Cheese – the perfect comfort food for those shorter days and darker nights this season. Billy Stillman presents a run-down of Welsh cheeses that should be on your cheese board this winter.
Collier's
Born in South Wales comes a cheddar cheese with a powerful taste. Collier's original recipe emerged from the idea of Welsh miners needing something strong to sustain them throughout their gruelling shifts. The cheese's characteristics of reliability, power and integrity replicate the spirit of the miners. The recipe that has become an iconic part of the Welsh cheese scene, having been matured for up to 20 months, delivers a balance between savoury and sweet, alongside a slightly crumbly, creamy texture. Using 100% Welsh milk, this cheese is a representation of the country's proud industrial heritage that separates it from other cheddars. Its slow release of intense flavour with no sharpness makes the cheese incredibly moreish.
Collier's Powerful Welsh Cheddar : from £2.19
Collier's | Powerful Cheddar (collierscheese.com)
Caws Teifi
In the heart of Ceredigion lies Glynhynod Farm, owned by Holland natives John, Patrice and Paula. Caws Teifi have become famous for their unpasteurised, raw milk cheese, deriving from a 500 year old recipe. The Caerphilly-style Celtic Promise is the perfect companion for crackers, with its strong aromatic flavour and smooth buttery texture. The pink rind of the cheese is formed from being washed with cider twice a week for seven weeks. If the milder tasting cheeses are to your liking, then look no further than the Teifi Organic Halloumi. As the newest member to the team, this unpasteurised cheese was awarded three stars at this year's Great Taste. The halloumi's flavours are at its best when grilled or fried.
Celtic Promise from £6.75
Organic Halloumi from £4.95
Also available at www.welshcheesecompany.co.uk
Caws Cenarth Cheese
Going back to1903, Caws Cenarth is an adaptation of a family tradition. In 1987, Thelma and Gwynfor Adams turned the cheese making custom into a business. Based in Glyneithinog, Caws Cenarth have been gaining recognition since opening the farm, with Thelma's Original Caerffili. This original cheese tastes the same as it did when made by Lizzie Wyn and Lisa Jones in 1903, great, great grandmothers of Carwyn Adams who now runs the business, son of Thelma and Gwynfor. The velvety Caerffili delivers a soft, lemony flavour, making it an ideal component for the cheese board. Carwyn has been busy concocting new recipes, notably the Golden Cenarth, which won the Supreme Champion accolade at the British Cheese Awards 2010. This semi-soft cheese packs a nutty flavour and can be eaten as it comes or after baking in the oven for dipping.
Thelmas's Original Caerffili from £4.95
Golden Cenarth from £6.80
Also available at www.welshcheesecompany.co.uk
Castell Gwyn
Jackie Whittaker, artisan soft cheese maker has recently set up her own micro dairy in North Wales. The milk she uses is collected from friends down the road at Mostyn Dairies, which comes from local Jersey-Cross cows. Keeping the food miles low, this leads to a more sustainable business. The four flavoured soft cheeses Jackie has available on her website include Cracked Black Pepper, Welsh Honey, Fresh Chives and Penderyn Whisky. She is supportive of other local businesses, using honey from Black Mountain and whisky from Penderyn to combine with the indulgent flavours of the creamy cheese.
Individual Soft Cheese Pot £3.99
Dragon
Welsh cheese and butter manufacturers, Dragon, have been supplying the nation with their award-winning products since 1938. Started by John Owen Roberts, the company now works alongside 130 farms with the purpose of dairy farmers working together. Located at Llyn Peninsula, the cows live a peaceful lifestyle grazing on lush pastures, leading to milk of high quality. Proving to be sustainable, the business is one of the leading local employers, providing many jobs at the farms and factories. Following traditional recipes, Dragon offer a variety of cheeses, from cheddar to the more territorial editions. Such as the Vintage Cheddar & Leek, a hearty cheese combined with the bite of the symbolic Welsh ingredient, or the crumbly and citrusy Welsh Caerphilly. On their website are recipes that contain their own ingredients, including the Cheddar & Butternut Squash Soup.
Vintage Cheddar & Leek from £2.29
Welsh Caerphilly from £1.50
Trefaldwyn Cheese
Winning Gold at this year's World Cheese Awards and two stars at the Great Taste Awards, comes the Trefaldwyn Blue. This artisan Welsh blue cheese is produced in the luscious area of Montgomery, and made from the highest quality local milk. Resulting in a rich, creamy flavour and a golden colour, the Trefaldwyn Blue has been praised by cheese judges across the globe. One judge at the Great Taste Awards stated that the Blue is “An attractive and enticing cheese with an even distribution of blueing. Creamy with a good lactic tang and a gentle sweetness.” Only available at a select number of delicatessens, farm shops, restaurants and hotels in the surrounding area of its origin, this cheese is highly exclusive, but nevertheless a must to sample.
Trefaldwyn Blue from £3.20
Snowdonia Cheese Company
This family run business started out producing Cheddar and Red Leicester, and have since created many varieties, becoming a well-known facet of the Welsh cheese industry, with their colourful and bold wax packaging. The company have released the newest addition, their first ever cave-aged cheddar, Rock Star. These Welsh slate caverns provide a microclimate for developing amazing flavour, giving the Rock Star its edge. Aged for 18 months, this cheese delivers a rich and creamy flavour, with tones of sweet caramel and a savoury sharpness.
Rock Star £4.50
Also available at www.welshcheesecompany.co.uk
