This cheese is the first of its kind the in the South West. It is a great substitute for Cheddar and is far easier to manage. It is particularly good in sandwiches and as an addition to any cheeseboard. 

 

Made in Cornwall, by a Dutch family who have been running a dairy farm in the county since 1998,this gouda is produced using high quality milk from their own cows. 

 

 

 

 

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A French cheese made from unpasteurised ewes' milk. Matured in ancient caves in the village of Roquerfort-sur-Soulzon, it takes three months to ripen. The result is a semi-soft, crumbly, white cheese with blue-green veins and a sweet, salty and tangy flavour. 

 

 

 

 

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Westcombe is a raw, unpasteurised cheese - traditionally bound in cloth - and a gold medal winner in the World Cheese Awards. Made from the milk of the herds that graze the lush Somerset pastures surrounding Westcombe Dairy. The dairy has been making cheddar for over 100 years from its three herds of Friesian-Holstein cows, fed on as much homegrown food as possible. 

 

The cheese is cheddared by hand, so that the texture of the curd changes from crumbly lumps to pliable, elastic slabs, crucial to create the 'body' characteristic of artisan cheddar cheese. The slabs are then milled using a traditional peg mill, one of only two others in the country, to promote a unique cheddar texture and aid the distribution of salt which is then added to the curd. The cheese is aged for a minimum of eleven months, allowing the flavours to develop. 

 

Westcombe Cheddar has a lactic, deep, creamy flavour to start with, evolving into a complex, interesting citrus aftertaste, with a hint of apple and sometimes even caramel flavour! 

This cheese takes its name from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and, as with the tale, when cutting into a Wyfe of Bath cheese you get a taste of old England! 

 

Succulent, nutty and creamy, this semi hard cheese is redolent of buttercups and summer meadows. It is made by placing the curd in cloth-lined baskets. The cheese retains the basket shape and has a soft, light caramel colour. It is made using a vegetarian rennet.  

June 2012 - Beenleigh Blue 

One of three blue, ewes milk cheeses made in Britain today, all artisan crafted by Robin Congdon of Ticklemore Cheese near Totnes. 

 

Beenleigh Blue uses ewes' milk from an organically run farm in Dorchester, where the herds are husbanded in a way which produces milk all year round, though Beenleigh is mostly made from milk taken in the Spring. The nature of the cheese varies over the season. The first cheeses for sale in June are very light, fresh and quite crumbly whereas the older cheeses develop significantly greater depth of flavour, becoming richer and creamier. 

From their home farm, at Newton St Cyres, near Exeter, Quickes uses all the skills of their cheese makers to create a hard goats cheese in the same style as a traditional cheddar. Made from locally produced goats' milk and vegetarian rennet, the cheese comes in 24Kg truckles. Sold at up to 12 months in age. 

 

The cheese has a firm texture and a clean and fresh taste. Balancing the goats' milk with the real flavour of cheddar works perfectly.  

An aromatic and fruity washed-rind cheese, made by Sue Proudfoot in the furthest tip of Cornwall. 

The cheeses are brushed with local cider, twice weekly, for a pungent rind and 'appley' flavour. The washing encourages the curd to soften during ripening.  

 

 

 

 

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An old Dorset recipe which had almost died out until Michael Davies revived it! It's made from sem-skimmed milk, so it's low in fat. This delightful, slightly crumbly blue cheese has a pleasantly soft taste. 

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A seasonal cheese from Switzerland, that comes to us in wrapped in a round, wooden box. Shaped originally in cloth-lined moulds, then encircled in strips of spruce bark, which imparts a resinous flavour to the pale exterior of the cheese. We sell by the portion, at £1.89 per 100g. Later this month, we will have the mini, boxed versions available. 

 

Vacherin Mont d'Or is similar in appearance to a Brie style cheese. It is a semi soft cheese with an orangey-pink rind and pale yellow interior, with a distinctive, rich, creamy flavour. Fully ripe, it's soft and runny, best eaten with a spoon!  

A moist, soft, mild cheese, in a natural rind, artisan made in theYorkshire dales. Made from full fat cowes' milk, matured for 3-4 weeks. Creamy in colour, with a light, open, smooth texture, moist and slightly acidic.  

 

Swaledale cheese has been made inthe dale that bears its name for centuries. It is thought that cheese making was first brought to the area by Cistercian monks from Normandy who passed on the cheese making techniques to the local farmers. The cheese, made by the Swaledale Cheese Company, to traditional methods, has 'Protected Destination of Origin' status, meaning it can only be made in the dales. 

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This extra mature cheddar, flagship prouct of Snowdownia Cheeses, won a bronze World Cheese Award in 2007. It's creamy, smooth and moist, with an intense cheddary taste, encased in an inedible black wax coating. Made with pasteurised milk from Welsh dairy herds it is suitable for vegetarians, as it is made with non animal rennet. 

 

The name is a little controversial, but it's a cheddar with attitude and as the name suggests, it's pretty powerful! £1.59 100gms or £4.95 for a mini truckle. 

Made in the Vale of Belvoir, Nottinghamshire, a traditional area for farmhouse Stilton production, Colston Bassett Stilton is one of the only hand-ladled Stilton cheeses, made to a time honoured recipe. Traditional methods are used, as by past generations, taking account of modern hygiene regulations! 

 

Made from pasterurised whole cows milk, the flavour of Colton Bassett is deep, lingering and complex. Hand-ladling producing this intensely rich and creamy cheese. £1.89 per 100g 

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An unusually smooth creamy cheddar with a tasty after bite, made from a 70 year old recipe, near Bruton in Somerset. Godminster Cheddar is encased in a crimson coloured wax coating which gives its distinctive and helps retain its creaminess. £2.20 per 100g or £9.99 for a lovely little truckle! 

 

Enjoy this creamy, powerful cheddar grilled on toast, sandwiched with pickle or simply on its own a with a chunk of crusty bread and a glass of West Country cider. 

Drop into the Deli and taste our cheeses of the month for June, Harbourne Blue & Beenleigh Blue, at £2.39 per 100gsm. Two delicious blue cheeses, Harbourne Blue made from goats milk, with a creamy, melting texture, and ewes milk is used to produce the rich, sweeter Beenleigh Blue. 

 

Both cheeses are artisan made by Robin Congdon of nearby Ticklemore Cheese in Totnes. 

 

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'Fosse Way Fleece', a ewes' milk hard cheese, made in the Cheddar style, from the Somerset Cheese Company. It takes its names from the old Roman 'fosse way road' that runs close to the village of Ditcheat, in Somerset, where the dairy is situated. £2.59 per 100gsm 

 

It has a wonderful smooth and silky texture with a fresh, clean tase that ends in a 'mellow afterglow'. The cheese is handmade from pasteruised milk, sourced from a single farm, and is suitable for vegetarians. 

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A sweet, continental style washed curd cheese with a supple texture, nutty, creamy flavour and a unique, pinky grey natural mould rind. 

 

Little Miss Muffet is artisan made by Sue Trelawny in a small dairy on Whalesborough Farm, near the coast in North Cornwall, using milk from the farm's dairy herd.  

Montgomery's Cheddar, known as the king of Cheddars! A rich and nutty artisan crafted cheese, drier than most Cheddars, with a grainy texture. It's made with unpasteurised milk and uses traditional animal rennet to set the curd. 

 

Made in North Cadbury, Somerset, this handmade cheese is wrapped in cloth to mature for a minimum of 12 months. Made from the milk of the farm's own herd of Friesian cows, it contains no flavouring, colouring or preservative and is made in the long standing traditional way. The Montgomery family believe it is possibly the only farmhouse Cheddar still produced using an old, slow peg mill to create the peculiar fissuring and brittleness of the cheese.  

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An award winnng blue cheese, sweet, mild and creamy, made in the traditional way by the Cornish Cheese Company. Perfect on its own with a glass of port. Good for flavouring sauces and other dishes. 

 

The 'simple' production process is carried out entirely by hand. Vegetarian rennet and special starter cultures are added to the milk to make the cheeses, which are dry salted by hand and then left to mature for 12-14 weeks. This cheese is made to be eaten young. 

 

The blueing occurs with a little help from nature and by piercing the cheeses regularly with stainless steel rods, to allow in the air which helps the blue mould spread throughout each cheese.  

 

 

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