SF-June-20

Goats love to forage and graze, so produce more vivid, hot flavours to their milk, giving their cheeses a real sense of summer with their sharp, spicy taste and fudgy texture based in Kent, is herbaceous on the nose with flavours of mango and pineapple,” she says. “Its gentle bubbles perfectly counterbalance the tanginess of the cheese.” Whether you’re partial to a spicy blue, a sharp Cheddar or a creamy goats’ cheese, savouring an artisan summer cheese is the ultimate way to appreciate the unique flavours that the season has to offer. their slightly bitter crunch, and raw almonds and walnuts for their earthy qualities. And the perfect vessel? A baguette that you can tear pieces off of, as well as thin crisp biscuits – but opt for plain ones over herbed or spicy options. Of course, no cheeseboard would be complete without an accompanying glass of wine. “Opt for a provencal rosé that is perfectly dry with that hint of familiar rose scent; crisp white wines like Sancerre, Gavi, Lugana or Soave; and reds like a Californian chilled Pinot, Southern Rhone wines from the north all the way down to the hot south, or a Beaujolais Village – all of which can all be slightly chilled,” Patricia says. For goats’ cheeses such as the Norfolk Malder, Clare recommends pairing these with a glass of English fizz: “Sparkling Bacchus fromChapel Down, the UK’s leading winemaker specialityfoodmagazine.com 27 When it comes to storing fresh cheese, it’s important to consider temperature and humidity. The ideal temperature ranges between 400F-530F (40C-120C). The fridge is slightly cooler than this, but the refrigerator vegetable drawer is ideal as it’s slightly humid yet the temperature is still cool and stable. The wax paper that most cheeses come in is ideal for keeping it wrapped up, whilst cheese bags work well too – both are porous, allowing the cheese to breathe while also protecting it from exposure to CARING FOR FRESH CHEESE the cheesemaker needs to use real skill in producing a relatively consistent cheese. “Also the amount an animal eats outside will vary – if it’s horribly wet or extremely hot, the animal might be less inclined to wander about chomping grass – and this will affect milk production.” How do these variations affect the end result? “Warmer weather means dairy herds are moving around more, so their milk has more ‘energy’ too,” says Patricia Michelson, founder and director of La Fromagerie. “Goats love to forage and graze, so produce more vivid, hot flavours to their milk, giving their cheeses a real sense of summer with their sharp, spicy taste and fudgy texture. The harder cheeses have sweetness and the blues have a big, bold appeal. Ewe’s milk has a natural lanolin richness that gives a farmy earthiness to cheese, and is always a treat to enjoy in the summer as a young cheese when the sweetness also comes through.” The seasons also apply to aged cheese, as Ruth explains: “Cheesemaking is a way of preserving freshmilk; if you make a cheese at a particular time of year, you are locking in the flavour and character of that day into a product that can be enjoyed later – inmuch the same way that winemakers will discuss a certain vintage being of particular greatness. “With a truly artisan cheese, you are looking for consistency of quality rather than flavour. This is down to the expertise of the cheesemaker and the quality of the milk that the cheesemaker uses, how the cheese is worked on during its production and maturation. Cheesemongers know this, and this difference in flavour is the fun part.” The best cheeses to enjoy in summer In keeping withmany foods we enjoy at this time of year, summer cheeses tend to be fresh and light. Goats’ cheese is a firm favourite for its soft, creamy texture. Patricia recommends tangy varieties from West France, or varieties such as Sinodun Hill and Brightwell Ash fromNorton & Yarrow near Oxford, which showcase how good English goats’ cheeses can be. Clare Jackson, owner of Slate, adds, “From Innes Cheese in Staffordshire, Bosworth Ash is tasting beautiful at the moment – its velvety texture coats your mouth with dense creaminess. It has a clean, bright flavour that lengthens with age and a touch of peppery spice frommoulds that develop on the rind.” Another remarkable goats’ cheese is Norfolk Malder from Fielding Cottage, which Clare notes for its creamy texture and subtle ‘goatiness’ flavour. Burrata and Mozzarella, two popular fresh varieties, are also ideal at this time of year. For a blue cheese, try the ewe’s milk Pyrenees from Regalis, or the well-balanced Colston Bassett Stilton. Other summer favourites include Feta – Kupros Dairy’s unpasteurised variety is a favourite of Patricia’s – and washed rind cheeses. Meanwhile, a cheese such as Crottin de Chavignol or halloumi work beautifully for a summer barbecue, and a classic Cheddar is the perfect centrepiece for a summer ploughman’s lunch. “At the moment, we’re loving Pitchfork, Somerset’s newest Cheddar made by the Trethowan Brothers, best known for their Gorwydd Caerphilly,” Clare says. “Pitchfork was crowned ‘Best British Cheese’ at the World Cheese Awards in Italy last year, a highly deserved accolade for this succulent cheese with savoury tones and tropical high notes.” Perfecting a summer cheeseboard Paired well, the complementary flavours of a cheeseboard accompaniment can really make a good cheese sing. So how should summer cheeses be presented? When assembling a summer cheese board, Patricia recommends including fruit such as crisp apples, pears, figs, cherries and apricots, as well as celery for its salty crispness, radishes in a bowl of iced water for the air. Avoid clingfilm as this prevents a cheese from being able to breathe, and can result in mould growth if kept on for too long. What’s more, as cheese is mostly fat and oil, it can start to take on the flavour of plastic if wrapped in clingfilm for too long. If plastic wrap is your only option, be sure to change it every day. For some blue cheeses, aluminium foil works well too, as this will help stop the blue mould spores from spreading. Soft and fresh cheeses that can spoil more easily should be kept in their original or sealable containers, changing the water every couple of days. Naturally, the shelf life of a cheese will vary depending on the type, with harder cheeses lasting longer. Ideally, cheese should be consumed within a few days, though some can last for up to one month if stored properly. Before serving, bring cheese back up to room temperature. To cut hard varieties, use a cheese slicer, or a paring knife for creamier ones. When serving, consider a prong knife for medium and hard cheeses, and a wide blade knife for soft cheeses. Try to use a different knife for each variety on your cheeseboard to avoid the flavours from mixing, and most importantly, cheese etiquette deems that we should cut cheese into slivers and place on top of a vessel, rather than spreading.