Made by The Clarke Family
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
Sparkenhoe Mature is made with us in mind and matured by our specialist team. It is sold only by Neal’s Yard Dairy.
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.
We visit the Sparkenhoe Farm once a month to taste and select cheeses with David and Jo Clarke. We look for two profiles of cheeses: those that we can sell soon, at around the five to six-month mark, and those which can be aged for a further six months at our maturing arches in Bermondsey. The latter are exclusive to Neal's Yard Dairy, and are quite different to the younger cheeses: drier, nuttier and more intensely savoury in flavour. The skill in selecting for these kinds of cheeses is being able to identify the qualities in a cheese that mean it has the capacity to be matured for longer. Once they reach the arches, the wheels are turned and brushed once a week to aid with maturing.
We simply love this cheese. We have ordered this over many years and it is always full of flavour and we are never disappointed! One cheese which is always on our list!!!
Big difference between supermarket Red Leicester and the Sparkenhoe. Pay the extra and get real cheese.
Hi John, we appreciate your feedback - many thanks for sharing it!
Kind regards,
NYD
Mature Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
Thank you so much for your review Numnual! We appreciate it.
Kind regards,
NYD
All perfect thank you. Arrived on time, beautifully wrapped and much enjoyed.Sparkenhoe particularly.
Hi Jane, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. Your feedback is much appreciated!
All the best,
NYD
Everyday boost
We're happy to hear that Jayne. Many thanks for your feedback.
All the best,
NYD