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| Image taken from www.cartmelcheeses.co.uk |
Berkswell cheese is made at Ram Hall near the village of Berkswell in Warwickshire. Sheila and Peter Fletcher milk a flock of Friesian and Dorset sheep, and the cheese is made by Linda Dutch and her team at the 16th century farmhouse. Berkswell cheese is made from unpasteurised ewe’s milk, and using traditional animal rennet, both of which contribute to its depth of flavour. The curd is drained in basket moulds (although modern plastic versions are used now) which gives it a distinctive UFO shape.
The cheeses are aged for around 6 months, but good batches
can be aged for longer and can develop an amazing depth of flavour. It has a medium firm texture when younger but
becomes firmer as it matures. The rind is firm but thin, and can vary from smooth to rough/crusty and varying in
colour in older cheeses. It can even
become pitted from mites as it ages, a bit like mimolette.
The flavour is rich and often complex - savoury and fruity
and a little sweet (reminiscent of parmesan style cheese) and sometimes nutty,
but with an extra flavour contribution and waxy texture from the sheeps
milk. This was one of my favourites in the
short time I worked at NYD.
Further information:
A good info sheet can be found on the Neal’s Yard Dairy
website: here
And a detailed article on the Fletchers' farm and Berkswell
cheese production can be found here
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| Specially selected Berkswell maturing at the Neal's Yard Dairy maturing arches. |
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