November New and Award Winning Cheese
November New Cheese
These are some lovely cheeses that we’ve never had before - new to you, recent award winners or simply ones we have only just discovered.
1 Open Air Cheddar (V + P) New and pretty unique. The cows are milked right there in the field where they happen to be grazing – so they simply hang out in the open air and don't get rounded up and brought in for milking. Mobile milking parlours go to the cows - where ever they are. This makes them a lot happier and healthier. The Open Air Dairy is nestled amongst the South Dorset Downs, with wind sweeping in off the sea. This stunning location and rather gentle farming methods is what makes this cheese taste so great.
2 Beacon Blue (V+P) Silvery like the moon, silky, smooth, creamy and rather fresh on the tongue, this is a goat’s milk blue cheese with plenty of tang! Crafted in open vats, then poured into individual moulds, turned by hand and matured under the watchful eyes of the cheese experts at Butlers until it reaches perfect maturity.
3 Ravens Oak (V+P) This won Best Soft Cheese at the 2012 World Cheese Awards and then the Gold Award for the Best White Mould Cheese at the Virtual Cheese Award 2021. It’s creamy, white soft goat's cheese that's handmade traditionally and poured into small moulds where it naturally matures for around three weeks creating a bloomy white rind.
4 Butlers Smouldering Ember (V+P) When oak smoked, this classic Red Leicester from Butlers transforms into something stunning. The result is rather bold, warm and hearty, with delightful smoky flavour, and all the characteristics of a great smooth Red Leicester. Winner of Best British Enhanced Cheese at The Virtual Cheese Awards 2021.
5 Villa Daslook (P not V) the Dutch have a reputation for adding some crazy stuff to their traditional gouda cheeses – this one is infused with wild garlic. This beautifully herbed cheese has been matured for eight weeks and has a particularly creamy taste. This was awarded a Silver Award at the International Cheese Awards 2022!
6 Rock Star - a true cave-aged cheddar from Snowdonia Cheese Co. matured to perfection in Welsh slate caverns in the heart of Snowdonia. Rich, deep, smooth, and creamy with the occasional crunchy crystal – a highly desirable characteristic of aged cheeses – with complex umami flavours developped in the caverns it is aged in.
7 Double Dutch (P + V) a cheese made by layering creamy cow's milk cheese and a lush goat's cheese, separated by a small layer of ash made from burnt vine leaves.
8 Button Mill (P+V) this little cheese starts life in tiny artisan basins in small batches – made one at a time. Each cheese is a hand made individual, right from the beginning, when it is placed into its own mould. Master cheesemakers at Butlers bring the cheese through its short ripening and maturation period to create its distinct flavour. Button Mill won Bronze for Non Traditional Soft Cheese and Bronze for Best New Cheese at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards 2021.