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Vintage Farmhouse Cheddar

25/08/2012 By Gavin Webber 4 Comments

Farmhouse Cheddar is a really simple hard cheese to make.  The recipe that I use can be found at my farmhouse cheddar post that includes a video tutorial.

Anyway, I had this round of Vintage Farmhouse Cheddar hiding in the back of the cheese fridge, which I made under a year ago.

vintage farmhouse cheddar

It was made on 16th September 2011, so technically it is 11 months old, which I class as Vintage for a cheddar.  Some may categorise it as Sharp.  It looked like there was a slight seepage at some stage, however I found the wax intact so it must have come from a cheese stored above it as some stage of its maturation.  There was no excess whey present under the wax when I removed it, however the surface was just touch dry.

vintage farmhouse cheddar

As with all Farmhouse Cheddar, it was semi-moist, and slightly crumbly.  Easy to cut, with a mild yellowing of the cheese.

The taste was outstanding.  Sharp like a true vintage cheddar, with the peppercorns adding to its boldness.

Normally I do not leave my cheddar this long to mature, but as I made two rounds with the same batch of milk, it was easy to leave one mature for longer.

All in all, a fantastic cheese that improves with aging.  I will certainly be making a double batch of this one in the near future so I can eat one at the three-month stage, and leave the other to acquire vintage status!

Filed Under: Taste Test Tagged With: Farmhouse Cheddar

Farmhouse Pepper Blue

09/02/2012 By Gavin Webber 17 Comments

Make no mistake, I must have a gift.  My cheese disasters seem to turn into fantastic creations!

Quite a while back in September 2011, I made two wheels of Farmhouse Cheddar with Peppercorns.  Kim and I opened one, shared half with friends and I wrapped the other half in cling wrap and put it into my big cheese box in the normal fridge at 4°C.  I sold the other wheel to one of Kim’s friends, who loved it.

To my surprise, when I opened the cheese box on Sunday, 5th Feb, the half was still in there.  It was now over 6 months old, and still in the plastic wrap.  However something wonderful happened.  Somewhere along the line, this cheese had become inoculated with penicillium roqueforti, and had grown blue mould.  It had turned into a Farmhouse Pepper Blue!

I believe that I did have some Stilton open in the same cheese box, so it must have passed the mould on.  I was a bit dubious at first, but had a smell, and it did not smell off, just blue.  So here is the verdict:
Farmhouse pepper blue

Texture:  Now I wasn’t sure how this cheese would taste, because when it was a Farmhouse cheddar it was sharp and very crumbly.  I didn’t know how far the mould had penetrated the cheese as I had not pieced any holes in it as I would when making a blue or Stilton.  The crumbliness had gone, which had developed into a rich creamy texture that was easy to cut.

Farmhouse Pepper Blue!

Development: Once I cut it in half, there was indeed some marbling in the top half.  As the Farmhouse cheddar had been so crumbly, there were air gaps and cracks in the top when I first put it into the fridge after de-waxing.  These gaps had helped the blue mould seep deep into the cheese, enhancing the flavour.

Taste: So then I had a taste.  OMG, it blew my mind.  This was a wonderful cheese.  The cheese was no longer sharp, but had a smooth creaminess to it, with a mild blue taste.  Then the pepper hits your palette to add to the complexity.

Farmhouse pepper blue

I have never tasted anything quite like it.  I am so pleased with this serendipitous discovery.  I wonder if I can make it again?  I might make it exactly the same, but spray it with some blue mould after two months normal maturation in the cheese fridge, wrap it up and store it in the normal fridge at 4°C for another four months.  I think I will pierce it a few times to help the mould develop inside just in case.

As I have said before, cheese making is more art than science.  What a fluke!

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Blue, Farmhouse Cheddar

Farmhouse Cheddar Video Tutorial

19/09/2011 By Gavin Webber 12 Comments

Friday night was cheesemaking night, and as the Farmhouse Cheddar tasted so good, I thought I had better make a replacement toot-sweet!

Farmhouse cheddar video tutorial

So as I made the cheese, I filmed it as well, and over the last few days I have been editing and producing a Farmhouse Cheddar video tutorial for you to learn how to make this amazing cheese.

So here it is!  https://youtu.be/RiGwMZ-6ocI


This Farmhouse Cheddar cheese is just so simple to make and has a great taste, especially when you add peppercorns!

For those of you who are after the recipe for this cheese, check out my original post about making Farmhouse Cheddar.  I think it is an excellent first semi-hard cheese for newbie curd nerds!

Filed Under: Video Tutorial Tagged With: Farmhouse Cheddar

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