Vol 2 No 3
Neal's Yard Dairy
No Other Place On Earth Like It
I'll be upfront from the beginning... I admit that I am completely predisposed to British cheeses. In Great Britain, I discovered my passion for cheese... when what was meant to be a temporary Christmas job at Neal's Yard Dairy turned into a four year project. Although I am definitely partial, I am among a large group of people who consider Neal's Yard Dairy cheeses to offer, not only the best British cheeses, but some of the best cheeses on our lovely planet!
Neal's Yard is an actual address in the area of London called Covent Garden, originally the garden associated with the Abbey of Westminster. By the 18th Century, the gardens had become established as a market and a social meeting place for all classes (that's social class... not a room where you learn). Over the years it evolved into "The Covent Garden Market" where buyers could purchase wholesale fruit, vegetables and glorious flowers... in my opinion, the true sources of real contentment.
In 1974 the markets moved to South London and the old space, "The Covent Garden Market," was converted into a Shopping Mecca. Back in the early 70's and before, this part of town was a far cry from the hip, fashionable place it is now. It was blocks of warehouses and very cheap accommodations for the "alternative lifestyle" people, some who created new perspectives in art, music and lifestyles... in the very midst of Briton’s most ancient architectural wonders.
When I worked at Neal's Yard, it was a tiny courtyard, the perimeter created by three warehouses.
The Connoisseurs Choice! Lancashire is a delicious, tangy creamy cheese... handmade using a traditional family recipe
The store sold bulk grains, pulses, whole-wheat flour... basically what was then considered hippie food.
From the roots of this first store grew a bakery, cafe, a dairy, and a natural remedies store. Now the famous Neal's Yard Remedies sells dried herbs, handmade lotions, soap, and the typical health store fare. Neal’s Dairy began by making yogurts and ice cream, and then added extraordinary farmhouse cheeses from the British Isles.
EXPLORATEUR
Triple Crème Cheeses Should Only Be Eaten With Friends!!
This unbelievable cheese, made in the Isle de France region, is the most decadent and indulgent cheese experience you will ever encounter. Explorateur was created by the French in honor of the first US satellite, Explorer One. Such acute differences in cultural expressions always amaze me! In America, surely we named something after Explorer One. Please write me on our website (Ask Jude) if you aware of anything that commemorates this extraordinary milestone here in our country! On the other hand, the French who simply appreciated our efforts, created a magnificent cheese in honor of Explorer One, a high point of human achievement.
A full pound of Explorateur will easily serve 12 people. Triple Crème cheeses are the creamiest, and most luxurious of all French Cheeses. They are made by adding extra crème to the fresh curd used to make soft-ripened cheeses. By law these cheeses must contain at least 75% butterfat... not a good thing if you are watching your weight, but enjoy anyway. A little cheese won’t sabotage your resolve. Triple crème cheeses are cured for about three weeks before they develop a very thin, downy rind. Among the most famous are French Saint Andre, Explorateur, Brilliat Savarin, and Pierre Robert.
When ripe, Explorateur’s ivory interior has a delicate aroma and salty, mushroomy tang... a delicately piquant flavor that reminds me of buttery baked hazelnuts. Explorateur is usually served as an appetizer with Champagne, Bordeaux, or dry, fruity white wines and crusty French bread. Often it’s served at the end of a meal as a dessert accompanied by a medley of ripe, fresh fruit.
Bleu d'Auvergne
THE Blue Cheese from Auvergne
Blue d’Auvergne is relatively new in the world of cheese... it first appeared in the markets in the middle of the last century. The story goes that an Auvergnat farmer sprinkled mold from rye bread on his milk curd and then pierced the curd with a needle. This allowed the air through and the curd developed blue veins. Altough this cheese could be mistaken for Roquefort in looks, it has it’s own distinct flavor.
My friend , Claudette, was studying in Auvergne and attended a dinner at a local château. As the cheese tray was brought to her, she saw a blue cheese and asked for "du Roquefort." An audible gasp sprang from her fellow diners, and one haughtily commented: "That's not a Roquefort, madame, it's a Bleu d'Auvergne!" Needless to say, that's a mistake she hasn't made since, and now you won't either.
Compared to Roquefort, its super-intense and crumbly relative, Bleu d'Auvergne has a creamier texture and a more subtle, rustic flavor. For a special treat, serve it with Sauterne and toasted nuts, or with a full bodied red wine.
Bleu d'Auvergne
Is As Good As It Gets
Bleu d'Auvergne is made using century old techniques and an uncompromising attention to quality. The result... a blue that's ideal for both snacking and cooking. As with the other great blues, you can contrast the heady flavor of Bleu d'Auvergne with the sweetness of fresh fruit, and/or a dessert wine.
Bleu d'Auvergne is great crumbled on a tossed salad or add it directly to your freshly made vinaigrette to mellow the acidity. Try a small piece on a slice of apple for a beautiful, healthy snack!
What a cow Eats Really Does Flovor Their Milk
The Auvergne lies in the heart of the Massif Central, a mountain range with a chain of long extinct volcanoes, or "Puy." The Allier is rich farm country with gentle hills and huge forests. The landscape of the Puy-de-Dome and Cantal highlands changes into sweeping glacier valleys, lakes, waterfalls and wide plateaux. There you will find unspoiled Medieval towns and mountain villages. And in the wilds of the Livradois, remote stone and slate roofed "Jasseries" or "actives," the summer farmhouses on the plateaux. As you might expect, the people here are warm and friendly.
From spring until late autumn, there are country fetes which are held to celebrate the harvest and the movement of the herds to their mountain pastures. And you will find numerous markets where you can trawl through piles of bric-a-brac.
The terrain near Auvergne is craggy and desolate and actually better suited to raising sheep than cows. Even so, the region manages to produce enough cow's milk to eek out its small annual production of Bleu d'Auvergne. The cheese boasts an abundance of blue veins and a smooth, yet intense flavor that blue lovers covet!
This AOC cheese (granted an AOC certification in 1975) tastes of clover, wildflowers, and wild onions. These are the main plants the cows feast on, and what a cow eats really does flavor the milk they produce, and thus the cheese made from that milk. It’s kind of like adding chocolate syrup to make a milk shake, but this way it’s added before the cow is milked.
Explorer 1
Explorer was launched on JAN 31’ 58 following the Soviet Sputnik, and an embarrassing failure to launch an American satellite. The U.S. Army launched Explorer One using a rocket that had been developed to test guided missile components.
Every 115 minutes, Explorer orbited Earth, 220 miles above the surface at its closest point, and 1580 miles at its farthest. It measured cosmic rays and micrometeorites, transmitting this data until February 28, 1958.
Explorer One proved that the Earth is surrounded by intense bands of radiation, now called the Van Allen radiation belts.
You can see Explorer One at the Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, Milestones of Flight Gallery.
Ruth Kirkham’s Lancashire
We are so genuinely proud to present Ruth Kirkham’s Lancashire Cheese, for she is the last guardian of the British cheesemaking tradition which dates back so very many centuries. Ruth is the very last cheesemaker I know who has stayed true to the traditional two-day recipe for making authentic Lancashire cheese. Of all the cheesemakers I know, Ruth is my favorite, and coincidently she happens to make the most astonishing cheese.
When Randolph first met Ruth she was in, as the Brits say... "in a bit of a spot."
The supermarkets that usually bought her cheeses were demanding that she wax her rinds. Now, in case you don't know what that means, most traditional cheese is made using a cloth binding, or the cheese is left to develop it’s own natural rind.
The reason mass producers of cheese like to cover the exterior of cheese in wax is because it off sets weight loss.
Just In The Nick Of Time!
Randolph discovered Mrs. Kirkham
In essence, cheese is made, then waxed, left in a cool room, and sold to a wholesaler... who sells it to a store, and no where in this chain of events does the cheese loose any weight, therefore no one looses any money... God forbid!
Cloth binding, on the other hand, allows the cheese to breath which means the cheese looses moisture, and therefore weight and money. But what the cheese looses in weight, it more than makes up for in FLAVOR. And isn’t that what eating cheese is all about?
Anyway, to get back to my story about Mrs. Kirkham, she did not want to compromise her standards by waxing her rinds, and so was about to give up cheesemaking.
Enter stage left, Randolph from Neal's Yard Dairy... Randolph discovered Mrs. Kirkham just in the nick of time, and told her he would buy all her cheese, as long as she did not wax her rinds!
When Mrs. Kirkham first started selling cheese to Neal's Yard Dairy, she was a tenant farmer, this means that she "rented" her farm from a landlord. I am sooo proud to announce that since starting business with Neal's Yard Dairy, Mrs. Kirkham recently bought her farm. And her son, who was never interested in cheesemaking, now sees it as a worthwhile creative profession and is earnestly learning the art of cheesemaking from his Darlin Mum.
This very true story represents all the relationships that Neal's Yard Dairy builds with their cheesemakers. Oh, and just as a final note, a year or so back, those supermarkets turned up at Mrs. Kirkham's door wanting to buy her "Traditional Lancashire" as "she is the only person left in the world making traditional, cloth-bound Lancashire."
Traditional Lancashire that you are no doubt enjoying as you read my humble missive, is made entirely by hand, using only the milk of The Kirkham's Forty Cows. Mrs. Kirkham states that this is the only cheese with the inimitable "Buttery Crumble"... the rich flavor, soft and gently crumbly. Insist on the moments to appreciate it!
I feel safe in confiding that one of Mrs. Kirkham's secrets, abandoned by modern cheesemakers in the interest of expediency, is mixing two different days of curd into each batch of cheese. But frankly, I wouldn’t bother trying to compete with Mrs. Kirkham!
Mrs. Kirkham's Lancashire is perfect cheese for toasting. Top a slice of Farm Bread with a layer of apple chutney, crumble on some of Mrs. Kirkham's Lancashire, and set it under the broiler 'til the cheese is bubbling hot and lightly browned. I had a slice of this cheese for lunch last month and it blew me away anew ... so delicately delicious it was.
Q. Why are some cheeses designated as AOC?
A. The Appellation d'Origine Controlee or AOC applies to wines, eaux-de-vie, dairy and farmhouse products. It guarantees that a product of quality has been produced within a specified region following established methods of production. The AOC is regulated by laws, the first of which was the Law for the Protection of the Place of Origin of May 6th, 1919.
Don’t forget to check out our websites, they include lot’s of interesting information and many more recipes.
Lancashire Cheese and Apple Cake
Butter - 15 g (½ oz)
Self raising flour - 200 g (7 oz)
Baking powder - 1 heaped tsp
Sugar - 75 g (3 oz)
Dessert apples - 725 g (1 lb 10 oz), cored and peeled
Seedless raisins - 125 g (4½ oz)
Grated nutmeg - 1 tsp
Eggs - 2, beaten
Sunflower oil - 110 ml (4 fl oz)
Lancashire cheese - 150 g (5 oz), crumbled
Generously butter a loose-based 9 inch cake tin.
Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Sift flour and baking powder together.
Add sugar, apples, raisins and nutmeg. Beat eggs into oil and
stir into the mix. Spoon half into the tin. Add cheese and top with the remaining apple mix. Bake for 1 hour until golden. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Dust with icing sugar for decoration.
