COW- Cheese of the Week

With warm weather upon (most of) us, I thought it would be a good time to move to a cheese that can stand up to the elements. While the heat of an oven may be a wonderful thing for cheeses like brie, the heat of a summer afternoon can turn them into a runny, sticky mess.

Not so with Farmhouse Cheshire. Thought to be England's oldest cheese, Cheshire is a raw, cow's milk cheddar-style cheese that is sturdy enough to accompany you on a picnic. Cheshire is a smooth, hole-less variety the color of a cantaloupe (this is due to the use of annatto, a tree-based coloring agent that's harmless). The brand of Cheshire I'm most familiar with is Abbey Farm, but there are also respected makers like Mollington Grange Farm and Chorlton Lodge Farm producing this cheese.

The flavor of Cheshire is honestly a little tough to describe. It's salty, for sure, but neither nutty nor fruity, sweet nor sharp. The best I can do is that it's savory in the vein of a classic Cheddar, with a lot more earthiness than you'll find in mass-market brands.

Try it picnic fare, like...
Wheat bread or crackers
Ripe berries and apples
Beer and rose wine
Turkey or roast beef sandwiches
Assorted olives and pickles