Speciality Food October 2024

specialityfoodmagazine.com 31 “Support artisanproducers” H aving been around cheese all of my working career I have never grown tired of it, instead I crave it more. Cheese comes in many forms, soft, crumbly hard, hard cooked, blue, washed rind, soaked in alcohol, covered in leaves and so on… There quite frankly is never a dull moment. Recently I travelled to Crete with my family. We had a tremendous time soaking up the sun, enjoying the magnificent scenery, diving into the culture and importantly enjoying the traditional food and cheese. I visited an amazing cheesemaker at Arkadianos Farm set high up in the hilly area of Latzima Mylopotamos Rethymno. The cheesemaker Michalis Arkadianos was out selling his cheese but his sister was there to show me around. Farming started in 1980 where the family were grazing sheep and milking by hand. Today there is a larger herd of 100 sheep and goats, which is still very small. When I get into the dairy there are ladies yogurt-making, filling tubs with thick creamy sheep’s yogurt. The smell in the dairy is heavenly with a gentle milky sweetness filling the room. I am offered a tasting of all that’s on offer and naturally agree. Then I was presented with all of the yoghurts and cheeses. Oh my goodness – I have never tasted yoghurt like it! All was so delicious it was a euphoric foodie moment as I had never ever experienced such exceptional quality in yoghurt. The Greeks certainly know there stuff – at least the artisan producers do. The yoghurt that I sampled was of a traditional sheep’s yoghurt. The consistency was out of this world. Think of clotted cream top, nice and dense and super creamy almost a little grainy where the fat has crusted. When you break through the surface there is a thick yogurt that JAMES GRANT NO2 POUND STREET Roger Longman, founder of White Lake Cheese, is never one to sit still, constantly conjuring up new varieties to add to the brand’s collection. The latest is The Shilling, which has just landed on the market. The small but perfectly formed Crottin-style goats’ cheese is sticky and dense due to the pre-draining of the curd, and can be eaten young, when it expresses flavours of macadamia, almond andmushroom, or matured, which opens up its depth further, introducing a touch of blue to the rind. “Ever since I introduced our herd of Alpine goats to Bagborough Farm, my aimhas been to show something that the French already knew – that goats’ cheeses can be as diverse and interesting as cow’s cheeses, if not more so,” Roger said. “My love of a good French Crottin- style cheese, as well as several customer requests, led to us developing The Shilling. I am really pleased with the depth of flavour we have managed to achieve with this cheese. This is fast becoming one of my favourites from our range.” holds the shape, as its spooned it releases with a satisfying squelchy sound. The flavour is rich and fatty with a big creaminess on the surface followed by a thick mousse under the thick crust offering up sweet milky and citrussy notes. It was quite frankly sublime. In the UK there are many producers of yogurt but how many are hitting that quality mark? In my opinion only a few. I have never experienced such quality yoghurt anywhere, Arkadianos have nailed it. Whilst on the farm I also met the father of Michalis. Yiannis has over time learnt that the products are only as good as the milk. In order to produce quality milk, the sheep need to be well cared for and without stress and importantly the feed has to be managed. The diet is organic and managed by finding the perfect mix of ingredients helping to produce the right fats, proteins, minerals and fibre. Recently I attended a conference where I met “Pastures for Life” who were giving a presentation and practical lesson in soil and pasture management. This further ensconced in my mind the need to move away from aggressive farming that destroys the soil and cannot provide the varied rich diet that pasture fed animals can and should truly enjoy. When on a recent farm visit, I met Mark and Jen from Torpenhow Farm in Cumbria. The story is simple. One day Mark saw the cows grazing in a perfect straight line. He scratched his head and realised that the area being grazed was a part of the land that the fertiliser missed. The cows actively sought out the nutrient rich and dense grass that had not been synthetically fertilised. A decision was made later that evening at Torpenhow to go fully organic and follow a pasture for life system. Find out more about pastures for life and ask your cheesemakers to consider making real yogurt. Real artisan cheese and yoghurt are rare to find – circa 3% compared to the industrial 97% market share. These numbers need to change for our planet’s sake. Do buy cheese from Torpenhow and try yoghurt from Fen Farm Dairy. Buy artisan and from wholesalers that are passionate and care for the environment. Real artisancheese andyoghurt are hard tofind – circa 3%compared to the industrial 97%market share. This needs to change for our planet’s sake. Buy artisanand fromwholesalers that care for the environment The Shilling joins the White Lake family