750 Different Cheeses!

 Way back at the beginning of my month of eating meals based on Supermarket Value brands, someone told me they preferred much better quality - and mentioned enjoying Baron Bigod cheese. Now I already knew this is a brie type cheese made in Suffolk near Bungay - on the Suffolk/Norfolk border. I've never tried it - it's very expensive- but had I'd seen it at a Farmers Market. 

We also have cheeses, made more locally, that I have tried, produced  not far from me just a few miles down the A140, 

This got me wondering how many cheeses does the UK produce?  (Sorry I can't get rid of the coloured background without re-typing the whole thing!)

There are over 750 cheeses produced in Britain today, from classic cheddars to more unusual modern varieties.

Another comment about the Value Range Experiment (I do like to remind commenters of the odd things they say!!) said why was I buying rubbish when I'd sold my house and had plenty of money!

So as I have "plenty of money" and there are 750 cheeses to try this struck me as an excellent idea for an occasional  series of posts .......... could this be a first for blogland?!

 I popped into the nearest farm shop and bought two pieces of the four Suffolk Farmhouse cheeses that are made just down the road at a farm and diary we visited with WI a few years ago.

As well as Suffolk Blue and Suffolk Brie they also do Suffolk Gold and Suffolk Blue Brie.

This is what I wrote about our W.I visit in 2019

Jason and Katherine started their business making cheese with milk from their Pedigree Guernsey  cows in 2004 but it was 2009 before they were able to buy this farm and have everything in one place.

We had a look round the farm. Saw the cows and the robotic milking machine - installed in 2017 and Jason told us  about the care of their milking herd, their feeding regime, health checking (Katherine is a vet- handy!) and how the computer chips on collars around their neck works just like a fit-bit relaying information to his phone day and night. (Not a new concept for me because at the smallholding we lived just a mile from one of the first farms in Suffolk to install a robotic milking parlour, although they retired and sold up before we moved away). By using a robot machine the cows can wander out to the fields, in and out of the barn and then through the milking parlour whenever they like day and night. The machine recognises each cow and automatically washes the teats and fits the vacuum pump. If the cow has decided to go through the robot machine too soon after it's last milking then the gates open again, the cow gets no feed and soon wanders off........clever stuff.

They also keep a Hereford bull. Jason uses Artificial Insemination for the dairy herd to get pure bred cows - the females are added to the herd and the males kept for veal. But if A.I. doesn't work on some cows he lets them run with the bull to produce a cross breed calf which can be grown on and sold as beef.
Their first cheese they produced was called Suffolk Gold, quickly followed by Suffolk Blue. Then they started making a Suffolk Brie and just in the last few weeks now also a Suffolk Blue Brie.
As well as the cows he also keeps a few pigs, which are fed partly on the whey left from the cheesemaking and they send them off to a local butcher who makes sausages of all sorts  plus gammon and bacon.
The couple have a farm shop which is open through the week to sell their cheese, pork products, veal and beef but they also have a self-service vending machine to sell their fresh pasteurized milk. So you can go almost any time to buy milk and eggs.
Jason was very excited to tell us that they are in the process of importing butter and cream making machines from Eastern Europe so that very soon they will be adding fresh Guernsey Butter and Cream to the farm shop. They will be one of only 2 farms in East Suffolk making their own butter to sell and he said the other farm's butter is Very Expensive.

 I had tried the cheese before but not recently and I've tried the delicious butter when doing the Eating Local Challenges - but it's expensive for every day use.

When I un-wrapped the Suffolk Blue to eat a piece with my home made cheese straws it didn't look like other blue cheeses and was a mild and creamy blue rather than strong and tangy.

I'm looking forward to seeing what other artisan cheeses from other parts of the country I can find for sale.

Back Tomorrow

Sue