As well as our guest cheese this week, Durrus, I've also got another brilliant wee cheese to offer you - we have a limited number of St Cera available, a small but intense English washed rind cow’s milk cheese that's really quite strong, deeply nutty and farmyardy with a soft oozy centre that you can spoon out.
We've only got a few of these and they're going for just £4.88 each, so snap one up while you can!
Meanwhile, as the recent guest cheese Alp Blossom (the one with the flowers) was such a big hit, you'll see it on the cheese counter much more often! Sweet and fresh Stracciatella is also back this week for those who love the delicious combination of shredded Mozzarella and cream. As you can see below, our Al Fresco picnic boxes are back – a beautiful selection of cheeses and crackers in a takeaway box to enjoy on a summer outing at the very reasonable price of just £19.95!
All the best in cheese George Mewes
Guest Cheese of the Week Durrus
This pasteurized, semi-hard cow’s milk cheese is reminiscent of Gruyère: nutty and a bit beefy. The flora (flowers and herbs) which coat the rind give the cheese a unique herbaceous aroma and a meadowlike sweetness with savory nuances. The blend includes chervil, cornflower, lavender, lovage, marigold, marjoram and rose petals. The paste is pale yellow with occasional eyes (holes)*. It delivers flavors of cream and nuts, with a bit of mild washed rind funk on the finish. Alp Blossom is made by Sennerei Huban, Austria’s first cheese co-op and school, established in 1901 in Doren, a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The co-op works with 34 local milk herds, each with an average of about 15 Brown Swiss cows. Alp Blossom is made from Brown Swiss cow milk, handcrafted into 10-pound wheels that are aged for six months. The flora are applied at four months. Brown Swiss cows were bred to have milk with high butterfat content, that yields a rich flavor and a dense, creamy finish in the cheese. Alp Blossom starts as Hubaner, the co-op’s signature cheese: a firm wheel with a washed rind. After four months of aging, the wheel is covered in the flora. The result: Magic!
Read more at: https://blog.thenibble.com/2020/07/28/product-alp-blossom-cheese-from-austria-other-alpine-cheeses/This pasteurized, semi-hard cow’s milk cheese is reminiscent of Gruyère: nutty and a bit beefy. The flora (flowers and herbs) which coat the rind give the cheese a unique herbaceous aroma and a meadowlike sweetness with savory nuances. The blend includes chervil, cornflower, lavender, lovage, marigold, marjoram and rose petals. The paste is pale yellow with occasional eyes (holes)*. It delivers flavors of cream and nuts, with a bit of mild washed rind funk on the finish. Alp Blossom is made by Sennerei Huban, Austria’s first cheese co-op and school, established in 1901 in Doren, a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The co-op works with 34 local milk herds, each with an average of about 15 Brown Swiss cows. Alp Blossom is made from Brown Swiss cow milk, handcrafted into 10-pound wheels that are aged for six months. The flora are applied at four months. Brown Swiss cows were bred to have milk with high butterfat content, that yields a rich flavor and a dense, creamy finish in the cheese. Alp Blossom starts as Hubaner, the co-op’s signature cheese: a firm wheel with a washed rind. After four months of aging, the wheel is covered in the flora. The result: Magic!
Read more at: https://blog.thenibble.com/2020/07/28/product-alp-blossom-cheese-from-austria-other-alpine-cheeses/
When former fashion designer Jeffa Gill moved to the country in 1979 and began making cheese in her kitchen from the milk of her eight cows, she could hardly have known that her humble creation would soon be hailed as one of the finest artisanal cheeses in Ireland. Durrus has now become a favourite of top chefs and foodies around the world, picking up a stack of awards at home and abroad.
Durrus is a smooth and soft washed rind cheese, with a straw-coloured holey paste, buttery and milky with a hint of caramel on the long finish, and a cocoa-like bitterness at the rind. Mild, mellow and grassy when young it can become rich, strong and earthy with age.
After Durrus began to take off in the 1980s, Jeffa sold her cows and sourced her top quality milk from a local herd of Friesians, a partnership that's lasted more than three decades. To this day, Durrus is still hand made on Jeffa's smallholding in the Coomkeen valley, just beyond the village of Durrus in West Cork.
The curds are coagulated and sliced with a Swiss harp cutting tool before being moulded and naturally drained to retain moisture in the paste. The moulded cheeses are then brined before being turned and washed with Jeffa's unique cultures up to five times a day. Like many washed rind cheeses, the aroma is far more pungent than Durrus actually tastes.
Durrus goes well with fruit, especially pear, and also melts wonderfully in cooking. Add some to your basket today!
WHAT TASTES SUPERB THIS WEEK...
GOAT Bonnet – Smooth and crumbly texture. Herbal and yoghurty with a delicate fresh finish. Pasteurised and vegetarian rennet, from Scotland.
EWE Pecorino Moliterno al Tartufo –Medium-firm and creamy, rich, earthy and salty, infused with pungent truffle taste. Unpasteurised, traditional rennet, from Italy.
HARD PRESS
Duckett's Caerphilly –Clean, fresh flavour with notes of fresh grass and raw mushroom, a hint of lemon, and a pleasant mineral tang. Unpasteurised cow's milk, traditional rennet, from England.
CONTINENTAL Morbier –Rich, creamy, nutty, fruity, bold and complex milky finish. Unpasteurised cow's milk and traditional rennet, from France.
SOFT Camembert au lait Cru– Smooth and creamy interior, rich, buttery flavour. Savoury notes of earthy mushrooms, unpasteurised cow’s milk and traditional rennet, from France.
BLUE Colston Bassett Stilton–Luscious, creamy texture, rich, strong, full, tangy and spicy, with hints of cocoa. Pasteurised cow’s milk, traditional rennet, from England.
Let's go Al Fresco!
Our amazing Al Fresco box for sumptuous summer outdoor dining serves two and it's a total bargain at just £19.95!
It's packed to the brim with superb cheeses – moist and rich Somerset Cheddar Keen's, creamy, soft Brie-style Baron Bigod, the lemony, sharp goat Ragstone, buttery and full bodied Colston Bassett Stilton and the fruity and piquant Manchego Ojos del Guadiana.
And that's not all! You also get a slice of sweet and tangy Spanish quince jelly, some Red Onion Marmalade and Ploughman's Pickle, all to enjoy with bite-sized crunchy Arran Oaties.
All of this comes in a box with napkins and wooden utensils – and it's all 100% compostable and recyclable. Available now at George Mewes Cheese in Glasgow and Edinburgh!
Treat of the Week Bosco d'Oro truffle honey
If you ever get the urge for a bit of total indulgence then turn to Bosco d'Oro Truffle Honey! Delicious and aromatic, it's made using top quality Italian acacia honey and a good quantity of black summer truffle pieces. Works particularly well with a smooth goat's cheese like Bonnet or a strong blue such as our Colston Bassett Stilton. Bosco d'Oro is a family-run company, cultivating their truffles close to the Sibillini mountains in the Marche region of eastern Italy. Available now from George Mewes Cheese in Byres Road, Glasgow, and Stockbridge, Edinburgh.
