Cheese
Ardrahan
An Irish cheese from County Cork with a semi-soft, a smooth texture, brine a rich buttery flavour with a zesty tang and an edible full-bodied rind.
Berkswell
A firm, sheeps milk cheese which is matured for up to eight months, with a delicate flavour, ivory colour and smooth texture.
It is a good alternative to Cheddar for those who suffer from cows milk intolerance, suitable for vegetarians.
Bishop Kennedy
A very Scottish cow's milk cheese made in Kinfauns, Perthshire, it is creamy, full-flavoured has an orange rind, which is washed in malt whisky
Suitable for vegetarians.
Buxton Blue
Buxton Blue from the Blue Stilton family. It has a deep russet colour with light veining.
Caboc
A rich, smooth and buttery cheese which has a slight nutty flavour, due to being rolled in toasted pinhead oatmeal.
It is one of Scotlands oldest cheeses, it is generally eaten when young, within five days of making.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Caerphilly
A semi-soft, white cheese with a creamy flavour and crumbly texture.
Originating from Wales in the village of its name near to Cardiff. It was the made by most farmers in the area, it was made on a daily basis and much appreciated by the welsh miners.
It can be eaten within ten days of production and cannot be kept or matured for long periods of time.
Best cut with a warmed knife, eat as part of cheese board, with breads or crackers, or crumbled into salads.
Cashel Blue
A medium flavoured, creamy blue cheese from cows milk in Ireland which is less salty than most blue cheeses.
The young cheese is firm and somewhat moist having a fresh and slightly sharp flavour, when matured for up to six months it has a creamy, more rounded and mellow flavour
Suitable for vegetarians.
Cheddar
A hard cheese, its colour can range from pale to deep yellow, depending on maturity. Produced in range of tastes from mild with a mellow flavour to vintage with a rich, strong flavour.
Originating from the village of the same name in Somerset (though now produced world-wide, and falsely called Cheddar). It was originally made from ewes milk, but by Tudor times it was also being produced from cows milk. It not known exactly when it was first produced but it is certainly one of the oldest of English cheeses, it has been celebrated in many folk songs since the 15th century. Joseph Harding began teaching the process in the 19th century, hence the wide distribution of cheeses made in this manner.
One of the most versatile of cheeses that can be eaten in many ways. Can used as part of cheese board, in salads, soups, sauces, sandwiches, rarebits, with fruit and in many cooked dishes.
Cheshire
A semi-hard, crumbly cheese with a loose texture that can be white or red in colour. A blue veined variety is also produced too.
Originating from the county of Cheshire, it was appreciated by Roman soldiers who were stationed in Chester and mentioned in the 'Doomsday Book'. The red colour was formerly produced by adding carrot juice to cheese during its production.
Can used as part of cheese board, in salads, sandwiches, rarebits, with fruit and in many cooked dishes
Cornish Yarg
A semi-hard pasteurised cow's milk cheese which is creamy under the rind and slightly crumbly in the centre, it has a young, fresh, slightly citrus taste.
The cheese is wrapped in a pattern nettle leaves, which attract natural moulds and help the cheese to ripen and as it matures the edible nettles impart a delicate mushroom like taste.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Cotherstone
Closely related Swaledale a moist, tangy cheese unpasteurised cow's milk cheese which may have been made since the 17th century it is matured for up to three months.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Devon Blue
A firm textured, sweet, smooth, medium flavoured blue is made using unpasteurised milk, it is matured for up to eight months using the French method rather than the one used when making Stilton.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Dorset Blue Vinny
A medium fat hard blue cheese made from unpasteurised skimmed milk, it is not usually as sharp as Stilton.
Made at Woodbridge Farm near Sturminster Newton, Dorset.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Double Gloucester
A smooth, hard cheese with an orange colour and a smooth texture and full flavour.
An ancient cheese known since before the 8th century, there is a tradition of rolling cheeses down Cotswold hills on Mayday. Just after World War II Single Gloucester making died out, though it now can be found again. The orange colour was originally produced by adding carrot juice to cheese during its production.
Can used as part of cheese board, in salads, sandwiches, rarebits, with fruit, apple pie and in many cooked dishes
Hereford Hop
A semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurised milk, coated with hops which give it a distinctive taste and appearance.
Its rich, creamy, delicate flavour with a hint of lemon contrasts with the savoury hops.
Lancashire
A firm, loose textured cheese with a pale colour with a buttery, mild flavour that sharpens with maturity.
Originating in the county of the same name, mentioned in the 'Doomsday Book'. Traditionally produced on dairy farms, although production has been attempted in a factory setting, it is nothing like to traditional version.
Can used as part of cheese board, in salads, sauces, works well in rarebits, with fruit, apple pie and in many cooked dishes
Lanark Blue
A Scottish sheeps milk cheese, its flavour can be interestingly variable depending on the time of year that it is made, ranging from creamy to very full flavoured.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Laverbread
An interesting Welsh cows milk cheese which is speckled with laverbread (an edible seaweed - sometimes called the Welsh caviar), with a medium strength, that makes an interesting addition to any cheese board.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Leicester
Also known as: Red Leicester
A hard cheese with an orange-red colour, a moist grainy texture and mild, mellow flavour.
Originating from the area surrounding Melton Mowbray (also famous for pork pies), it has some similarities to Cheddar. The orange colour was originally produced by adding carrot juice to cheese during its production. Was first produced commercially in around 1875.
Can used as part of cheese board, in salads, sandwiches, rarebits and in many cooked dishes
Llanboidy
A Welsh cows milk cheese with a firm yet smooth and silky texture with a buttery and herby flavour, when young it has a mild flavour but as it matures it becomes much more robust.
It is probably the only cheese in the world which is be made with the milk from Red Poll cattle.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Norfolk White Lady
A soft, slightly sharp sheep's milk cheese. hand-made in Feltwell near Norfolk. It is made from unpasteurised milk.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Sage Derby
A semi-hard cheese with green veins, with a subtle mild sage flavour.
Sage began being added to Derby cheese in seventeenth century, as it was considered to possess medicinal properties.
Originally, it only made at festive occasions such as Christmas, but now it's available all year round.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Shropshire Blue
Also known as: Blue Shropshire
A full fat, hard and smooth textured cheese with natural blue veining.
One of the newer British cheeses, first produced by Andy Williamson in Inverness, originally made to have a flavour somewhere between Stilton and Cheshire Blue. The writer is unsure why, when produced in Scotland it was so named.
As part of cheese board, melts well for rarebits, and jacket potatoes, or with salads.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Stilton
A creamy coloured cheese with a marbling of blue veins, a crinkly outer crust and a distinctive aroma and flavour.
Originating from a village of the same name near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, one of the worlds great blue cheeses. It was sold at The Bell a coaching in the village, from where its fame spread. It is now the only English cheese that has its name registered as a trade mark, meaning that only true Stilton can be sold as such.
Essential for all good cheese boards. Serve as a snack, with cocktails or as part of savoury dishes.
Stinking Bishop
A variable textured pasteurised cows milk cheese with a pungent aroma and a strong flavour from Gloucestershire.
It gets its name because it is washed in perry made from the Stinking Bishop variety of pear.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Swaledale
A traditional Yorkshire pasteurised cow's milk creamy full flavoured cheese with an earthy almost grassy taste, it is softer and moister than Wensleydale which is produced in the next valley.
It is left open to the air to mature which produces in a hard, bluey grey natural rind amould.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Warwickshire Truckle
A full flavoured mature hard cheddar like cheese with a firm but creamy texture and nutty flavour made in Earlswood.
It can also be flavoured with chilli, garlic and parsley, or cracked peppercorns.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Wensleydale
A white, mild, crumbly cheese which is lightly salted and has a flaky yet firm texture, having a slightly honeyed flavour. Though rarely found a blue version is sometimes produced.
Originating from the county of Yorkshire, it is believed to have first been produced by Cistercian monks from a Norman recipe from ewes milk. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries its recipe was given to local farmers who thence used cows milk. .
Essential for all good cheese boards. Serve with fruits or ham. Is particularly known as an accompaniment to apple pie, hence the saying "Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze."
Note
With most cheeses the flavour improves considerably when removed from the refrigerator an hour or so before eating.
This limited list contains only the better known of cheeses.
We need your help to add more.
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