Cheese library
SORMLANDS ADEL
SORMLANDS ADEL
JURSS DAIRY, SORMLANDS, SWEDEN.
Pasteurised Organic Cow's Milk. Traditional Rennet
This is a small scale dairy making a blue cheese along the lines of a Bleu d’Auvergne. The milk comes from two local farms – 5-6km from the dairy - with a third making up the quantity if there is a shortage of milk. The cows graze on pasture in the summer and in winter they go inside into large airy barns where they can freely walk around. On first tasting there is a lovely richness to the cheese with a defined blue ‘bite’ that opens into a sweetly nutty finish. The clean fresh taste is a lovely contrast, and alongside the Wrangebacksost hard cheese from Thomas Berglund will make a great pairing to showcase cheeses from this part of the Scandinavia Peninsula.
SPENWOOD
SPENWOOD
Berkshire, Pasteurised Ewe’s Milk, Vegetarian Rennet
Made by Ann and Andy Wigmore in their small Berkshire cheesemaking facility. This is a lighter style 'pecorino' with a clean sweet taste highlighted by fresh young hazelnuts. A perfect cheese for dry white wines or even dry unoaked Chardonnay styles, which could also work so well with Champagne too. This natural rind cheese has been brined rather than dry salted, then pressed to give a supple smoother texture. A great crowd pleaser for everyone in to enjoy.
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ST HELENA
ST HELENA
BUNGAY, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND. UNPASTEURISED COW'S MILK. TRADITIONAL RENNET.
Blake Bowden has been working with Julie Cheyne at Whitewood Dairy since 2018 and developed this beautiful, delicate and approachable take on the Auvergne classic St. Nectaire. Using the raw milk from Fen Farm’s Montbéliarde cows and lightly washing the rind the gentle milky flavours ring true. The taste is mild, but so moreish offering fresh flower, grass, milky and creamy notes that lingers pleasantly. Uncooked and lightly pressed curds in the mould give this cheese a beautiful bouncy texture that is soft yet robust.
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ST JUDE
ST JUDE
Suffolk, Unpasteurised cow's milk, Traditional rennet
The milk is slowly & gently turned into curds with little intervention – simply lifting the curds & ladling into moulds, turning daily until ready for sale. The flavours of the pasture are intact giving the cheese an earthy richness becoming more evident as it ages.
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STICHELTON
STICHELTON
WELLBECK ESTATE, NOTTINGHAM, UNPASTEURISED, TRADITIONAL RENNET
Joe Schneider is making his version of a very regional blue using milk from the estate and using very small quantities of starter and rennet. The slower process of hand-ladling the milk and the gentle maturation of two to three months before piercing instills the cheese with enormous complexity. It has a rich, dense and creamy paste and a delicately spiced blue, rather than an attack. Throughout the year the flavours can range from the sweet and vegetal to intensely meaty, with aromas like bacon fat. Tasting alongside the Colston Bassett Stilton you recognize this cheese has its own individual character and is not a Stilton, but a true original.
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STINKING BISHOP
STINKING BISHOP
DYMOCK, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, PASTEURISED, VEGETARIAN RENNET
Encircled with a lath of beechwood, this soft melting cheese is washed in a perry from a variety of pear called Stinking Bishop (hence the name). Four decades ago Charles Martell, the cheesemaker, revitalised the Old Gloucester breed of cow (which was critically endangered) by beginning production of this cheese, and it has become one of the most identifiable British cheeses. Compared with an Epoisses or Vacherin Mont d'Or, the flavour is less strong than the nose, which – with proper maturing – can become quite pungent. A real original.
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STONEBECK
STONEBECK
Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, Unpasteurised cow’s milk, Traditional rennet
A fascinating reinvention of an ancient recipe made by Sally and Andrew Hatton accessing an old recipe together with Mrs Peacock, a retired local cheesemaker. It has taken over 2 years to bring this cheese to more than the immediate local shops, and the Northern Dairy Shorthorn cattle produce a wonderfully fresh and grassy tasting cheese. Very limited supply but worth every bite.
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TALEGGIO DI VAL BREMBANA
TALEGGIO DI VAL BREMBANA
Bergamo, Pasteurised Cow's Milk, Traditional Rennet
A Taleggio from the hills surrounding Bergamo. The texture is creamy, with a rich, melting quality that is not too salty, but has a lovely sappy floral flavour. In aged versions the rind develops a slight grit and the pate becomes almost runny, with a satisfying fresh-baked-bread depth – marrying well with firm, juicy cherries from Vignola near Modena, which have a tart, slightly sharp taste.
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TAUPINIERE
TAUPINIERE
POITOU-CHARENTES, UNPASTEURISED, TRADITIONAL RENNET
Dome-shaped (the name translates to 'molehill') and sprinkled light with charcoal ash. This is a natural rinded cheese with a melting, creamy texture and a subtle taste. Rich, smooth and velvety on the palate, with undertones of lemon and fresh nuts.
More About French Cheese
The story of LA FROMAGERIE begins with a wheel of BEAUFORT CHALET D'ALPAGE; 27 years later and with over 100 French cheeses in our library, France is still an excellent place to start exploring cheese. In France, more so than possibly anywhere else, the variety of terroir - that magical combination of local terrain, altitude, soil and climate - accounts for the great diversity of the cheese. Some French cheeses are only sold locally, and many have their own distinctive characteristics; for instance, some are wrapped in leaves, while others are thickly coated in herbs, or washed in brine or alcohol. The names of many cheeses tie them to and can indicate the village or particular hill or mountain where they are made. From the caves of Combalou to the Mountains of Savoie, learn about the connection between place and product as you explore our selection of cheese from this fantastic country.
TETE DE MOINE
TETE DE MOINE
BERN. COW, UNPASTEURISED
Mentioned in texts from as far back as the twelfth century, this semi-hard cylinder-shaped cheese is matured on spruce planks with occasional brine washings. The pate is nutty and slightly fruity, made more pronounced by the use of a girolle machine. As the blade of the machine turns it produces delicate rosettes of cheese, creating more surface area and thus more taste. Wonderful when used for canapes, snacks or salads, it marries perfectly with dry white wines.
More About Swiss Cheese
TICKLEMORE
TICKLEMORE
Devon, Unpasteurised Goat's Milk
Originally made by Robin Congdon at the Ticklemore farm – where three of our blue cheeses come from – production was taken over in the early noughties by Debbie Mumford at the nearby Sharpham Dairy. The natural white blooms on the rind form during the maturing process after the cheese has formed in an oval basket. The flaky pate has tiny eyelet holes scattered throughout and the taste is fresh, light and gentle, with a predominant undertone of almonds pervading.
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TOMA MACCAGNO
TOMA MACCAGNO
PIEDMONT, PASTEURISED COW, TRADITIONAL RENNET
From the Biella province to the north of the region close to Aosta, this is a typical rustic style traditional cheese with a pretty orange washed crust dotted with patches of grey & white bloomy moulds. The smooth textured semi-hard pâté is fruity & nutty to the taste with hints of smoky sweetness. A good cheeseboard choice.
More About Italian Cheese
TOMME D'AYDIUS
TOMME D'AYDIUS
BEARN, UNPASTEURISED, TRADITIONAL RENNET
A relatively new cheese from the Val d’Aspe close to the snow-line of the Bearn mountains that straddle the frontier to Spain. A wild and rocky terrain allows the animals to graze freely, enjoying the pastures and the flora of the region. The smooth semi-hard cheese has a lovely pale rosy hue to the brine-rubbed rind and tastes sweetly earthy and nutty with delicious tones of wildflowers and herbs. The best season is between March and November, although the cheese is available throughout the year at varying ages of maturity.
More About French Cheese
The story of LA FROMAGERIE begins with a wheel of BEAUFORT CHALET D'ALPAGE; 27 years later and with over 100 French cheeses in our library, France is still an excellent place to start exploring cheese. In France, more so than possibly anywhere else, the variety of terroir - that magical combination of local terrain, altitude, soil and climate - accounts for the great diversity of the cheese. Some French cheeses are only sold locally, and many have their own distinctive characteristics; for instance, some are wrapped in leaves, while others are thickly coated in herbs, or washed in brine or alcohol. The names of many cheeses tie them to and can indicate the village or particular hill or mountain where they are made. From the caves of Combalou to the Mountains of Savoie, learn about the connection between place and product as you explore our selection of cheese from this fantastic country.
TOMME DE BREBIS TARANTAISE
TOMME DE BREBIS TARANTAISE
SAVOIE, UNPASTEURISED EWE'S MILK, TRADITIONAL RENNET
From the heart of the Alps where sheep graze on the hillside pastures of the Tarentaise Valley, this small farm produces a semi hard (Tomme de Savoie recipe) with a natural mould rind. The flavours on this beautiful cheese are rich and floral with that typically silky lanolin edge and earthy notes. Perfect with a Mondeuse red wine from the Savoie region.
More About French Cheese
The story of LA FROMAGERIE begins with a wheel of BEAUFORT CHALET D'ALPAGE; 27 years later and with over 100 French cheeses in our library, France is still an excellent place to start exploring cheese. In France, more so than possibly anywhere else, the variety of terroir - that magical combination of local terrain, altitude, soil and climate - accounts for the great diversity of the cheese. Some French cheeses are only sold locally, and many have their own distinctive characteristics; for instance, some are wrapped in leaves, while others are thickly coated in herbs, or washed in brine or alcohol. The names of many cheeses tie them to and can indicate the village or particular hill or mountain where they are made. From the caves of Combalou to the Mountains of Savoie, learn about the connection between place and product as you explore our selection of cheese from this fantastic country.
TORTA DEL CASAR
TORTA DEL CASAR
EXTREMADURA, PASTEURISED, VEGETABLE RENNET
An organic ewe’s milk cheese using Cardoon flowers (a wild thistle) as a coagulant. A delicate natural washed rind, peachy in colour from the light olive oil rub, the interior pate is soft and melting with a strong spicy aroma from the thistle. Made from the milk of the Merino and Entrefina breeds, the taste is salty and slightly bitter in a herbal bosky style – sweet and sour – to be enjoyed with a glass of dry, red wine with plenty of structure.
More About Spanish Cheese
Spain was slow to develop a modern approach to agriculture, and unfortunately the Civil and World Wars intervened up until the 1950s. Following this, changes started to happen, albeit slowly until 1975 when a more open attitude to farming and cheesemaking communities became possible. Hardship may have existed but the farmers and cheesemakers have held onto their cheesemaking traditions to produce such a diverse range of cheese throughout the country. In Spain the biggest rainfalls happen twice a year and the summers are exceedingly hot causing droughts - these extremes are reflected in the styles and flavours of the cheeses in tune with their terrain.
The northern and western coastal regions and valleys have cows grazing with some mixed farming, while the hills and mountain areas concentrate on goats and sheep. The cheeses from the northern regions are of differing textures and styles, while the more dry, arid and mountainous areas of the west and Canary Islands tend toward goat's and ewe's milk cheeses with strong, spicy flavours. From PICOS DE EUROPA from León to Catalonian GARROTXA to MANCHEGO from La Mancha, discover Spain's diverse range of cheese.
TRENTINGRANA
TRENTINGRANA
Trentino
Unpasteurised cow's milk
Traditional Rennet
Protected by the Grana Cheese Consortium but with their own Trentino stamp on the rind, the same production method is used based on the Parmigiano Reggiano. The cream of the evening milk is skimmed off the following morning & then the morning milk is added. The cheeses are then matured for a year before selling.
More About Italian Cheese
stock and availability
The cheese library showcases many artisan cheeses stocked in our cheeserooms throughout the year. Some of these cheeses may be unavailable online but available to purchase from your local LA FROMAGERIE. Please contact marylebone@lafromagerie.co.uk for information on stock and availability
