Ragstone

Ragstone

A soft, matured goat’s cheese with a densely fudgy texture and lactic, lemony flavours reminiscent of crème fraiche.

This cheese intentionally has a thin mould rind. Because of this, wild moulds- spots of blue, green and grey moulds, often develop on the surface during maturation. They are perfectly safe to eat and do not negatively affect the flavour of the cheese. 

Minimum: 200g.

Regular price £13.30
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  • Spend over £39.50 to receive free delivery (England, Wales & Central Scotland)

Standard delivery is free to most postcodes in the UK for orders over £39.50. Click here for a list of postcodes where additional delivery charges apply.

For orders under £39.50, standard delivery is £8.00.

Collection from our London shops is free - choose Shop Collection at checkout.

Choose your preferred delivery date at checkout. As we use third party couriers (typically DPD) we cannot guarantee the arrival day of your order but we will do our best to ensure that it arrives as close as possible to your chosen date. To be sure it arrives in time, we recommend choosing a date a couple of days ahead of when you would like to eat your cheese. 

milk type
Goat

ingredients
Pasteurised Goat's MILK, Salt, Cultures (contains trace cow's MILK), Animal Rennet

coagulant
Animal Rennet

milk treatment
Pasteurised

location
Dorstone, Herefordshire

milk source
Bought-in

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milk type
Goat

ingredients
Pasteurised Goat's MILK, Salt, Cultures (contains trace cow's MILK), Animal Rennet

coagulant
Animal Rennet

milk treatment
Pasteurised

location
Dorstone, Herefordshire

milk source
Bought-in

season
All year

average age
3-4 Weeks

cheesemakers
Charlie Westhead

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Charlie Westhead was one of the earliest employees of Neal's Yard Dairy until he took on the ownership of Neal's Yard Creamery in the late 1980s. The relationship between the two companies remains close. Charlie's son Conan managed our production team for several years and continues to work within the world of cheese.

Background

Ragstone is one of the first cheeses developed by Charlie Westhead for Neal's Yard Dairy, and now made by the team at Neal's Yard Creamery. After setting overnight, the curds are hand-ladled into l...

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Ragstone is one of the first cheeses developed by Charlie Westhead for Neal's Yard Dairy, and now made by the team at Neal's Yard Creamery. After setting overnight, the curds are hand-ladled into log-shaped moulds – a slower, gentler process that contributes to the cheese's smooth texture and rounded flavour. Though it is named for the Ragstone ridge near Sevenoaks where it was first created, this popular goat's cheese log has been produced in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire since the Westheads moved there in 1996. Neal's Yard Creamery have made efforts to limit the environmental impact of their production process by putting in windmills and solar panels to generate most of their energy. Waste water from the cheesemaking facility is purified through a wetland system of willows and reeds.

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Our Work

Arriving at a week old, Ragstone lives in our warmer rooms to help encourage the growth of its bloomy-white rind. After about a week it normally has a full rind coverage and can be sold - or held o...

Read More

Arriving at a week old, Ragstone lives in our warmer rooms to help encourage the growth of its bloomy-white rind. After about a week it normally has a full rind coverage and can be sold - or held onto longer for a deeper and sometimes spicier flavour.

Read Less

Accompaniments

Damson Paste - 200g Slice
£10.40

Tracklements Fig Relish
£4.75

Serving Suggestions

Slice some leeks lengthways and griddle with a little oil. Finish with a scattering of Ragstone, pine nuts and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and oil for an elegant side dish.

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.

Customer Reviews

Based on 21 reviews
90%
(19)
10%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
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0%
(0)
S
Sunshine
Great cheese

Always like to add this to a cheese board

A
Adam Noah

fine cheese

Hi Adam, many thanks for your feedback - it's much appreciated.
Kind regards
NYD

A
Anonymous

Delicious!

Thank you for your feedback Viscountess Thurso. It's much appreciated.
Kind regards,
NYD

D
Domestic Dragon
So wonderful

Really truly delighted with this. Second tune and as perfect as the first!

Many thanks for your feedback - we appreciate it!
Kind regards,
NYD

K
Kam
Delicious

Ragstone is a firm favourite. Have been ordering this cheese every Xmas for years and it never disappoints. A familiar Xmas treat.

Hi Kam,
Many thanks for your feedback - we're delighted to hear Ragstone has been a favourite!
Kind regards,
The NYD team