Our January Cheese of the Month contains:
Corra Linn
Made by Selina Cairns in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Raw sheep’s milk, animal rennet.
We have very limited availability of Corra Linn, and so it is a real treat to share it with you here. The recipe and format are like a small rustic cheddar. The batch you have here was made in July 2018. Selina and her team are in the process of growing their herd of Lacaune sheep. To maintain quality, they breed all their own sheep and don’t buy in milking ewes so it will be two or three years before we have a steadier supply. Flavours tend to be lightly floral with delicious brothy, savoury notes of umami. Corra Linn has feathery, slightly grainy textured paste, which upon eating proves creamy and succulent.
Blackmount (not pictured)
Made by Selina Cairns in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Raw sheep’s milk, animal rennet.
Blackmount is our newest cheese and despite having only graced our shop counter since late November, this little lactic goat’s cheese has found itself quite the following. Flavours tend to be bright and tangy. We really love the rich yet light texture. The edible ash rind is composed of a mixture of naturally-occurring blue moulds and yeasts. Selina and family acquired their herd of goats in a move to make their business more sustainable and create local employment all year round. Lactic cheeses like Blackmount mature relatively quickly, and goats produce milk throughout the year, allowing Selina to have a cheese to bring to market whilst waiting for her seasonal cheese- Corra Linn, to mature. Selina is still working to develop and perfect this cheese, so if you have feedback, we’d love to hear it and share it with her.
Duckett's Caerphilly
Made by Tom Calver at Westcombe Dairy in Somerset. Raw cow's milk, animal rennet.
Whilst the Caerphilly recipe originates in Wales, it is also traditionally made by cheddar makers in Somerset, to provide a cash crop through the year whilst waiting for their cheddar to be ready. Tom Calver and team at Westcombe Dairy continue this tradition. They use the brine from Tom’s mentor Chris Duckett’s original brine tank to salt the cheese. The brine is over 20 years old and carries a microbial community that is unique to the rind of Duckett’s Caerphilly. The core presents a crumbly curd which tends to have a clean, fresh flavour and pleasant mineral tang. The slight breakdown under the rind is milkier whilst the edible rind gives the cheese its earthy character.
St Jude
Made by Julie Cheyney at Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk. Raw cow’s milk, animal rennet.
How can a cheese so dainty pack such a punch of buttery rich flavour whilst still being so light and fluffy? Julie puts it down to two factors. Firstly, a change in the ripening culture which gives a nice breakdown underneath. Secondly, she now has her own make-room (previously she had been sharing with Johnny Crickmore of Baron Bigod fame). Having her own space means that she can allow a longer production time. We find that a longer, gentler make process often contributes to a more scrumptious texture, certainly the case here!