milk type
Sheep
ingredients
MILK, salt, rennet
coagulant
Vegetarian Coagulant
milk treatment
Thermised
location
Riseley, Berkshire
milk source
Bought-in
season
All year
cheesemakers
The Wigmore Family
Show MoreShow Less
While its character is drawn from the Berkshire landscape, Spenwood was inspired by a Pecorino cheese encountered by Anne Wigmore while visiting the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
background
our work with this cheese
Accompaniments
Brown Bread Crackers
£3.15
Tracklements Fig Relish
£4.30
Serving Suggestions
Shave Spenwood over rocket leaves dressed with olive oil and balsamic for a simple side salad.Recipes
Cacio E Pepe
Use Spenwood in place of the pecorino in this classic pasta dish.
Pea & Tarragon Arancini with Saffron Mayonnaise
Deep fried risotto balls from Giovanna Ryan of Three Girls Cook. Try usng Spenwood in place of the pecorino.FAQs
How much cheese to buy?
How should I store my cheese?
Spenwood
A sheep’s milk cheese with a supple texture and a thin natural rind
While its character is drawn from the Berkshire landscape, Spenwood was inspired by a Pecorino cheese encountered by Anne Wigmore while visiting the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
milk type
Sheep
ingredients
MILK, salt, rennet
coagulant
Vegetarian Coagulant
milk treatment
Thermised
location
Riseley, Berkshire
milk source
Bought-in
season
All year
cheesemakers
The Wigmore Family
background
Spenwood, named after the nearby Spencers Wood, is made in the Berkshire village of Riseley, not far from Reading, but it was inspired by the produce of a very different landscape: that of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. When its maker, Anne Wigmore, visited Sardinia during a life-changing six-month sabbatical from her job, she fell in love with the wonderful local ewe's milk cheeses, particularly Pecorino Sardo, and decided on her return to devote her efforts to recreating some of their charm, putting into practice the theoretical knowledge she had gained while working as a microbiologist at the National Institute for Research in Dairying. A hard-pressed cheese made from unpasteurised ewe's milk, Spenwood has a supple texture and a well-developed, nutty flavour. The longer it matures, the harder and more piquant it becomes, making it a good substitute for Parmesan or Pecorino in pasta and risotto recipes.
our work with this cheese
The cheese is generally sold at around six months of age, though it can be matured for longer, at which point its paste becomes denser and slightly waxy. Spenwood has a rounder, gentler flavour than our other hard sheep's milk cheeses, which tend to be marked by juicy, fruity acidity.
pairing suggestion
Shave Spenwood over rocket leaves dressed with olive oil and balsamic for a simple side salad.
From The Blog
-
Animal Welfare with Rachel Yarrow of Norton & Yarrow Cheese (Sinodun Hill, Brightwell Ash)
Rachel Yarrow and her partner Fraser Norton decided they wanted to become cheesemakers in 2014,...
-
Sustainability Series: Introduction to our Animal Welfare Articles
Of all the topics relevant to farming sustainably, or the ethics of dairy farming and cheesemakin...
-
Carbon Sequestration with Nick Millard of Westcombe Dairy
One of the main areas of focus when it comes to climate change activism is carbon emission and it...
-
Roasted Vegetable Quiche with Hafod from A Portrait British Cheese
A Portrait of British Cheese is a celebration of the excellent cheese produced in the British Isl...
-
Throwing Open the Doors
We sell cheese in our shops and online but our wholesale department is the largest part of our bu...
-
A virtual farm visit: Stonebeck Wensleydale
During the pandemic, we haven’t been able to send our teams to visit farms as regularly as we wou...
-
Biodiversity with Andrew Hattan of Stonebeck Wensleydale
Our second interview as part of our series on biodiversity and cheesemaking is with Andrew Hattan...
-
Mini Kirkham’s Lancashire and Onion Tarts
Makes approx. 20-24 tarts Ingredients For the base: 100g each wholemeal flour and white self-r...
-
Tips for putting together the perfect cheeseboard
A bountiful cheeseboard can be put together in minutes, and is a wonderful no-cook meal, after di...
-
Makes and Bakes for a Jubilee Gala
We're really looking forward to the long weekend. The thought of our cheese being shared and enjo...
-
Colston Bassett Stilton Veggie Sausage Rolls
Makes 8 large or 16-20 bite-sized sausage rolls Ingredients 500g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and...
-
Colston Bassett Stilton Sausage Rolls
Makes 8 large or 16-20 bite-sized sausage rolls Ingredients 500g all butter puff pastry 1 egg, ...
-
Amy’s Sparkenhoe Red Leicester Scones
It’s hard to beat a cheese scone, and this recipe from expert cheesemonger Amy comes up trumps ev...
-
Carbon Sequestration with Becky Wilson
Becky Wilson is a passionate advocate for the economic benefits of sustainable farming. In 2016 B...
-
Cheese Mites
What are they? Mites are microorganisms that are found everywhere. You are probably familiar wi...
-
Summery Ways to Enjoy Your Tunworth
Keep it Classic: There are few finer ways to enjoy Tunworth on a balmy afternoon than simply smea...
-
Cow Club
Like most people who’ve been lucky enough to spend a few days in France, cheesemaker Simon Jones ...
-
Goats Cheese with Poached Seasonal Fruit & Homemade Oat Biscuits
As the evenings are stretching out and bright sunny days are mercifully increasingly common, a bo...
-
Spring Galette Recipe
Our colleague Lydia shares this galette recipe as a quick and easy way to use Westcombe Cheddar. ...
-
Introduction to Carbon Sequestration and Dairy Farming
One of the main areas of focus when it comes to climate change activism is carbon emission and it...
-
Biodiversity with Carrie Rimes of Brefu Bach
Our final interview as part of our series on biodiversity and cheesemaking is with Carrie Rimes, ...
-
Biodiversity with Becky Holden of Hafod
Our first interview as part of our series on biodiversity and cheesemaking is with Becky Holden, ...
-
Burns Night Recipe: Pan Haggerty with Isle of Mull Cheddar
Cheesemonger Lydia shares her recipe for pan haggerty with a twist. Pan haggerty is a traditional...
-
Introduction to the Sustainability Series
We’re usually delighted to see the dairy industry covered in the news, but the growing evidence o...
-
Burns Night Recipe: Border Tart
This Burns night recipe comes from cheesemonger Fiona. Read on to find out what Border Tart is, a...
-
A hug in a bowl
This recipe comes from cheesemonger Lydia, and features two cheeses which are tasting especially ...
-
The Search for Milk: Part 3, producers who become farmers
When we catch up with Martin Gott of St James’ Cheese, he has been four days without heat and pow...
-
Christmas Delivery Information
Christmas is well under way here in Bermondsey. We have already started to close delivery/shop co...
-
A virtual farm visit: Appleby's Cheshire
During the pandemic, we haven’t been able to send our teams to visit farms as regularly as we wou...
-
Five reasons Neal’s Yard Dairy Blues deserve a place on your Christmas Table
We are passionate champions of the cheeses that we sell. Blue cheese has a special place in our h...
-
Alternatives to Stilton to try this Christmas
We are proud to work with several cheesemakers both established and new who have created blue che...
-
Blues for Christmas
For many families, the holidays are synonymous with their Christmas cheese, and, more specificall...
-
Neal's Yard Dairy Fondue
We think there is something utterly luxurious and convivial about serving fondue. When temperatur...
-
The Search for Milk: Part 2, producers situated on site
“It sounds arrogant. It’s not meant to be – but when you start looking for farms with good milk f...
-
The Search for Milk: Part 1, producers who buy milk in
It is one thing to be a cheesemaker who has been born into a farming family and grown up with rea...
-
Herefordshire Frier, Spelt, Leek and Mushroom "Risotto"
When we caught up with Katie Cordle a few weeks ago to interview her for our Producer Profile art...
-
Producer Profile: Katie Cordle of Long Lane Dairy
We recently caught up with one of our newest suppliers, Katie Cordle. Katie makes Herefordshire F...
-
Mozzarella in Carrozza from The Female Chef
The Female Chef is a book that celebrates women at the forefront of modern food in Britain and th...
-
Why do we wash cheese?
When you visit our shops, you will see a veritable mountain range of different cheeses on our cou...
-
How do you wash cheese?
Following on from our last article about why we wash the rind of certain cheeses, we asked Matt f...
-
Rinds: a window into the interaction between the cheese and it's environment
“It is not a lot of tools to work with – but it’s enough,” says soft cheese maturer Emi, at the e...
-
A cheesemonger visits Pevensey Blue
Learning about cheese is an integral part of working in Neal’s Yard Dairy. We provide many learn...
-
Adopt a cheese: Pitchfork Cheddar
To better understand our producers and the cheeses we work closely with, our export and wholesale...
-
Specialist Cheesemakers Association AGM 2021
The Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA) is an organisation for cheesemakers, retailers and ...
-
Cheese maturation: art or science?
In November 2016 a robot called Tina the Turner burst onto the British cheese scene and – inevita...
-
Pastures new
Where do new cheeses come from? It’s a question that’s rarely asked – in part because Britain’s b...
-
From cheesemonger to cheesemaker, the story of Pevensey Blue
Martin Tkalez, former retail manager with us at Neal’s Yard Dairy, jumped from cheesemonger to ch...
-
Want to become a cheesemaker?
We receive lots of enquiries from farmers and non-farmers alike about resources available for tho...
-
Custard Tart from Jöro
Jöro is an exciting 12 table restaurant in Sheffield. The restaurant is made entirely from upcycl...
-
Fennel and Berkswell Gratin from Towpath
Towpath is a cafe perched along the Regent's Canal in London which regularly features our cheeses...
