a fabulous little shop close. It has such a history to it.

What Cheeses are your biggest sellers in the shop?

Definitely all the blue cheeses. We sell tonnes and tonnes of stilton.

What would you put as your own personal favourites?

Again blue cheeses but you can't beat a good extra mature cheddar either. Quickes is up there amongst the best!

I notice that aswell as running the cheese shop you are also involved with making cheese as part of the creamery - how did that come about & are you enjoying getting involved and the process of cheese making?

Two ex employees from Long Clawsons (who are well known in the stilton industry) approached us in the shop to ask if we would sell their cheese if they could get a factory up and running again in the village. We were so excited and keen to help that we joined forces with them. It has taken us a long time but finally we made our first cheeses in mid October. They will be ready soon which will be great for Derbyshire people as there is no real cheese making going on in the County on a large scale and we should hopefully be accredited to make Hartington Stilton again in the new year. We will then be the only stilton producer in Derbyshire and only the 6th stilton producer in the Country.To see the whole process from start to finish and actually be hands on has been a great learning curve and has only fuelled our passion more for cheese and everything it stands for!

What cheeses are you currently making? (We'd love to sample some for review sometime)

Our first cheese will be a crumbly white cheese called Peakland White and for Christmas we will be doing a cranberry and orange version. The blue cheeses will start rolling out in January hopefully.

In a few words sum up what cheese means to you?

Gosh that is a tough question. I am just so passionate about good quality food and sourcing (and now making) local cheeses it is hard to put it into a few words. I think PASSION is just the key to everything.

Thank you Claire.

So if you ever find yourself in Hartington or nearby - please make sure you make the effort to visit Claire at the Old Cheese Shop and get buying some of the fantastic cheeses that they offer. However if you cant get to Hartington then you can always visit thier website (www.hartingtoncheeseshop.co.uk) where you can purouse the cheeses from the comfort of your own home and order online, so there's no excuse - support the independent cheese makers and cheeseshops!!!

CELEBRICHEESE: ROSIE JONES

Who says models don't eat cheese! Glamour model Rosie Jones sure does. Having modeled for the Sun, Nuts, Loaded & recently been voted 4th in FHM's sexiest women of the world 2012, Rosie sure has revealed a lot about herself, but it's not til now she reveals her favourite cheese - looks like she is very fond of "halloumiiiiiii!" - we too enjoy Halloumi Rosie!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: TABASCO CHEESE SLICES

Aaaah the cheese slice - personally I'd tend to stay away from cheese slices in preference to getting a good block of cheese and cutting slices fresh....... but if you want a quality precut cheese slice to go on your burger or melted on top of your chilli or nachos then look no further than the offical Tabasco branded cheese slice. I has a nice full mature cheddar flavour with the hot peppery kick of Tabasco.  The famous pepper sauce brand has teamed up with the Long Clawson Dairy a cheese maker with over 100 years of cheesemaking behind them. If I were to have a nice juicy homemade burger I would be more than happy to top it with a Tabasco cheese slice!