Tag Archives: rind-washing

January 10, 2014 · 10:29 am

Ogleshield

People don’t tend to talk about cheese coincidences, do they? Perhaps most people don’t have cheese coincidences. I’m not sure I used to, to be honest, but if you’re going to eat a lot of cheese and read about a lot of cheese, it’s going to happen. And so it was when some friends came round for a fondue night and brought with them the gift of a chunk of cheese. (Kind guests! Wise guests!) The cheese was called Ogleshield and it just so happened that one of the cheeses that was lying in an enormous grated cheese-mountain behind me, ready to be fondued, was Bermondsey Hardpressed. And goodness me, what do you know, they only go and share a Cheese-Daddy! (That’s very different from a Sugar Daddy by the way…)

Here is the Ogleshield (it was vacuum-packed so I don’t think it usually looks quite this shiny):

Ogleshield cheese
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November 20, 2013 · 2:40 pm

It’s a Sunday…there’s an R in the month…must be time for Another Eight Cheeses

I’ve already written about two previous tastings which I attended at one of my local cheeseries, Cannon and Cannon, hosted by cheese-meister Ned Palmer. For a self-educating cheese geek like myself, they’ve proved a great way to try several great British cheeses in one go, as well as learn a little about their history and production. You can read about the previous two here and here.

The theme this month was Winter Warmers and the tasting reflected both the changing nature of cheese throughout the seasons, as well as the fact that as humans we tend to crave different foodstuffs according to whether it’s hot or cold. With regards to taste, the colder weather tends to makes us crave something with a bit more oomph; substantial rather than salady, comforting rather than cooling.
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October 22, 2013 · 9:34 am

Another Eight Cheeses…

Never one to miss the opportunity to try several new cheeses in one sitting, I recently hiked across to Brixton again to one of Ned Palmer’s tastings at Cannon and Cannon. If you missed the last instalment, ‘Eight Cheeses in One Day’, you can check out what I snaffled last time here.

The theme of this tasting was ‘Cheese and Culture’ in which Ned attempted to show how cheese has evolved through history according to the environments and societies which produced it. With two hours ticking on the clock and just eight cheeses on the plate (just eight cheeses!), Ned himself admitted that it was never going to be a comprehensive and chronological survey of global cheese history but it was certainly interesting. I won’t attempt to reproduce everything he said, partly because he might sue me and partly mainly because I drank some beer and can’t remember. But I will tell you about the lovely cheeses and drop a few nuggets of information in as I recall them.
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September 13, 2013 · 9:52 am

Oxford Isis

After surviving a brush with Stinking Bishop last month, I got cocky and decided to plump for another washed rind cheese. Traditionally renowned as ‘the really stinky ones’, these are the cheeses that get banned from public transport or the ones you should sew into the cushions if your spouse has an affair. This time round it was Oxford Isis and I have to say, things were not looking good when I got into the car and my other half said, ‘Oh no, I think the baby’s just done something’, a refrain that was to be repeated every time I opened the fridge door over the next two days.
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August 23, 2013 · 9:40 am

Stinking Bishop

I’d heard so much talk about Stinking Bishop that I was starting to think it was some sort of novelty cheese. Dubbed ‘the stinkiest cheese in Britain’ in 2009, it seems to be the marmite of cheese-lovers – you either love it or hate it. My sister’s boyfriend adores it but the Other Half thinks it’s the devil’s work. Its appearance in a Wallace and Gromit film where it raised Wallace from the dead further cemented its reputation as a hardcore cheese.

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May 24, 2013 · 10:29 am

Pont L’Évêque

As I sheltered under a shop awning, watching the hail bouncing off the pavements on an English ‘summer’ morning, my mind turned to sunny holidays and then narrowed it down to holidays that aren’t too far away, what with having to listen to small people asking ‘Are we there yet?’ for the entire journey. So, when I finally emerged back into the soggy street, I had decided upon France for my holidays and French cheese for this week’s fromage.
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May 17, 2013 · 9:29 am

Burwash Rose

I was drawn to this cheese for the simple reason that it looked a bit like Brie. ‘Ah, this one is rind-washed,’ says the cheese-man behind the counter. ‘Do you know about rind-washing?’

This was my first venture to a proper cheese-shop and I was feeling awkward and amateur. I went to an Ann Summers shop once and felt the same way, gawping at shelves full of ‘what-the-hell-do-you-do-with-that’s?!’ When an assistant asked me what I was looking for, I legged it and went to get a cup of tea. Determined to be braver this time, I admitted my ignorance of rind-washing and fortunately the cheese-man was nice and not at all patronising. (As an aside, I suspect if you started talking about rind-washing in an Ann Summers shop, it probably means something quite filthy…) Continue reading →

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