Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

Complex and balanced, nutty and mellow, this farmhouse revival of a classic British cheese is full flavoured without any aggressive acidity. It has a texture that is at once chewy and moist. 

Clothbound with lard.

Portion
Regular price £11.60
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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
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...

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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.

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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...

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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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Accompaniments

Rosebud Piccalilli Chutney
£7.00

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...

Baked Ham and Egg Pots

Breakfast in a pot – these baked eggs are super quick to make and cook! Recipe courtesy of BBC Food    Ingredients1 x 30g/1oz slice of ham4 fresh basil leaves1 tbsp crème fraîche1 large free-range ...

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 16 reviews
94%
(15)
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(0)
6%
(1)
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(0)
D
Derek Dobbs
Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

Excellent service (and a very nice cheese!)

Hi Derek, many thanks for your feedback! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Kind regards,
NYD

H
Hugh Jones
Hugh J

One of our family’s favourite cheeses. The best Red Leicester out there. Lovely dry texture and that super nutty flavour. Delicious.

We appreciate your feedback Hugh - thank you so much!
Kind regards,
NYD

A
Ann
good cheese is always a pleasure

l have always liked Red Leicester, and bought this as part of a present for a relative who similarly enjoys this cheese - he enjoyed it too

Thank you so much for sharing your feedback with us Ann - we're delighted to hear your gif was well received!
Kind regards,
NYD

C
Carol Prier

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

Many thanks for your review Carol!
Kind regards,
NYD

J
Jeremy Tyler
Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

A really tasty cheese. I am particularly enjoying it as a toasted topping to Brunswick ham and slices of sourdough bread.

That sounds delicious! Many thanks for sharing your feedback with us Jeremy. Lovely to hear it's going down well!
All the best,
NYD