Cheese Wire title graphic
Issue No. 1 - June/July 1998
  Drawing of a mouse on a cheese wire
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Inside:


Cheese Focus:
Golden Cross

Farm Focus:
The anatomy of a good milking goat

Tools of the Trade:
The Cheese Iron

Products:
Say Cheese!

The Teddington Cheese Club

Cheese tips:
Presentation using a floor tile

Recipes:
Home-dried tomato & Golden Cross Bites

Grilled marinated goats cheese salad

 


Welcome to the The Teddington Cheese Wire, the bi-monthly newsletter featuring the world of cheese.

Photograph of cheeses

The Teddington Cheese attracts customers living all over Britain from Clacton to Cardigan and from Swanage to Stornaway. Local customers visit us to taste and discuss the world of cheese. We hope this newsletter will bring the shop closer to our customers further afield.

In each issue we will cover a wide range of cheese issues and include regular features:

Cheese focus: We take a close look at a different cheese each month exploring its history, the production methods used and the people involved.

Farm focus: Making a quality cheese starts with choosing the right animals and growing the right grass on which they graze. We examine the animals and the farming practices essential for the production of the finest cheeses.

Tools of the trade: Cheese has been made for thousands of years and the methods and tools which have evolved are fascinating.

Products: New products, services and gift ideas at the Teddington Cheese.

Cheese tips: Tips on selecting, storing and serving cheese.

Recipes: Recipes to try.


Tools of the trade:
The Cheese Iron

The cheese iron is an invaluable tool for the cheese maker, grader and cheesemonger. Its is used to assess a cheese without the need for cutting it open.

Drawing of a cheese iron

The iron is placed against the cheese and is pushed firmly into it. The resistance felt whilst pushing in the iron gives an indication as to the type of cheese to expect. After one or two turns a plug of cheese is gently withdrawn and can then be examined as follows:-

1. The plug is passed under the nose to check for any off-flavours and to assess the degree of maturity from the gas released.

2. A check is made for visual defects, mottling, dirt contamination, open texture, bleaching and graininess.

3. The iron is turned over and the back surface examined; if the cheese has the right moisture level it will shroud the blade with a clear film of fat, a dry curd will leave no fat or small particles of rolled curd on the surface.

4. A small piece of cheese from the end of the plug is taken and rolled between the thumb and forefinger which gives an indication to the condition of the cheese and releases more aroma.

5. Finally, the plug is returned to the cheese and the gap in the surface filled with the cheese moulded between the fingers. All this takes only a few seconds after which we know if the cheese needs further ripening or can be taken and sold.

 

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Cheese Focus:
Golden Cross
Greenacres Farm, Whitesmith, Lewes, East Sussex
Photograph of Golden Cross cheese

An unpasteurised mould ripened goats cheese based originally on the Saint Maure recipe. Log shaped and around 5 inches long it has a bright white paste, firm but creamy texture and a mild to medium mellow flavour.

Kevin and Alison Blunt live on a small holding near Lewes in East Sussex. They have three sons and have been making Golden Cross for over nine years, enjoying success at a number of cheese competitions.

Originally Kevin studied Biochemistry and Alison, Human Biology, but like many of us they were looking for the 'good life'. With limited funds, they were able to buy a basic small holding in East Sussex and started out with just a few goats and egg laying hens. Unfortunately the small holding did not include a house, so they had to make do with a caravan for the first two years.

The cheese was developed by Kevin, Alison and Regis Dussartre, who was making cheese locally. When Regis announced his retirement from cheese making the Blunts' herd of goats had grown and was producing enough milk to start making cheese on a small scale. Together the three of them developed the recipe for Golden Cross and Kevin and Alison have since become expert cheesemakers.

Based on the Saint Maure recipe, it is made from unpasteurised milk, has a coating of ash and uses the same moulds and equipment, but this is where the similarity ends. Kevin and Alison have made some slight changes which make Golden Cross a unique cheese.

It does not have the characteristic straw running through the centre (Alsion tells me that the Environmental Health officers would have difficulty in accepting straw in a cheese). The softer Saint Maure needs the straw to keep the cheese together but the Golden Cross is slightly firmer and thus, a little more robust. Golden Cross is suitable for vegetarians unlike Saint Maure.

The Golden Cross is ready to eat 10 to 14 days after making and can be matured for a further 4 weeks, its texture becoming harder and dryer. Each cheese weights approximately 250g reducing to 200g when mature. It is available both ashed and plain throughout the year, but supplies are very limited in the autumn and winter months.

The cheese is excellent on a cheese board as well as being versatile in the kitchen - see the recipe section.

Say Cheese!

When it comes to a gift how many times have we nipped out to buy a box of chocolates or picked up the phone and asked for interflora? Why not Say Cheese? At the Teddington Cheese we put together cheese selections and hampers and send them all over the UK for next day delivery.

Placing an order is easy - simply pick up the telephone, write, fax or e-mail us. Orders can be placed well in advance or the day before for that forgotten birthday. We can include a greeting card with a personalised message at no extra cost. All major credit cards are accepted. Please telephone 0181 977 6868 if you need help in selecting a cheeseboard or hamper. Remember, we can include biscuits, pickles, wines and port.

GOOD POINTS IN A MILKER AND BREEDING GOAT

Drawing of a goat identifying parts of its body

1 - Eye, bright and gentle
2 - Head, shapely and intelligent
3 - Neck, long not course
4 - Shoulders, clean and neat
5 - Back, the line long and level 6 - Ribs, deep and well sprung
7 - Pelvis, wide
8 - Rump, sloping gently
9 - Escutheon, wide and reaching high
10 - Rear of udder, well developed
11 - Hocks, wide apart and straight
12 - Feet, sound and neat
13 - Teats, pointed and firmly attatched
14 - Udder, spherical and firmly attatched
15 - Barrel, ample for food
16 - Milk veins, prominent
17 - Body, deep allowing room for heart
18 - Pasterns, fairly straight
19 - Forelegs, straight, sound not too close
20 - Throat, clean and fine

RECIPES

Home-dried tomato & Golden Cross bites
serve as canapés or a starter for four
with a colourful garnish of leaves

ingredients:
1 log Plain Golden Cross
6 juicy, ripe tomatoes
rosemary and thyme
coarse sea salt
olive oil
garlic
crusty bread

1. Slice tomatoes in half. Spinkle with oil, herbs, chopped garlic and coarse sea salt. Place in a cool oven (100-120°C) on a baking tray and cook for 2hrs or so - until tomatoes are shrivelled but not dry - do not allow to burn.

2. Lightly toast slices of crusty bread. Rub the surface with peeled clove of garlic and drizzle with good olive oil.

3. Cut the toast into 3cm squares. Place a slice of Golden Cross and half a dried tomato on top.

4. Bake in medium oven (180°C) for 5-10mins (until warmed through)


Grilled Marinated Goats Cheese Salad
serves 4

ingredients:
1 log Plain Golden Cross
2 cloves garlic
1tsp red peppercorns or mixed pepper corns
2tbsp chopped fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme, marjoram)
100ml extra virgin olive oil
25ml balasmic vinegar
coarse sea salt

1. Mix marinade ingredients together

2. Slice Golden Cross log into 1cm discs

3. Pour over dressing and leave to marinate for at least a few hours and up to 2 days.

4. Remove cheese from marinade and place under hot grill until lightly browned.

5. Serve on salad of mixed leaves tossed in the marinade from the cheese.

The Teddington Cheese Club

Have you considered joining The Teddington Cheese Club?
Every month you can receive a selection of cheeses together with notes on their making and history. Over the course of a year you will become acquainted with over 60 cheeses which you may otherwise never experience.

Gift Idea:
Why not make a gift of membership to the Cheese Club. A certificate will be sent to the recipient outlining the cheeses they are to receive and will include a greeting from yourself.


- Cheese Tips -
Presentation using a floor tile

To present a cheese board why not use a ceramic floor tile. They are easy to clean, inexpensive and there are a huge range of designs to choose from. Their size allows the tile to be decorated with fruit and biscuits and the absence of a raised rim makes cutting easier.

At the shop we use a range of rustic pattern tiles for displaying our cheeses. On the underside of each tile we stick rubber feet (stick on feet are available from most DIY stores) to protect our work surfaces.


WHY NOT COME AND SEE US WHEN YOU ARE NEXT IN LONDON?

Photograph of The Teddington Cheese shop

The Teddington Cheese,
42 Station Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 9AA, ENDLAND.





 

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