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The Ultimate Christmas Cheese Board
#1: Wooky Hole Cheddar
Caves are great for maturing cheese because they have a constant temperature all year round and high humidity to stop cheese drying out during its maturation. Gerry Cottle, once the ringmaster and owner of Britain’s leading circus is now owner of historic Wookey Hole Caves near Wells in Somerset. He revived a 400 year old tradition by letting local cheese makers use Wookey Hole to mature cheddar in the cave. And this is one of those cheeses - a true British classic cave-aged cheddar! (V+P)
#2: Yorkshire Blue
Based in Thirsk in North Yorkshire, Shepherd’s Purse was started by the absolute legend Judy Bell on her farmhouse kitchen table back in the 80s. Today, her daughters Katie and Caroline are running the show and smashing it. They are the undisputed masters of blue cheese and the creamy Yorkshire Blue is a beautiful blue. When it was launched it was the first blue cheese to be made in Yorkshire for over 30 years. (V+P)
#3: Hawes Wensleydale with Cranberries
A classic Christmas cheese board staple – love it or hate it! It might divide the purists but it’s straight from the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales, you get that iconic, crumbly, milky cheese - clean, fresh, and beautiful. Then, the pop of juicy, ruby-red cranberries. It’s fruity, it’s fun - it’s basically a cheesecake you can eat on a cracker. (V+P)
#4: Ribblesdale Sheeps Cheese
Ribblesdale Sheeps Cheese is made in a small, family-run artisan dairy in Hawes, in't Yorkshire Dales. Founded in 1978 by Iain Hill, it is now run by his niece Iona Hill and her husband Stuart, whose team hand-make their acclaimed goat and sheep cheeses using traditional, small-batch methods. Ribblesdale Sheep’s cheese is a bit of a dairy rebel! There's nothing fluffy or wooly here - it’s tangy, bright, and crumbly with a bit of farmhouse funk. (V+P)
#5: Red Storm
This is a modern take on the famous Red Leicester. Made by the wonderful Snowdonia Cheese Company – who you might know for Black Bomber - this ‘redefines what you would expect from a Red Leicester’ – from WALES! Punchy, full-flavoured with all the characteristics people love - it’s a big Christmas sack of everything people love about cheese! (V+P)
#6: Délice de Bourgogne
A French cow’s milk cheese from the Burgundy region of France. It was first created in 1975 by Jean Lincet at Fromagerie Lincet. It’s a triple cream cheese! EXTRA double cream is added during the cheese-making process. Hailing from the stunning Burgundy region of France, this isn't just cheese, this is pure, unadulterated indulgence. Start the Christmas excess NOW! Luxuriant and blooming lush! (V+P)
#7: Lancashire Bowland
A fabulous traditional Lancashire cheese - crumbly, lactic, smooth and delicious, then add apples, raisins and cinnamon (!) until you get a cheese that is more like cake than cheese! Rich, sweet, with dried fruits and orchard apple, good hit of cinnamon bringing warmth and festive vibes… (V+P)
#8: Villa Chilli Fumé Gouda
A really rather special cheese - smoked with added chilli flakes. Made from thermised cow’s milk and matured for about 8 weeks, it is nice and soft, creamy in texture, spicy and full of flavour. The Villa range of Gouda cheeses is made by the Dutch cheese company Treur Kaas, a family business since 1955, based in Woerden the cheese center of the Netherlands. They work with selected farmers to create both traditional and more exotic cheeses. (V+P)