Cheese Buyer - May 2025

25 XXXXXXXXXXX EUROPEAN CHEESE specialityfoodmagazine adds to the price.” Choosing to stock it, “depends on whether your customers will appreciate that kind of quality”. Spanish specialities “Spanish cheese is just as important as charcuterie when it comes to creating outstanding grazing boards,” says Jesus Llamazares, owner of specialist Spanish deli, Los OrigenES. With only 200 or so cheeses in its national larder, the country can’t claim to be one of the largest producers in the world, but what it lacks in quantity it more thanmakes up for in quality he says. This is especially true of sheep and goats’ milk varieties. While the UK struggles with supply of these milks, at a time when demand is high, the proliferation of sheep and goats’ milk cheeses fromSpain year- round could prove a real solution for cheesemongers. Everybody knows Manchego, so it should definitely be a consideration in the counter, and is a cheese that perfectly lends itself to the charcuterie board trend. “Awell- agedManchego –matured for 12 to 24months – paired with 100% acorn-fed Iberico hammakes for the perfect tapas combination,” Jesus says. Speciality retailers should, he says, be more considered of their purchasing of this cheese, which is not just one variety, but comes in a range of curations, from 15 days (soft) up to 24months. “It’s very interesting seeing people’s faces when they try a Manchego with 15 days curation,” Jesus adds. “It’s the only one that’s pasteurised – the other ones are made with rawmilk.” Another little-known fact about strong blue sheep’s milk cheese and imagine it bathed in sweet white wine fromSicily. You have the saltiness from the cheese and the sweetness from the wine. It’s hideously expensive, but worth it!” Don’t forget to order regular deliveries of good quality Mozzarella (pizza-making at home is on the up in Britain) or Burrata, which consumers are loving right now. Then, of course, there’s the ‘big one’ – Parmigiano Reggiano. Svetlana has trialled both 12 and 24- month varieties in her shop, but it’s the 30-month aged Parmesan that makes her palate sing. “The flavour is a lot more interesting and developed, and the texture is a lot harder. For a connoisseur, somebody who likes to appreciate all the complexity and different flavours, I think that age is just spot on,” she says. When buying, make sure your wheel is marked with the oval stamp from the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, Svetlana advises. It’s only given where cheeses pass grading at 12 months. “Those that don’t make the cut don’t get stamped.” If you want to take your offering to the next level, Svetlana says, look for the ‘red cow’ or Vacche Rossa variety of Parmesan. “That is the créme de la créme but it also Manchego, he continues, is that it should only be made with sheep’s milk. “Some are sold here with cow’s milk or goats’ milk, but that is not Manchego. In Spain there are strong regulations, and there is a PDO regulating how to make the product, and what you can put i it. The regulations say Manchego can only be made with sheep’s milk, and only the sheep of the Manchega breed.” This is important because, “even in Spain, some cheeses have come out similar to Manchego with a blend of different sheep’s milk, made in a similar manufacturing process. But it’s not Manchego”. Amore exclusive Spanish cheese, and one Jesus personally loves, is Torta del Casar fromExtremadura – a strong sheep’s milk variety that has become a customer favourite at Los Origenes. “Normally the curation is two months, and the taste is light and a little bitter,” Jesus explains. “Because of the climate of the area they don’t have a lot of plants. The sun is powerful, but thistles grow quite strong, and so they use this for the rennet. To be honest, this is very interesting to see, because people are starting to use other types of vegetables as rennet now– pineapple, figs and papaya.” Jesus describes Torta del Casar as “melt-in-the-mouth” and fully spreadable once out of the fridge. “Leave it for 30 to 40minutes at room temperature and put a breadstick inside. It becomes almost like a cream or a fondue,” he says. The age of Alpine Buttery, supple and open-textured, speckled with holes or flaky, Stocking ‘the classics’ gives customers somewhere to start from, something they can understand savoury and almost spicy – to discover Alpine cheeses is to open the door to an entire world of flavours. As British cheese lovers expand their knowledge of artisan varieties, seeking out better quality from specialists, so the demand for ‘newness’ grows, and cheesemongers (and wholesalers) say they’re seeing Alpine styles gaining a lot of attention at the counter. These are cheeses that pack a punch, both visually and taste- wise, are often lactose-free, and cater to shoppers’ environmental concerns, with the majoritymade in a sustainable, natural way, according to time-honoured traditions. The ‘transhumance’ (moving of animals to summer pastures also known as alpages) happens in mountain ranges across the world, says Swiss cheese expert Rachael Sills, who adds, “The European Alps have an environment, culture and history which is unique and special.” Making Alpine cheeses is “a time-consuming craft, performed by families who often trace back generations of summers working on the same Alps area. Alpine varieties are some of the ultimate expressions of the Slow Foodmovement, and the Alpine environment creates a diversity of plants, and the milk, that cannot be replicated elsewhere”. Rachael puts increased British interest in these cheeses down to awareness. “More people know it exists.” And they’re won over by the fact these products are not intensively farmed. “In Switzerland, for example, no herbicides or fungicides are allowed to be used on Alpine pastures.” They’re also attracted by the fact, she says, that Alpine milk is from grass-fed herds, actively encouraged to root, graze and forage. Popular varieties to include in the counter include Le Gruyère AOP, Comté AOP, Beaufort AOC, Tomme and Cantal. Alp Blossomhas gained a very strong following in the last few years too. But how about beefing up your selection by trialling lesser- known (to UK consumers) types such as Tessiner Alpkase AOP, Bitto Storico or Sprinz AOP? With a longer shelf life (most Alpine cheeses are of the harder variety) they’ll stay in peak condition for quite some time, giving breathing space for you to sample over a number of weeks.