Cheese lovers flock to World Championships final

Hundreds of cheese lovers have paid $25 each this Wednesday to be a part of the World Championship Cheese Contest taking place in Wisconsin.

Historically the cheese championships have been a low-key affair,  but with a growing number of foodies, the artisan cheese competition has become a hot ticket as this was the first year the international contest charged admission to the finals!

Judging in cheese is very similar to and wine contests. Judges roll entries in their mouths, search for subtle differences in characteristics and then discard the samples. Some cheese judges even wipe their tongues with napkins between tastings.

The three-day contest began on Monday with judges grading 2,500 entries in 82 cheese and butter classes on flavour, texture, body and colour. Wisconsin, outperformed every other state in the semi-finals. Other brands familiar to Americans that made it to the finals were Cabot and President. The winner of the sharp cheddar (aged 6 months to 1 year) category went to Cracker Barrel, made by Kraft.

Kid you not – we love a bit of Goat!

A New York Times article today mentions how the world’s cheese inventory keeps growing as there are more cheese-makers creating ever more different cheeses. Surprisingly, in the United States no goat cheeses were made before 1981 and now there are more than 200.

We love Capria soft goat cheese made by Lightwood Cheeses and will be featuring it in one of our wedding cakes this weekend.

Lightwood Cheese is set in the heart of the Worcestershire countryside, a stone’s throw from the birthplace of Edward Elgar. All their cheeses are entirely handmade and unpasteurised, Lightwood Cheese is a member of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association and are also found in Rick Stein’s Food Heroes Guide.

The other cheese we must mention here is, Ticklemore made in Devon, not only does is have a fantastic name it is a delicious goats cheese that no-one could resist! It is made with full fat unpasteurised milk, giving it a fat content of 48%. Each cheese is hand moulded in baskets, giving them an unusual flattened sphere shape.

Wedding Guests…

I don’t think there are many people who could boast such interesting names at their wedding. Fancy having the joy of presenting to your
guests the prestigious Montgomery, Leicester of Sparkenhoe, Colston Basset and that old sage Derby with a bit of Godminstering from the Cropwell Bishop and that famous reprobate the Stinking Bishop. And indeed, these VIPs in no way over-shadow that particularly wild
garlic Yarg, the Lincolnshire Poacher or the little Dambuster in his black coat.

Also, one must never forget to introduce the beautiful White Nancy and some of her ash-coated friends. We will always being giving Two
Hoots for those wonderful blues from Barkham and enjoy the ‘fairy dust on grass’ from Ireland.

These are a few of the wonderful names you could ‘drop’ when you choose to have a cheese wedding cake made from whole cheese. It’s fun and, I promise, you will not be disappointed, nor will your guests!

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something … blue veined?

The Cheese Wedding Cake has undoubtedly become more popular in the UK over the last few years and I get a lot less of – you make cakes out of cheese – sweet cake, right? No, cheese – whole wheels of cheese! Yes – Brie, Cheddar…..

I guess for some people the traditional fruitcake has died a death, but some do like to stick with traditions – so I say, have both!

If you have a passion for cheese – it is the most delicious thing you can have at the end of your wedding meal, rather than something sweet. Plus most of your guests will have already had pudding – so save those cupcakes for when you get home and share the cheese.

If I was Kate Middleton, I would have also demanded a cheese cake, especially with Charles, The Prince of Wales, having his own brand of cheese made from organic unpasteurised milk from Ayrshire cows grazing at his Highgrove home….

Get Tasty This Valentine’s Day with heart-shaped cheese

With Valentines just around the corner we thought we’d let you in on a little secret – most of us would prefer a heart shaped cheese, than a heart shaped box of chocolates – or perhaps both!!

So we thought we’d list a few of our favourites….

Where is the sting in this heart-shaped nettle-wrapped cheese?

Lynher Diary, the home of the Yarg –  a scrumptious semi-hard cheese from Cornwall – makes one of the most visually stunning heart cheeses all wrapped in nettle leaves; as well as having a deliciously creamy taste, the nettle leaves create a natural and entirely edible rind.

Perhaps for the hot lovers the choice might be the heart-shaped cheese from  Godminster – vintage organic cheddar, in deep red wax. This cheddar is strong, with a creamy rather than crumbly texture & is very, very tasty. 

Finally, Coeur de Neufchatel – a beautiful white creamy heart. Normally we stick to British cheeses, but this one is simply delicious – it will enrich any cheese board! Neufchatel is a soft, slightly crumbly. mould ripen cheese made in Normandy. Legend has it that the heart shape is due to young women who wanted to discreetly express their feelings for  the English soldiers during the wars in the Middle Ages…so it is the perfect cheese for Valentines. 

Cornwall – The Crown of Cheese

We have always been BIG fans of the Cornish Blue made in Liskeard by Philip and Carol Stansfield. It is a soft, mellow and sweet  blue cheese  – which will melt in your mouth! It is quite often a cheese we recommend for cheese wedding cakes as they do a fabulous little truckle.

Anyway – they have just won this year’s World Cheese Awards they were up against 2,600 entries from 26 countries. 

Roquefort and Époisses de Bourgogne, world famous French cheese producers, are feeling rather ’blue’ after Cornish Blue was declared the world’s best. Although, the great classics from France will retain their positions on the cheeseboard, Britain has joined the league. We now have 700 home-grown cheeses while the French only 600…

So what makes Cornish Blue the King of the Blues?

The production process is carried out entirely by hand, relying purely on their skilled cheesemakers. Vegetarian rennet and special starter cultures are added to the milk to make the cheeses, which are dry salted by hand before being left to mature for between 12 and 14 weeks. The blueing occurs with a little help from nature and by piercing the cheeses each week with stainless steel rods, allowing in air which helps the blue mould spread right through each cheese.

They have also received ‘Supreme Champion Cheese’ from The Royal Bath & West Show 2010 – so this is one cheese that should be on your Christmas list.