Why you should buy your blue cheese from a cheesemonger this Christmas

Millions of people across the United Kingdom will eat blue cheese for Christmas. Most of them will buy it from a supermarket instead of a cheesemonger. We may be a little biased, but we think they’re missing out. 

The wedge of blue cheese you grab from a supermarket shelf and the freshly cut portion you receive from a specialist cheese shop are different. Read on to learn exactly how. 

Customers queue in front of Neal’s Yard Dairy Covent Garden during the holiday season

1. We take exceptionally good care of our cheese

There is life inside each wheel of blue cheese. That is how cheese turns blue in the first place: with exposure to the air, blue mould activates, developing the cheese’s flavour and texture. That life doesn’t end after the cheese is made. It continues – for better or worse. Proper care helps bring out the best in each cheese.

At Neal's Yard Dairy, all of our cheeses are exceptionally well looked after, and our blue cheeses are no exception. Blues are the backbone of our sales, so we invest a lot in getting them right. We have a team of highly skilled cheese maturers, who between them have decades of experience. They lovingly turn, brush, and re-wrap our blues, moving them around different temperature and humidity-controlled environments to make sure they develop as we intend. They work closely with our sales teams to understand what each of our customer groups prefers in their cheese, and when the cheese will arrive with the customer and be eaten. They taste all our cheeses regularly and make sure what we send out is at its best and selected for the right market. So, for example, when your piece of Colston Bassett Stilton arrives from your online order you can be safe in the knowledge that it is sent ready to eat and will be perfect to enjoy over the next two weeks. 

2. We stock exclusive versions of well-known cheeses

Why would you go out of your way to buy a particular cheese from a specialist shop when you know you can get it at your local supermarket? In short, they might have the same name, but they’re probably not exactly the same cheese.

Take Colston Bassett Stilton for example. Colston Bassett Stilton has a well-deserved reputation in the UK as the "King of Christmas Cheese". Colston Bassett Dairy is renowned for its excellence. They meticulously hand ladle the curds for every cheese they make, ensuring the perfect buttery texture.

Stilton and figs

You can find a version of it at many different shops, but the Colston Bassett Stilton we sell is made to a unique recipe especially for us. They use traditional animal rennet for our cheeses, which we believe gives our Colston Bassett Stilton added depth of flavour. The approach to piercing that Colston Bassett follows for our cheeses is also unique to us. Piercing is the process of introducing air to the core of the cheese to encourage the development of the blue veins. Most commercial Stilton producers will do three piercings, when the cheese is relatively young. Our Colston Bassett Stilton is pierced later, when the flavours and texture of the cheese have had more time to develop. Our cheeses typically have only two piercings too. This approach of later and less allows for slower, gentler maturing. This in turn results in a flavour profile which is balanced, mellow, well-rounded and long-lasting. It converts many who profess to dislike Stilton.

Of perhaps as much importance as the recipe for our cheese is the relationship we have with Colston Bassett Dairy, and Billy Kevan, the cheesemaker. We’ve been working with Colston Bassett from the early days of Neal's Yard Dairy and with Billy specifically for well over 20 years. It is the strength of that relationship, as well as the hard work of everyone at Colston Bassett Dairy, that has helped develop such a consistently outstanding cheese. We work collaboratively to ensure our customers eat Billy’s cheese when it is at its best. We think you can taste just how much this work pays off.

3. We support new cheese makers

Supporting new cheese makers – including new blue cheese makers – is at the core of what we do. That means we provide advice and guidance to new dairies as they refine their cheese. Perhaps more importantly for our customers, it also means we sell new and innovative cheeses long before they are widely available.

There are lots of great examples of how we have worked with and supported cheesemakers in our blues category. We could look right back to the early 80s, when founding Director Randolph worked closely with Robin Congdon to develop his range of Roquefort-inspired British cheeses: Beenleigh, Harbourne and Devon Blue. More recently, we developed Brunswick Blue by creating a new maturing pathway for Beenleigh Blue in partnership with current cheesemaker Ben Harris.

Another discovery of the early 80s is Cashel Blue, a Gorgonzola-inspired cheese from Tipperary, Ireland. Cashel Blue may now be a household name, but back then it was the only blue cheese being made in Ireland. It has been our great privilege to work with the Grubb family, who have made it for over three decades. They too are attuned to what our customers most enjoy from their cheese and select batches to send us based on our unique specifications.

A more recent example is Pevensey Blue, which began production in 2018. We worked with cheese makers Martin and Hazel Tkalez through all stages of its conception, from advising on the type of cheese they should be making, to working with them in the maturing rooms and, as the cheeses started to be made, providing suggestions for improvement. Today, the cheese is a fixture of our slate and we have introduced a leaf-wrapped sister cheese, Foxearle. 

4. We stock raw blue cheeses

It is unlikely that you will find a British raw milk blue cheese at the supermarket. You will find several on our slate, including Stichelton.

Wrapped stacks of Stichelton

When Neal’s Yard Dairy began, there were very few raw milk blue cheeses in the United Kingdom. Since World War II, almost all British blues had been made with pasteurised milk. Consumers seeking the length, complexity, and interest of raw milk blue cheeses were forced to look elsewhere. Founder Randolph Hodgson wanted to change that.

Randolph and cheese maker Joe Schneider set out to make traditional raw milk blue cheese, and in 2006 Stichelton was born. Over the years Stichelton has evolved a huge amount. The cheese can develop an extraordinary range of flavours: from crisp green apple right through to beef stock umami.

We are immensely proud to have a farmhouse raw milk blue cheese on our counters today.

5. Specialist cheese can be more affordable than you think

For festive feasting, we tend to advise that it's best to go for fewer, larger pieces of cheese. Larger pieces tend to keep better than smaller ones, as they have proportionally less surface area.

Larger pieces also happen to be a better deal. At Neal’s Yard Dairy, a quarter, half, or whole wheel of cheese costs less per gramme than a small portion. (If you opt for a large piece, you could pay less per gramme for Colston Bassett Stilton at Neal’s Yard Dairy than at your local supermarket.) A big chunk of blue cheese can be great value for larger gatherings, sharing with friends, or simply working your way through over the holidays.

Is there a better centrepiece for a Christmas party table than a generous half wheel of Colston Bassett Stilton or Stichelton? We think you’d be hard pressed to find one!