Lincolnshire Poacher
milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw Cow's MILK, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Animal Rennet
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Alford, Lincolnshire
milk source
Own herd
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milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw Cow's MILK, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Animal Rennet
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Alford, Lincolnshire
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein; Various in minority
season
All year
average age
18-24 Months
cheesemakers
Simon Jones; Richard Tagg
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Lincolnshire Poacher is one of very few cheeses to be produced on the east coast of the country, where the loamy or clay soils are suitable for arable farming
Background
Though the farm has been in the family since 1917, the Jones family didn't start making cheese until the 1990s, when a young Simon returned from agricultural college. Eager to turn his hand toward ...
Read More
Though the farm has been in the family since 1917, the Jones family didn't start making cheese until the 1990s, when a young Simon returned from agricultural college. Eager to turn his hand toward cheesemaking, he enlisted the help of renowned Welsh cheesemaker Dougal Campbell to develop a recipe, and the result – which incorporates the hallmarks of a hard mountain cheese into a traditional West Country Cheddar – proved so popular that customers at the local cheese shop initially had to be rationed to quarter of a pound each. Simon's brother Tim has since joined him on the farm, and in 1995 Simon employed their first full-time cheesemaker, Richard Tagg. Today, it is Jon Collins whose job it is to transform milk from their 230-strong herd of mostly Holstein Friesians into cheese on an almost daily basis. Once the curds have been moulded, salted and pressed for 36 hours, the resulting cheese truckles are matured on wooden boards and turned regularly to ensure even maturation. The brothers recently invested in a robot for turning the cheeses, improving consistency still further. Though some Lincolnshire Poacher will be aged for up to 36 months, we believe the finest tasting wheels are between a year and 24 months old.
Read Less
Our Work
Tim and Simon do an excellent job managing the different profiles of cheese to sell at different ages, so by the time we come to visit them on our thrice-yearly tasting trips they will have picked ...
Read More
Tim and Simon do an excellent job managing the different profiles of cheese to sell at different ages, so by the time we come to visit them on our thrice-yearly tasting trips they will have picked out a shortlist of cheeses they think are most suited to Neal's Yard Dairy for us to select from. There are two styles we prefer: the first, big and forward, with lots of tropical fruits; the second boasting warm mountain cheese flavours, similar to Comté. Our long and close relationship with the brothers means we will also often be asked to comment on the experiments they are conducting. For example, a recent visit saw us tasting cheeses that had been scalded to a much higher temperature, in order to help them better understand the parameters of temperature in their cheesemaking.
Read Less
Accompaniments
Rosebud Old Yorkshire Chutney
£6.10
Rosebud Piccalilli Chutney
£5.25
Serving Suggestions
Melt on top of buttered crumpets as an alternative to cheese on toast.
Recipes
Neal's Yard Dairy Fondue
We think there is something utterly luxurious and convivial about serving fondue. When temperatures drop we instinctively long for a cauldron of molten deliciousness. As you might imagine, life as ...FAQs
As a general rule of thumb, we would recommend roughly between 100 and 150 grams per person for after dinner, and a bit more if cheese is the focus of the meal. If you are buying cheese to serve over a couple of days or as part of a buffet, it is advisable to buy a few larger pieces. This will both look better and keep better than many small bits. To help visualise weights, a good tip is to consider that a regular supermarket pat of butter weighs between 200 and 250 grams. If you are at all unsure please give us a call for some advice.
The best option is to keep your cheese wrapped in its paper within a box in the fridge. This will prevent the cheese from drying out and absorbing other flavours. Your cheese will arrive wrapped in waxed cheese paper, which achieves the best possible balance between maintaining humidity around the cheese and allowing it to breathe. We are happy to provide some free extra cheese paper, just search for "cheese paper" and add it to your basket. We don't recommend cling film or foil as it can cause the cheese to sweat which will negatively affect the flavour.
Lincolnshire Poacher
West Country Cheddar meets Comté in this cheese, which typically boasts a smooth, densely creamy texture and flavours that can range from rich, savoury and brothy to long, sweet and almost pineapple-like
Lincolnshire Poacher is one of very few cheeses to be produced on the east coast of the country, where the loamy or clay soils are suitable for arable farming
milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw Cow's MILK, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Animal Rennet
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Alford, Lincolnshire
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein; Various in minority
season
All year
average age
18-24 Months
cheesemakers
Simon Jones; Richard Tagg
background
Though the farm has been in the family since 1917, the Jones family didn't start making cheese until the 1990s, when a young Simon returned from agricultural college. Eager to turn his hand toward cheesemaking, he enlisted the help of renowned Welsh cheesemaker Dougal Campbell to develop a recipe, and the result – which incorporates the hallmarks of a hard mountain cheese into a traditional West Country Cheddar – proved so popular that customers at the local cheese shop initially had to be rationed to quarter of a pound each. Simon's brother Tim has since joined him on the farm, and in 1995 Simon employed their first full-time cheesemaker, Richard Tagg. Today, it is Jon Collins whose job it is to transform milk from their 230-strong herd of mostly Holstein Friesians into cheese on an almost daily basis. Once the curds have been moulded, salted and pressed for 36 hours, the resulting cheese truckles are matured on wooden boards and turned regularly to ensure even maturation. The brothers recently invested in a robot for turning the cheeses, improving consistency still further. Though some Lincolnshire Poacher will be aged for up to 36 months, we believe the finest tasting wheels are between a year and 24 months old.
our work with this cheese
Tim and Simon do an excellent job managing the different profiles of cheese to sell at different ages, so by the time we come to visit them on our thrice-yearly tasting trips they will have picked out a shortlist of cheeses they think are most suited to Neal's Yard Dairy for us to select from. There are two styles we prefer: the first, big and forward, with lots of tropical fruits; the second boasting warm mountain cheese flavours, similar to Comté. Our long and close relationship with the brothers means we will also often be asked to comment on the experiments they are conducting. For example, a recent visit saw us tasting cheeses that had been scalded to a much higher temperature, in order to help them better understand the parameters of temperature in their cheesemaking.
pairing suggestion
Melt on top of buttered crumpets as an alternative to cheese on toast.
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