Cheese Fest

Archive for the ‘Sheep’s milk’ Category

Pérail de Brebis (aged)

We found this for sale in a visiting French market. It was rather crusty and gnarly, so we had to try it.

Normally, Pérail de Bribis is a soft white delicate cheese, but this one was aged, turning into a hard, leathery disc.

The formerly white rind has turned mottled brown and beige. It smells rather like a farm outhouse.

Cutting into it reveals that it has become almost all rind, with a thin layer of soft khaki, grey pate. What little pate remains has a soft, silky texture similar to that of lemon curd..

The flavour is strong and bitter, with a burning spiciness. Not for the feint of heart cheese novice.

It is interesting and pleasant in a masochistic way. Best eaten on toasted fruit bread to counteract some of the bitterness.

Despite the seemingly negative write up, we actually rather liked it.

Reviewed by Nick and Olympia, 2019

(3.5/5)

Flower Marie

Soft fluffy cubes of delight made in the little village of Golden Cross, Sussex.

Each Flower Marie comes individually wrapped in waxed paper, like a pat of butter. Inside is a soft, bloomy, white mould covered cube of cheese.

The outside has no real smell, save a slight mushroominess one would expect from a mould rind cheese.

The pate is a pale yellow colour and smells faintly of grass and milk. The texture is soft, creamy and fudge like with a light, delicate fresh flavour, with hints of grass and the sweetness typical of a ewe’s milk cheese.

It’s an inoffensive and well behaved cheese suitable for offering to guests, whose taste in cheese may be uncertain. Delightfully pleasant.

Produced by  Golden Cross Cheese Ltd.

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick and Olympia, 2012

(3.5/5)

Crozier Blue

With a name like Crozier, you might expect this cheese to be French, but it is in fact, Irish. A crozier is a shepherd’s crook (Which is actually taken from the French word croisier, meaning cross bearer. A crosier, or crozier, is the staff with a cross or crook, that signifies an abbot or bishop. But, enough of that, this is a cheese blog, not an etymology class.) Crozier Blue Crozier is  made by Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers and the name was chosen because the Rock of Cashel is where St. Patrick’s crozier is set in a statue… and this is a sheep’s milk cheese (you see what they did there? ). It has a thin grey, sticky rind and a sweaty, cream coloured pate with blue / grey veining. The smell is somewhat reminiscent of a schoolboy’s dirty kit bag. Sweaty, but lacking the pungency of masculine pheromones. However, don’t let this put you off. The texture is strangely grainy, like semolina pudding. The flavour salty and sharp with quite a bite and a subtle sweetness that creeps in. Usually blue cheeses are best when taken with sweeter wines, but this combination produces a peculiar metallic aftertaste. Maybe it’s the sweetness of the cheese, but a drier wine is much better. Having said all this, Crozier is a good cheese. It’s strange quirks make it an interesting addition to the cheeseboard.

Produced by Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers.

Purchased from La Cave a Fromage, Brighton.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2014.

(3/5)

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Additional

A couple of weeks after purchase, it improved considerably. The texture became smoother and creamier and the flavour, much more mellow and satisfying. As a result, we had to re-evaluate our rating.

(4/5)

Beenleigh Blue

Wet and lumpy with randomly shaped holes and delicate blue veining, this cheese looks a bit like a yellowish Roquefort, but that’s where the similarity ends.

It has a pleasing, soft and crumbly texture. On first tasting, it is intensely blue, a bit like a Danish blue. From this, you imagine that what will follow will be sharp and acidic. You prepare yourself for the for the bite… but it never materialises.

What actually happens is rather weird and somewhat hard to describe. There’s a strange acetone like, alcoholic hit. Like someone’s hidden a sliver of pear drop in it, or opened a bottle of nail polish. This quickly disappears and leaves you with a very distinct walnut and burnt toffee like aftertaste. It almost doesn’t taste like cheese at all. Most unexpected, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Fantastic, because it is so unusual!

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(4/5)

Sussex Slipcote (Basil)

This is one of a whole range of cheeses from the High Weald Dairy on the edge of the Ashdown Forest bearing the name. Apparently, the name Slipcote means little cottage (slippe cote).  It is made to a traditional recipe that stems from the middle ages.

The one we selected for review was flavoured with basil. This was chosen, simple because we had not come across  it before.

It is a soft fresh sheep’s cheese, very pale green with little green flecks of chopped basil. There is little to no smell.

The texture is very soft and mousse like, spreading easily. It has a lemony fresh flavour with a delicate, fragrant taste of fresh basil (just what you’d expect really).

Pleasant enough, but unremarkable. A good cheese to have on a cracker as a light snack.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2012

(2/5)

 

 

Pecorino Con Tartufo

Sheep’s milk cheese with truffle.

A pale yellow, soap bar shaped cheese dotted with bits of black truffle.

This is fairly young, soft and creamy compared with unflavoured pecorino. The flavour is also quite mild, but this is a good thing. Too strong and it would overpower the flavour of the truffle. It is delightfully creamy with a wonderful truffle flavour.

Delicious! A delightful and different addition to any cheese board.

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2011.

(4/5)

Norfolk White Lady

With its sticky, goopy, pale ivory paste and dusty white rind, this looks very much like a traditional French Camembert. Norfolk White Lady Indeed, the the similarities go beyond, the visual. Taste wise, it has a very strong Camembert like flavour, with one major distinction, the presence of a slight goatiness that gives away its origins as a sheep’s cheese. Another difference is its lack of the unmistakable Camembert “knock you over when you open the fridge door” smell. Instead, there is little smell, with only a slight hint of ammonia from the rind.

Purchased from Bakers and Larners, Holt.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2012.

(4/5)

Brebis Rousse

A visually pleasing and tidily presented cheese, with its neat rectangular form, bright orange/red rind and dusting of white moulds.

This is a complex cheese, with many different aspects for the palate.

Firstly, there is a real “farm yard” smell, which is always a good sign . Initially there appears to be very little flavour, but after a few seconds, it starts to build. It begins with a flavour like many mild, semi-soft cheeses. Then there’s a definite goatiness, which is highly unusual for a sheep’s cheese. As this fades, it leaves a salty aftertaste.

Like most washed rind cheeses, when eaten with wine, it introduces a new element to the flavour. With Brebis Rousse, it comes in the form of a spicyness.

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(3.5/5)

 

 

 

Cabrales

Cabrales is a Spanish blue cheese made primarily from cow’s milk but often with ewe and goat added.It has a grey/green colouration and a crumbly texture. It’s flavour, however, is a somewhat acquired taste. Cabrales This cheese should come with a warning. Tasting is not for the feint of heart. It starts off pleasant enough, it’s paste is initially creamy, but then something awful happens. The acrid taste hits you like you’re chewing on a wasp, sharp, acid, bitter. It instantly dries the mouth, turning it inside-out and making it difficult to swallow. Then it burns and burns… and then it burns some more. I can only liken it to licking the corroded contacts of leaky PP3 battery. Once swallowed, the bitter aftertaste lingers and it leaves you with a sore throat. This is the vindaloo of the cheese world. Used, I’m sure, by young, testosterone charged, Spanish men, as a post drinking session test of machismo. It is worth tasting, if only for the experience, but it is advisable to have a large glass of water close to hand.

Tasted at La Fromagerie, London (no, we didn’t buy any)

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2010

(0/5)

Manchego

A hard whitish sheep’s milk cheese, coated in a synthetic waxy inedible rind.

This Spanish cheese becomes almost translucent, from the outside in, as it ages so it is easy to see whether it is worth buying. Ideally, you want to look for a translucent edge about 1cm (3/8″) deep.

Biting into manchego is deeply satisfying. The slight crunchiness of the lactic acid crystals together with its firm almost wax-like texture can be quite sensual. The flavour is rich, robust, slightly nutty and embodies the essence of what you expect a cheese to be.

Great just to nibble on whilst sipping a glass of wine, but also very good melted in a warmed ciabatta with tomato, onion and olives.

This cheese is an old favourite of ours and a yard-stick by which others are judged.

Purchased from any supermarket (the quality is fairly reliable).

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(5/5)