These descriptions of farmhouse cheese types will help you to identify what it is about your favourite cheeses that you like. Each style of cheese is completely different and within these categories there are many different recipes. There will also be differences due to the starters used, the milk type and grazing conditions particular to the farm the milk is sourced from. Detailed description of the individual cheeses we supply are found on the Cheese List.
Hard cheese These can range from mild to very tangy depending on the milk used. The curd is cut finely and moisture is removed during long maturing times - often years as in good cheddars. Most are cloth bound and left to mature in caves or ripening rooms to develop character giving surface moulds
Washed-Rind cheese Supple and elastic. The curd is left to drain in moulds - the softer the cheese the less the curd is cut. To stop 'nasty' bacteria from forming on the surface due to high moisture and humidity, the cheese is dunked in brine and often rubbed in an alcoholic liquid. It produces a 'sticky' skin of bacteria that becomes part of the cheese. Developed by Trappist monks, it is an ancient technique and produces the "smelly" cheeses.
Soft-White cheese These have a high moisture content due to the fact that the whey is left to drain in moulds in a high humidity atmosphere. They are then turned and left to mature for a few weeks. The penicillin mould which then grows on the outside, helps to break down the curd and add to the overall texture and flavours of the cheese - usually luscious and creamy with subtle flavours.
Blue cheese The blue penicillin mould is added to the milk early on in the process, before the rennet. The curd in a blue cheese is crumbled to remove most of the whey. Left in a mould with a lid, they are turned frequently over one to two weeks to press out the moisture. When they are solid enough to stand they are rubbed in salt and left to mature in cellars or caves. The delicious flavoursome veins appear when rods are inserted into the cheese to let air in and the veins grow in the nooks and crannies in between the curds.