milk type
Cow
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein
season
All year
average age
12 Months
cheesemakers
The Clarke Family
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Conceived as a long-lasting cheese made to use up surplus milk from Stilton production, the rise in popularity of Stilton meant a lack of surplus milk available in Leicestershire. Today, more Red Leicester is made outside of the county than in it.
background
our work with this cheese
Accompaniments
Serving Suggestions
Elevate a white sauce with a generous grating of Mature Sparkenhoe Red Leicester.Recipes
Baked Ham and Egg Pots
Breakfast in a pot – these baked eggs are super quick to make and cook!Red Leicester Scones with Chive Butter
A classic savoury scone recipe from Nadiya Hussain.FAQs
How much cheese to buy?
How should I store my cheese?

Mature Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
A more mature, meatier version of Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, selected by us and aged for up to 12 months in total, creating richly savoury, brothy flavours and a texture that is crunchier and more crystalline than elastic

Conceived as a long-lasting cheese made to use up surplus milk from Stilton production, the rise in popularity of Stilton meant a lack of surplus milk available in Leicestershire. Today, more Red Leicester is made outside of the county than in it.
milk type
Cow
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein
season
All year
average age
12 Months
cheesemakers
The Clarke Family
background
Historically all Red Leicester cheese was made in the county of Leicestershire, using raw milk. A hard cheese with a longer shelf life than soft or blue cheeses, it was a favourite of Stilton makers, who made it with surplus milk; indeed, some continue to make a more commercial, pasteurised version. But until David and Jo Clarke decided to revive the practice in 2005, Red Leicester in its traditional raw milk and cloth-bound incarnation had been extinct for 50 years. Though neither David nor Jo had any experience of cheesemaking, they had inherited a herd of Holstein-Friesians, whose pedigree and quality had been carefully overseen by the Clarke family for three generations. Drawing on a combination of old books and local advice, the pair recovered the traditional recipe and set to converting the milk of their 150 cows into Red Leicester, using animal rennet and annatto, a natural plant dye obtained from a South American bush that has been used in the colouration of cheeses for almost 300 years. The cheese is clothbound with lard, as is traditional. As it matures, the texture dries and the flavour strengthens and deepens, from savoury, smooth and mellow, to nutty and rich.
our work with this cheese
We visit the Sparkenhoe Farm once a month to taste and select cheeses with David and Jo Clarke. We look for two profiles of cheeses: those we can sell soon, at around the four to six-month mark, and those which can to be aged for a further six months at our maturing arches in Bermondsey. The latter are exclusive to Neal's Yard Dairy, and are quite different to the younger cheeses: drier, nuttier and more intensely savoury in flavour. The skill in selecting for these kinds of cheeses is being able to identify the qualities in a cheese that mean it has the capacity to be matured for longer. Once they reach the arches, the wheels are turned and brushed once a week to aid with maturing.
pairing suggestion
Elevate a white sauce with a generous grating of Mature Sparkenhoe Red Leicester.