Food 'n' Drink – Food and Drink news |

A pub landlord who is producing a cheese using the same ingredients as the world famous Stilton brand but marketing it under a different name has been warned by existing traders that he could be facing a court appearance.

Stilton’s Bell Inn Pub is producing cheese and selling it to locals. For years the cheese has been banned from being made anywhere except  for Melton Mowbray because a PDO, Protected Designation Order, stated that is could only be  made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire.

Liam McGivern, the landlord of the Bell Inn Pub is selling his cheese under the name of Blue Bell, but the Melton Mowbray food partnership believe that McGivern is using the traditional Melton Mowbray cheese recipe, and that has no links to the village in Cambridgeshire except for their name.

Dr Matthew O’Callaghan is the groups chairman, and he feels that this is a contradiction of the PDO and says that unless the Bell Inn changes its recipe, or receives official permission to carry on making it, they would be taking them to court. He said that they are effectively attempting to steal their food heritage and that he will fight them all the way, if necessary, to both the courts and the European Commission.

He added that the Bell Inn must prove that they aren’t simply making a knock off Stilton and giving it a different name, and unless they could prove that, they would have no case to defend. They would have to go to both DEFRA and the European Commission to see if they could get the PDO extended to include the village of Stilton, and they could make as much cheese as they wanted as long as it wasn’t using a Stilton recipe.

When it comes to buying blue cheese, English Stilton is probably not the first cheese that comes to mind, as there are so many famous French blue cheeses, such as Roquefort and Gorgonzola. Buy it though and you may find that you think it is very under-appreciated in the cheese market.

Stilton in the UK is only made in three counties and is known as the King of English cheese. It is also the only cheese in the UK that has its own, certified, trade mark. The Stilton Cheese Makers Association established rules about the production of Stilton and makers can only be certified if they meet the requirements. These include complying to a specific recipe, as well as only being made in the three permitted counties.

Stilton is a cheese that has many blue veins running through it, it also has a rind that you cannot eat. Stilton is made by ‘Penicillium Roqueforti,’ which is added to cow’s milk. After the process the cheese is cut and shaped, the cheese is then stored in conditions that are optimal for the development of the crust and the veins – this involves precise humidity and temperature. The cheese is then stored for six months to a year before it can be consumed. A good Stilton will have a fat content over 50% and will have been aged for a year.

Stilton is best enjoyed as a cheese for eating after a meal. It goes well with a heavy bread and a good wine. A good Stilton will have a texture that is creamy yet crumbly and will have a tangy flavour and a spicy aroma. You should store Stilton in the fridge, wrapped up in a damp cotton cloth and then covered in tin foil. If you see mould growing in the rind of the cheese you can just scrape it off.

The unearthed^® group is back from the long voyage hitting the entire Med on their fact finding mission and have returned with delicious new products stuffed into many suitcases. Share the latest tasty treats of theirs with family and friends and with each mouthful be transported to sunnier climes.

NEW OLIVES

unearthed^®’s Almond Stuffed Olives with Smoked Paprika (£2.95, 170g) – Tasty olives with a whole almond stuffing for that mouth watering crunch and touched with smoked paprika giving it that spark of spice. The delicate flavors and contrasting textures of the olives simply leave you asking for more.

unearthed^® French Olive Mix (£2.95,170g) – an enticing blend of firm, small Nicoise olives and giant, meaty and green Lucques olives a in French traditional dressing. Served with unearthed^® and to mop up all the juices that are leftover, some delicious crusty bread.

With unearthed^®’s Green Olives with Pesto and Pine Nuts top toasted ciabatta to create an antipasto dish and add a bit of feta and grill for a few minutes. One taste and you are transported to a Tuscan piazza on a summer’s afternoon.

NEW CHEESES

The sun-drenched Southern Med is home to amazing cheese – from salty, tangy feta to soft goat’s cheese.

New to the UK, unearthed^® is bringing Greek Goat’s Milk Balls with Mint (£2.39, 100g). Based on Labneh, a staple of the Middle Eastern diet, unearthed^® has given it a Greek twist. With a mild flavour, this cheese is made from goat’s yoghurt, then subtly flavoured with mint, making it the perfect accompaniment to a summer salad.

The most well known of Greek cheeses, the tradition of making feta dates back thousands of years and is still made by shepherds in the Greek mountains using sheep and goat’s milk. unearthed^®’s new Diced Greek Feta with Herbs has a burst of fresh flavours, (£2.49, 150g) – it’s utterly delicious in salads and great with roasted vegetable couscous and ready cubed for simplicity.

NEW CHORIZO

Recent data shows in 2010 sales of chorizo rose by 35%*, driven by young Brits who want to pack some spice into their everyday meals. Due to popular demand unearthed^® is bringing out a hotter version – Spanish Hot Spicy Cooking Chorizo Sausages (£3.59,250g) and is challenging you to try it. It makes a fabulous recipe ingredient or served with unearthed^®’s Spanish Potato Omelette for a Spanish inspired main meal.

unearthed^®’s new olives, cheeses and cooking chorizo are perfect for sharing with friends and family. This summer gather your loved ones together, settle back with a chilled glass of wine and experience the continental way of life with a long lazy lunch or al fresco dinner.

What’s more, you can buy all these products or more and know that you’re contributing to a worthy cause. unearthed^® has partnered with Action Against Hunger to support its ‘Fight Hunger Eat In’ campaign (more information below).

Donating one penny per pack sold, half of the unearthed^® donation will go towards setting up a new project in Zambia to support grandparent-headed households where older generations are left to care for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

For inspiring recipe ideas or to find out more about unearthed^®, swing by www.discoverunearthed.com. We’ll be travelling further in future, as well as unearthing the hidden gems closer to home, so become a fan on Facebook – simply search for unearthed^® and join us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/foodsunearthed to hear about our journeys and to tell us about your great foodie discoveries.

Americans serve it as a starter and the French serve it before dessert, but it seems that even with the growth in artisan British cheeses, us Brits still don’t know how to put together an impressive cheeseboard. With top chefs including Marcus Wareing and Marco Pierre White dedicating a large part of their menus to international cheese varieties, it is about time that great cheeseboards are brought back to Great Britain.

An important element to an excellent cheeseboard is the crackers! The right cracker can elevate your cheese selection from delicious to sublime. New Ryvita Crackers For Cheese are made with rye and wheat wholegrain flours and are available in two recipes: Golden Rye and Black Pepper. Deliciously light, crisp and airy, they have a texture that is the perfect partner to a wide variety of cheeses. What’s more, they contain only 27 calories each, are low in fat and high in fibre. A selection of chutneys, quince jellies and fruit served alongside creates the perfect after dinner treat.

World-renowned cheese expert Juliet Harbutt from the British Cheese Board says, “Whilst the cheese selection is obviously the central point, it is the accompanying crackers and condiments that really make a cheeseboard stand out from the crowd. Ryvita has created some delicious, versatile crackers which are the perfect partner to any good cheeseboard.”

Preparing the ultimate cheeseboard is a tough task, which is why Ryvita has partnered with Juliet to make navigating the world of cheese that little bit easier. From the ideas and selection process, to presenting the cheeses, to the proper way to cut cheese, Juliet is on hand to share her top tips and hints. Creating a cheeseboard theme is a fun way to experiment with cheeses from around the world and Juliet has created her top five boards, guaranteed to make an impression on even the most discerning dinner party guests. Enjoy all of them with New Ryvita Crackers For Cheese.

However, if you’ve only got time for one cheese matching here are some quick tips from Juliet, “Choose a soft runny Camembert with Ryvita Black Pepper crackers and hard strong cheese Cornish Yarg with the Ryvita Golden Rye variety for a delicious treat.”

Healthy Cheeseboard

For those who want their cake and eat it too! Most people think the fat content of cheese is around 60%, but in fact the majority are only between 20 and 35%, which means many cheeses contain half the fat you expect. This means you can eat twice as much! Try…

• Pant ys gawn Fresh, Welsh cheese made using Goat’s milk
• Camembert Soft white cheese from France
• Taleggio Semi soft Italian cheese made from Cow’s milk
• Caerphilly Hard cheese from Wales made from Cow’s milk
• Parmigiano Reggiano Hard Italian cheese
• Cornish Yarg Made with Cow’s milk from Cornwall

Indulgent

There are some cheeses that, despite having a relatively low fat content, taste wickedly rich or wonderfully voluptuous and indulgent.  This is for a lazy day in the sun or to follow your Sunday lunch – just relax, sit back with some wonderful wines or cider and enjoy. Try…

• Fleur de Marquis Aged fresh cheese from Corsica
• Pierre Robert Soft cheese from France made with Cow’s milk
• Stinking Bishop Semi soft Gloucestershire cheese
• Langres Semi soft cheese from France
• Beaufort Hard cheese made with Cow’s milk  from France
• Pecorino Toscano Hard cheese from Italy
• Roquefort Blue cheese made with Ewe’s milk from France

Girls At Home

Light, soothing and delicious, these are the perfect cheeses to wile away an evening with the girls. Serve with lovely crisp English apples and your favourite Ryvita crackers. Try…

• Herbed Perroche Fresh cheese made from Worcestershire
• St Eadburgha Soft white cheese from Gloucester
• Wigmore Soft white cheese from Berkshire
• Carre de l’est Semi soft cheese from France
• Manchego Traditional hard cheese from Spain
• Creamy Lancashire Hard cheese using Cow’s milk from Lancashire
• Gorgonzola Dolce Blue cheese from Italy

Boys’ Night Out

For the boys, I’ve selected a variety of strong, bold and outspoken cheeses to match the mood of a boys’ night out, and the beers or big reds. Theses cheeses are boastful, confident and full of character.

• Cerney Ash Fresh cheese from Gloucestershire, made with Goat’s milk
• Brie de Meaux Soft white cheese from France
• Tornegus Semi soft cheese from Sussex
• Lincolnshire Poacher Hard cheese made using Cow’s milk
• Gruyere Hard Swiss cheese made from Cow’s milk
• Blue Monday Blue Scottish cheese made from Cow’s milk
• Beenleigh Blue Devonshire blue cheese

Best of British

The ultimate British cheeseboard has over 700 different British cheeses to choose from. How do you choose just 7?  Start with the following, all major winners from the British Cheese Awards.

• Innes Button Fresh cheese from Coventry
• Little Wallop Soft white cheese from Somerset
• Flower Marie Soft white cheese from Sussex
• Golden Cenarth Semi soft Welsh cheese
• Lord of the Hundreds Hard cheese made with Cow’s milk from Sussex
• Wyfe of Bath Hard cheese from Bath
• Shropshire Blue Nottinghamshire blue cheese

New Ryvita Crackers for Cheese will be available in all major supermarkets from March 2011, priced at £1.25 for a 175g pack.
For more information on the full Ryvita range, visit www.ryvita.co.uk.

In the battle of cheeses, British blue Cheeses emerge triumphant as their sales figures soars above the French’s, according to Tesco’s latest figures. The figures show British blue Cheeses enjoying a 16% sales edge over that of the French over the course of 2010.

British shoppers have seemingly turned down the famous French cheeses temptation for the sake of Blacksticks blue, Blue Wensleydale, and other British blue, according to the retail giant.

Tesco explained, Consumers are showing a change in their buying habits. Stilton has always enjoyed being associated with Christmas, but now, consumers seem to be buying other British blue cheeses all year round. In the current economic climate, shopper look to have realised the importance of buying goods produced at home. They see direct link between supporting the local food industries and their own well-being.

‘I am delighted that British consumers are choosing to buy British cheeses,’ said Nigel White, Secretary of British Cheese Board. ‘It is vital for local industries to gain the support of local consumers.’

Separate study, conducted by Kantar Worldpnel, confirmed the trend. The study shows a 4% hike in British blue cheeses sales as opposed to a 1% fall in sales of French blue cheese.

‘With over 70 types and ever increasing reputation, British blue cheeses are excelling in both variety and quality,’ explained White.

The Jervaulx Blue cheese has just been launched by the Wensleydale Creamery. The launch venue was the Launceston Place restaurant, the award-winning restaurant is home to star chef Tristan Welsh.

Although it might sound French, Jervaulx Blue is named after Yorkshire’s famous Jervaulx Abbey. The blue cheese is targeted at the sector of the market that is adopting a more continental taste and blends the traditional sharp blue cheese characteristics with a more creamy and sophisticated texture. The Wensleydale Creamery has launched the new branded blue range under the name Jervaulx Blue – not to appear more French but to reflect more than eight centuries of cheese making in the famous Yorkshire Dales.

Jervaulx Abbey was the home of the monks who originally crafted Wensleydale cheese around the year 1150. The Abbey is at one end of the Dale and the Wensleydale Creamery at the other end. The Abbey was destroyed by Henry VIII but the Wensleydale Creamery lives on and has kept the recipes pioneered by the monks alive and tasty!

David Hartley, Managing Director of The Wensleydale Creamery, said: “Jervaulx Blue has the texture and taste that will appeal to the modern British palate. We are becoming more continental in our tastes and this cheese mixes the best of the traditional British Blue with the creamy and soft texture more associated with continental cheeses. We are confident it will find favour with the customers of our supermarket, delicatessen and wholesaler clients.”

Jervaulx Blue will be available in shops from April. It comes in original new packaging depicting the window of the Abbey.