Board games
A celebration of British cheeses and what you should pair them with
With more varieties available than ever before, British cheese is in boom. ImogenLepere helps you find the perfect selection
With more than 700 cheeses now being crafted on these verdant shores, it’s safe to say that we’re living in a golden age of cheesemaking. We grilled Hero Hirsh, one-time World Cheesemonger of the Year and manager of Paxton & Whitfield’s London shops, to help curate your British cheeseboard. She says: ‘People are really embracing unusual products and techniques that British cheesemakers are playing with at the moment. As the price of continental cheese continues to rise post Brexit, we’re expecting the British industry to gather momentum.’
Building your board
The single biggest factor that affects how cheese tastes is the milk: if it is cow, sheep or goat; whether it has been pasteurised; and how long it has been aged for. What an animal eats also has a significant impact, and this is hugely affected by the seasons.
Cheeses produced from summer milk lean towards fresh, floral flavours because the herds have been cropping clover, wildflowers and herbs. When animals are moved inside during winter, a silage-based diet results in robust cheeses with a slight sweetness.
Having a good geographical spread will also ensure your board has lots of flavours. For example, in Cheshire, cattle graze on seawater marshes and one of the principle characteristics is a maritime, salty flavour. Cows that crop the West Country’s lush pastures produce rich milk, resulting in cheese with a high fat content and buttery flavour.
‘The perfect cheeseboard needs to have a balance of textures. I recommend starting with a hard, soft and blue, then adding a washed rind and a goat’s cheese,’ says Hirsh. A hard cheese such as Berwick Edge provides an excellent foundation. Made from raw cow’s milk, its full, meaty flavours are the result of a 15-month ageing process. ‘This product is made by Neill and Jackie Maxwell, who learned cheesemaking in the Netherlands. It’s like an aged Gouda in style but is made in Northumberland,’ says Hirsch. ‘Something we’re seeing a lot of is cheese mimicking European classics by using the same techniques but with British ingredients.’
How ripe a soft cheese should be is a matter of taste. In France, the culture is to eat Camembert while it still has a chalky heart but the fashion among British cheese lovers is to wait until it’s as gooey as toasted marshmallows. Bix is a triple cream from Oxfordshire which is made in a similar way to the French classic, Chaource.
Cropwell Bishop Creamery is known for its award-winning Stilton PDO but add a slab of its Beauvale to your board and prepare to be blown away by the texture. As it ages, the curds break down so it’s soft and oozy in the centre, yet tastes like a Gorgonzola. A firmer goat’s cheese such as Pennard Ridge from Somerset will provide a contrast, and is one of Hirsh’s all-time favourites.
Because of their very limited production scale, artisan cheeses are only available in specialist cheese shops and delis rather than supermarkets so it’s worth taking the time to seek one out.