Manchego

Today I had my first taste of Manchego from Spain. As the cheese is made using sheep's milk, I had expected to taste a distinct hint of sheep. However, I was surprised to discover there was no sheep taste with this particular Manchego. The cheese had a tangy aroma and also a tangy taste, a slight onion flavour.

 The  Manchego in its wrapping.

 The distinctive pattern on the rind of Manchego.

Manchego on oatcakes.

Stilton wins Nantwich 2014

A blue Stilton from Colston Bassett Dairy has been awarded Supreme Champion prize at the International Cheese Awards at Nantwich.

The dairy also won Best Blue and Supreme Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show with their Stilton this year.

This is a cheese I intend to buy some time.

Blacksticks Premier Cru

Our latest new cheese was Blacksticks Premier Cru from Sainsburys. We have tried other Blacksticks cheeses before - Blacksticks Blue being the most recent one.

The Premier Cru was made using Jersey milk, which gave it a golden, buttery colour. It was a creamy cheese. It had a mild taste in the centre, but a more peppery taste towards the outer edges.

The photo shows Blacksticks Premier Cru served on Nairns oatcakes.

Roquefort

Roquefort is a French cheese, aged in caves. It is produced using sheep's milk, and is AOC. It contains Penicillium roqueforti, which gives it the blue mould.

The Roquefort I had recently had a good, pungent taste. It was quite salty, and had the distinct taste of sheep from the milk. A very good cheese.

Claxstone Smooth Blue - Nantwich Winner 2013

For my first post I thought I'd start with the cheese which won the International Cheese Awards at Nantwich in 2013. The cheese was Claxstone Smooth Blue, and we bought some in Waitrose yesterday. This was the first time we'd bought the cheese.

We have our cheese with oatcakes, which have a very mild taste and so do not distract from the taste of the cheese. We don't have chutney or any other accompaniment.

Claxstone Smooth Blue in the packet.

Claxstone Smooth Blue on an oatcake.

The cheese has a creamy consistency, and a pleasant, light-gold colour. I detected a distinct saltiness in the taste, which I feel enhances the cheese.

This is definitely one to buy again.