November 29, 2016 · 11:48 am

An Evening of Comté Cheese

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The eagle-eyed amongst you may be muttering ‘Comté is neither a British nor an Irish cheese’ and you are, of course, correct. When I was invited to an evening to find out more about the French cheese, I flip-flopped as to whether to attend. Eventually, I decided to cross the cheese Channel because a) I’ve got two children and I don’t get out much; b) Comté is a nice cheese; and c) I am interested in different production methods and systems, so thought it would be interesting to head to the mountains that we tend to lack this side of La Manche. Blame it on The Oxford Companion to Cheese; it’s got me sniffing after all manner of furrin cheeses.

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November 22, 2016 · 10:04 am

Red Onion Soup with Dewlay’s Lancashire Toasts

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It’s hard to know what to eat for lunch when you work from home. Unless you live somewhere a lot cooler than me, gone are the days of sushi on a Monday, falafel on a Wednesday and mashed-avocado-something on a Friday. For a long time I relied on fish-finger sandwiches or cheese toasties, both of which are delicious in their own right but, long-term, don’t tend to deliver much in the way of either filling you up for the afternoon, or providing much nutritional benefit. So recently I switched to salads in the summer and soup in the winter. You really can’t beat toasted cheese though, so here it is, ingeniously incorporated into some soup.

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November 16, 2016 · 11:02 am

The Oxford Companion to Cheese: A Review

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It’s fair to say I own quite a few books about cheese. When people visit my house for the first time, especially if they haven’t known me very long, they often at some point emerge from the downstairs toilet, look at me in a strange way and mutter something along the lines of ‘gosh, there are quite a few…erm…cheese books in there, aren’t there?’ I like to smile enigmatically at them and not give any explanation. If you doubt my cheese book collection but are still awaiting your invitation to my water closet, here’s a sneak preview of the top shelf:

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November 4, 2016 · 10:18 am

Yorkshire Fettle

I once met someone who told me that his friend had written her dissertation about cheese names. It might sound a bit daft and perhaps the sort of thing that would trigger a spluttering Daily Mail article about the pointlessness of academia. But, actually, I think it sounds quite interesting. Cheese names can often tell an informative or evocative story. They can be geographical (Fosse Way Fleece, Parlick Fell), historical (Edmund Tew, Howard) or even linguistic (Norfolk Mardler, Mouth Almighty). I had heard about Yorkshire Fettle precisely because of how it came by its name but hadn’t managed to track any down, so was chuffed when Aldi sent me some to try as part of their new range:

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November 1, 2016 · 10:53 am

Pumpkin and Chestnut Macaroni Cheese

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Never fear, Halloween haters, it’s safe to come out for another year. Love it or hate it, it’s undeniable that the surge in spooky celebrations has been a boon for pumpkin farmers. Every year, we enter the fiercely competitive Tooting Common Pumpkin Carving Competition and even managed to score a second prize last year with the scary fellow above. This year – allotment smugness alert – we managed to grow our own. I would love to take credit for their vastness by claiming that I’d administered secret potions or performed arcane fertility rites but, in reality, I forgot what I’d planted and only discovered them when we returned from a fortnight’s holiday.

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October 28, 2016 · 8:41 am

Baked Cornish Camembert in Autumn Vine Leaves

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I planted a vine in the garden a couple of years ago, with the intention of joining our local wine co-operative (yes, there really is such a thing in Tooting). However, despite attempting to take over the entire street, it only ever produces about three bunches of pathetic, raisin-like grapes. The foliage though is lush, especially as the season starts to turn at this time of year, and I’ve had my eye on the leaves for some time.

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October 26, 2016 · 8:07 am

Aldi’s Artisan British Cheese Range

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First, a confession. When I received an initial email from Aldi’s PR people, telling me that they were launching a new British cheese range, my first thought was along the lines of ‘Euw, that’s unlikely to be pleasant.’ It wasn’t a snobbish reaction against discount outlets but more a terror of supermarket cheese in general. I was once on a panel that had to judge supermarket territorial cheese and it was a fairly dismal experience. It was impossible to tell apart a Wensleydale from a Caerphilly, Lancashire or Cheshire, and the orange versions could equally have been Red Leicester or Double Gloucester. I digress but, in conclusion, I nearly did the British thing of ignoring the email entirely.

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October 19, 2016 · 9:14 am

Cornish Blue and Veggie ‘Stargazy’ Pie

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One of my favourite blogs is Mrs Portly’s Kitchen. If you haven’t come across it before, do check it out for a wealth of local, seasonal and also more exotic recipes. I do, however, have one criticism of its author, Linda, and that is her point-blank refusal to cook and write about Stargazy Pie. For those unfamiliar with the dish, it’s a Cornish speciality, renowned for the fact that the heads of the baked pilchards poke out through the pastry. You can see photos of it here, as well as read about the legend of heroic fisherman Tom Bawcock, who is said to have inspired the dish.

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October 12, 2016 · 8:47 am

Wensleydale, Apple and Thyme Muffins

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Now that both children are at school I am endeavouring to be a good mother and provide them with a vaguely nutritious snack. Last week was flapjacks; stuffed with maple syrup and dried fruit, they were predictably well-received. This week I thought I’d gamble with savoury. Now that the season is mellowly fruitful etc. etc. apples are in abundance and so I’ve paired sweet eaters with a creamy sheep’s milk Wensleydale to make these muffins. There’s also a passing nod here to the Yorkshire saying ‘an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze’ (note though, Mr Trump – you ask first).

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October 7, 2016 · 9:15 am

Edmund Tew

If there were a prize for the cheese with the best story behind its name, Edmund Tew would be right up there as a contender. Alas, there isn’t such a gong and so the cheese had to make do with winning Gold at the 2015 British Cheese Awards, which isn’t too bad either when you think about it.

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