Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw Cow's MILK, Salt, Animal Rennet, Annatto, Cheese Cultures, Clothbound with Lard
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
milk source
Own herd
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milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw Cow's MILK, Salt, Animal Rennet, Annatto, Cheese Cultures, Clothbound with Lard
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein
season
All year
average age
5-6 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
Until David and Jo Clarke decided to revive the practice in 2005, Red Leicester in its raw milk, clothbound form had been extinct for 50 years. Though neither David nor Jo had any experience of che...
Read More
Until David and Jo Clarke decided to revive the practice in 2005, Red Leicester in its raw milk, clothbound form had been extinct for 50 years. Though neither David nor Jo had any experience of cheesemaking, they had a herd of Holsteins, 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 settled upon a 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 it matures, the texture dries and the flavour strengthens and deepens, from savoury, smooth and mellow, to nutty and rich.
Read Less
Our Work
We visit the farm once a month to taste and select cheeses with David and Jo Clarke. We look for batches that express nutty, rich, complex flavours, without any aggressive acidity, and a texture th...
Read More
We visit the farm once a month to taste and select cheeses with David and Jo Clarke. We look for batches that express nutty, rich, complex flavours, without any aggressive acidity, and a texture that is succulent but chewy. At our maturing arches in Bermondsey the cheeses are turned and brushed once a week. We also select wheels of cheese at the farm to be aged up to a year which we sell as Spakenhoe Mature.
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Serving Suggestions
Elevate a white sauce with a generous grating of Sparkenhoe Red Leicester.
Recipes
Amy’s Sparkenhoe Red Leicester Scones
It’s hard to beat a cheese scone, and this recipe from expert cheesemonger Amy comes up trumps every time. The cheese laminates the scone mix, almost like in a puff pastry, ensuring they are as lig...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.
Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
Complex and balanced, nutty and mellow, this farmhouse revival of a classic British cheese is full flavoured without any aggressive acidity
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
ingredients
Raw Cow's MILK, Salt, Animal Rennet, Annatto, Cheese Cultures, Clothbound with Lard
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw
location
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein
season
All year
average age
5-6 Months
cheesemakers
The Clarke Family
background
Until David and Jo Clarke decided to revive the practice in 2005, Red Leicester in its raw milk, clothbound form had been extinct for 50 years. Though neither David nor Jo had any experience of cheesemaking, they had a herd of Holsteins, 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 settled upon a 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 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 farm once a month to taste and select cheeses with David and Jo Clarke. We look for batches that express nutty, rich, complex flavours, without any aggressive acidity, and a texture that is succulent but chewy. At our maturing arches in Bermondsey the cheeses are turned and brushed once a week. We also select wheels of cheese at the farm to be aged up to a year which we sell as Spakenhoe Mature.
pairing suggestion
Elevate a white sauce with a generous grating of Sparkenhoe Red Leicester.
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