Artisan Somerset Cheddar
artisan somerset cheddar
Cheddar is one of the most famous cheeses in the world but also one of the cheeses most often produced industrially. Barely 5% of the 400 producers who made Cheddar in the cheese's home territory—the county of Somerset in southwest England—a half-century ago remain in business. The centralization of cheesemaking in the years following World War II had significant effects on traditional Cheddar production in Britain. First, official requirements for cheese to have specific moisture content (to enhance keeping properties) led to the elimination of moister types. Secondly, the number of farms that resumed production after the war was greatly reduced. The introduction of rindless block cheeses and frequent use of pasteurized milk further reduced the unique characteristics of Cheddar made in southwest England. But an artisan, handmade version still exists, made in the rich dairy pastures surrounding the town of Cheddar in Somerset, where a few farmers continue to produce the region's traditional cheese.
The cheese curd is created using old strains of bacteria (known as 'pint starters'; these are based on traditional local microflora) and calf rennet, both of which help to provide broad, round flavors. The curds are cut until they're about the size of a grain of rice, then they are poured onto a draining table where the real work begins. The curds are ‘cheddared’ by being formed into blocks, which are stacked and turned by hand for an hour. This changes the texture from crumbly lumps to pliable, elastic slabs and gives the finished cheese its unique texture. Before being transferred to the aging room, the slabs are bandaged with lard-soaked muslin. During the aging process, the cheese’s natural crust remains intact and is never shrink-wrapped or treated in any way to aid moisture retention. A single form of Presidium Cheddar weighs 50 to 60 pounds, and is aged for at least 11 months, though it can be aged up to two years.
Artisan Somerset Cheddar has a richly moldy brownish gray rind and an intensely hay-yellow curd. The texture is firm yet buttery, and the curd has flavors of caramelized milk, hazelnut, and bitter herbs.
The Presidium
All three Presidium members make only ten to twenty cheeses a day and—from start to finish—each form takes three days to make. Presidium members only use milk produced on their farms and they use it, untreated, within a day of milking and solely local 'pint starters' are used to culture the milk. The Presidium has been created with the goal of educating consumers about a different type of Cheddar made from fresh local raw milk and crafted by hand. This Presidium will also promote taste education, participate in local and international gourmet events (where the presence of an ‘artisan’ Cheddar often raises eyebrows), spread the understanding of traditional British farming techniques, and adopt sustainable cheesemaking and agricultural techniques.
Production Area:
Somerset County
Presidium Coordinator:
Randolph Hodgson, Tel. +44 20 7645 3550 - randolph@nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Somerset Cider Brandy
Cider apples have been grown in the West of England for centuries, but they are most strongly associated with Somerset. The art of distilling was probably first practiced in the monasteries and abbeys, certainly there are records of their presses and stills being sold when Henry VIII ordered their dissolution in 1536. The first written record of cider brandy being distilled in Somerset is in 1676 and, noting the success of Dutch Gin and Brandy in France, some experimentation with distilling cider certainly took place toward the end of the 17th century. The exact extent of historic production is unknown, since most of it was done illegally in order to avoid taxes, but it never became popular in the way that it had in France. However, the ancient skills were revived in 1989 when the first full cider-distilling license in the recorded history of Somerset was granted.
Cider Brandy is distilled from the fermented juice of a blend of cider apples. The spirit is then aged in oak barrels, which impart both colour and flavour, until at a minimum of 3 years it can be called brandy.
Contact:
Slow Food Somerset: Jess Dennis jessbudd@mac.com
Dorset Blue Vinny
dorset blue vinny
Dorset Blue Vinny is particularly interesting as an example of the skimmed-milk cheeses which used to be made with the milk left over from butter-making virtually all over Britain. Many of them, apparently including Blue Vinny, were so hard that jokes were made about them, such as that they were used for the soles of shoes. Michael Davies’s version, however, is crumbly rather than hard and does not strike one as particularly low-fat: this is partly because the milk is skimmed by hand, as is traditional, which means that it retains a small but significant proportion of fat (Michael reckons about three per cent). Despite the fact that the cheese is sometimes very blue, it is not overwhelmingly strong, since the mould has a relatively mild herbal taste. It is not only very good on the cheeseboard, at this time of year perhaps with pears or fresh figs, but toasted or as a flavouring in cooking. The cheese is made of raw milk from the producer’s own herd of Friesians. Since the Second World War, the cheese was only made in very small quantities on one or two farms until it was revived by Michael Davies (member of the ‘Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association), who is now the sole producer. His output is 500-600 kg per week. The cheese is fairly widely distributed throughout England.
Contact:
Slow Food Dorset: John Peace john.peace3039@btinternet.com
Portland Lamb
Portland sheep are one of the oldest breed of sheep in the UK. It originated in the Island of Portland, not now strictly an island but a strip of land projecting into the English Channel from the southwest coast of England near Weymouth, Dorset.
The Portland Sheep is a small animal, the average adult ewe weighing 38-40 kg, compared with 60-80+ kg in a commercial breed. It is an attractive, hardy sheep, ideal for smallholders because of the size and thrifty grazing. An important quality of the breed is the ability to lamb out of season at any time of the year.
The breed produces exceptionally high-quality meat with fine texture and excellent flavour. The special flavour of the meat is due to the longer time it takes to mature and the recognition that it requires to be hung for a longer period to enhance that flavour and tenderness. Because the breed is naturally fine and lean, the meat needs careful butchering to present it at its best. It also benefits from slow cooking.
A key problem for survival is lack of numbers; unlike most breeds whose ewes routinely produce twins, the Portland ewe produces only one lamb per season. Secondly, Portland lambs need a longer time to finish (i.e. to become mature enough for slaughter).
There are about 20 registered flocks in the county of Dorset as a whole, and one small flock on the Island of Portland itself. It is difficult to keep the sheep on the Island today since grazing is beset with difficulties because of the proliferation of public footpaths, dogs on the loose, fencing restrictions and the spread of scrub (e.g. gorse, bracken and brambles) which, in turn, reduces available grass.
Contacts:
Slow Food Dorset: John Peace john.peace3039@btinternet.com
Portland Sheep Breeders’ Group, 01929 45999082, baacode.13@btopenworld.com
Fal Oysters
fal oyster
The Fal estuary, in Cornwall, has one of the few remaining stocks of native oysters in the United Kingdom, and the only one of wild oysters. Belonging to the Ostrea edulis species, the mollusks live on the river bed or on the layer of shells deposited there.
A law dating to 1868 makes it illegal to gather them with mechanical means or from crafts other than sail boats or row boats. The little fleet of oyster fishing boats from the port of Truro, the most important town in Cornwall, is the last one in the world to be made up entirely of sail boats and row boats, and the only one in Europe that is used for commercial purposes. Moreover, the oyster gatherers, united in the Port of Truro Oyster Fishermen's Protection Association, have drawn up regulations to protect this local resource. They use dredges, small hand- maneuvered nets, only capture mollusks with a shell larger than five centimeters in diameter, and have a very short fishing season. At the end of the hunt, they return to port and sell the oysters to the wholesalers (there are five along the Fal River), who take the oysters to one of two plants to be cleaned and then sell them to restaurant owners and shops in the county.
Despite sustainability measures and the abundant supply, the Fal oyster risks extinction because it is threatened by an infesting organism and the shoals are being damaged by the moorings of the yachts. Furthermore, the price of the mollusks has remained the same for more than 20 years, and the poor pay discourages young people from taking up the craft.
The Presidium:
Work is currently being undertaken to define standards of production for the presidium.
Production area:
Fal River estuary, county of Cornwall, England
Presidium Coordinator:
Clare Leverton, tel: 01872270333, clare@swpesca.co.uk
