Humans have been eating cheese for thousands of years. According to the website I Love Cheese, there is evidence of cheese making in ancient Switzerland from 6000BC, and the Babylonians were making it in 3500BC. Egyptians left behind four-thousand year old drawings of cheese being made and stored in bags suspended from poles. Cheese is loved by all – babies, children and adults alike.
September 26th 2009 marks the beginning of British Cheese Week. The British may not be well-known for their cheese but there are a number of cheeses to be tried from these shores. Salty, sweet, creamy, crumbly, tangy… Britain has them all. Here are the top five.
Brie and Camembert
Since the mention of these cheeses is more likely to invoke images of the Eiffel Tower than leafy Somerset, it would be worth giving British Camembert and Brie a chance. Soft and tangy, either is delicious in crusty rolls with smoked ham or in toasted sandwiches. They can also be cut into wedges, coated with egg and breadcrumbs and deep fried. This turns them crispy on the outside and meltingly gooey (and molten-hot) on the inside. Serve with some sweet cranberry sauce or membrillo, a slightly granular sweet paste made from quince.
Less fussy, but equally delicious and comforting, is just to spread slices of Somerset Brie or Camembert on hot toast for a quick snack.
Red Leicester
Red Leicester is an old favourite, and with its orange colour it livens up a sandwich or salad. Red Leicester melts well and is perfect on jacket potatoes. In sandwiches, its sweet, creamy taste works well with sharp tomatoes – try it grated with chopped spring onions, mayonnaise and tomato slices.
Red Leicester was made since the Middle Ages, and was so popular that the British Cheese Board reports that in the town of Leicester, a market dedicated to cheese was established in 1759. Early versions of the cheese are thought to have been aesthetically enhanced by the addition of the juice of carrots or beetroots. Other sources have said that the cheese originally got its colour from cows that had grazed in carrot fields, altering the colour of their milk.
Cornish Yarg
Yarg is a relatively new cheese, that began life not in the Middle Ages but the 1980s. It is made in Cornwall by Lynher Dairies. As their website explains, the curiously named Yarg gets its name from the “Gray” family who first owned the recipe for the cheese. They reversed the letters in the surname to give the cheese its name.
After being made, and before being left to mature, the individual truckles of cheese are wrapped delicately in nettle leaves, which form a mouldy but edible rind. The result of the leaf-wrapping is a beautiful blue-green relief on the outside of the cheese of overlapped leaf patterns. Lynher Dairies have also developed a garlic leaf-wrapped Yarg, so that the cheese is infused with garlic.
Under the surface of the rind, the cheese is first creamy and then crumbly in the core. The taste has been described as “mushroom-like”, a result of the taste of the leaves they are wrapped in. Yarg is slightly more difficult to find at local supermarkets but can be found in some larger stores and online.
Goats Cheese
Lower in cholesterol than many other cheeses, goat’s cheese is one considered by many people who are dieting or watching what they eat. It is perfect for grilling, spreading and melted into pasta. It has a tart flavour and is often baked and served in salads but can also be used in potato and onion bakes.
Goats cheese is a very versatile cheese that needs to be tried if only because its flavour is unlike many other cheeses. It is a like-it-or-hate-it type of cheese. It may be lower in cholesterol than cheese made from cow’s milk, but it loses none of the calcium so may have nutritional and health benefits for those watching their cholesterol intake.
Wensleydale
Spurred on by the success of Ardman’s “Wallace and Gromit” movies, Wensleydale has enjoyed a revival in recent years. Crumbly, pale and sweet, with a fresh acidity, it is wonderful in salads and on cheeseboards for special occasions. It is believed, and reported by the Information Britain website that monks originally from Roquefort settled in the North Yorkshire town of Wensleydale, and began making the cheese in the 1300s.
Wensleydale is also one of the many cheeses that are often blended with cranberries or apricots, the sweet fruit working well with the sharpness of the cheese and providing a burst of sweetness in the mouth. Cut a slice of this cheese and it is studded with dark red cranberries or pale orange apricot chunks, an ideal way to also add colour to your cheeseboard.
What Cheeses Britain Has to Offer
Britain has a wide range of cheeses on offer from the tangy Brie to the sweet and tart Wensleydale. There are healthier options in goat’s cheese, and if you prefer creamier cheese there is always Red Leicester. In saying this, no ploughman’s lunch or British Cheeseboard could be complete without a mellow, tangy cheddar or crumbly blue-veined stilton. Next time you plan a cheeseboard remember the British Cheeses - you might be impressed!
With thanks to the British Cheese Board. For more recipes and information visit their website here.
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