I’ve been making cheese flavoured with herbs and spices since way back in 2009. I find that a good cheese becomes a great one with the addition of a few simple herbs and spices. Here are a few examples.
Here is a Wensleydale with Sage that I recently made.
All I do is pick some Sage from the garden, dry it on a tray in the oven at 120°C (230°F) for 5 minutes. They shrivel a little, but you only spread a single layer once you put in half the milled curds into your mould. The flavour that it imparts to the cheese is amazing. Here is the finished product.
Another of my favourites is Pyrenees with green peppercorns. All you have to do is add 1 tablespoon of green peppercorns to half a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the water, cool it down, and add it to the milk before the culture. Add the peppercorns during milling or before putting the curds in the mould.
The cheese has a sharp flavour enhanced by the soft green peppercorns.
If you like chilli, then Pepper Jack is another spicy cheese you could try. Same method as Monterey Jack, but add 1 teaspoon of dry chilli flakes to half a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes. Add water before culture and chilli flakes at milling.
This cheese goes great with crackers and an ice-cold Cerveza!
Lastly my all time favourite, Farmhouse Cheddar with red peppercorns. I used the Farmhouse Cheddar recipe from Ricki Carroll’s Home cheese making book and added red peppercorns as per my normal method.
The combination was simply fantastic and is a great match with a glass of red wine.
This Friday, I will be attempting a variation on the Farmhouse Cheddar, this time with cumin seeds. Same method of preparation, same Farmhouse Cheddar recipe. I have tasted Edam with cumin before and was very impressed. I think I will only add a teaspoon of seeds to the water, as I don’t want the flavour to be too overbearing. I will report back after the taste test in a few months!
So, in conclusion, the addition of extra ingredients can literally spice up your cheese and add that certain something that you may have been craving for. I highly recommend giving herbs and spices a try in your cheese. You will thank yourself for it!
Hi I’m new to cheese making. I have made a cheddar that seems to be going well. I would like to make some with herbs and spices. Does all the things added have to be dried or can I add stuff like onion or chives or even chorizos cheers Chriss
Hi am making a cheese for a competition wensleydale with orange lemon and grand mariner and biscuit pieces kind of a cheesecake wondering if there’s a herb or spice to compliment my cheese thank you
Hi Melinda,
Thank you!
Gav
The more posts I see from you the more I'm convinced that I need to make my own cheeses! I just need to work out a cheese fridge or similar first…
I've been looking for a sage cheese to make a specific recipe, your wensleydale with sage looks as though it would work well!
Thanks Gavin, I really appreciate the time and effort you put into both your blogs. 🙂