Cheese aisle in New Zealand

This is a guest post by Liz Marsom, who was born and raised in Great Britain and now lives and works in New Zealand. She is a cheese lover.

I’m sure there are many great varieties of cheese available in the U.S. Though, I found much of the readily available cheese in the regular supermarket to be over processed and tasteless plastic. A massive generalisation I know! But, who else has liquid cheese at room temperature … in a spray can? You’re not the only ones that I think have lost the true meaning of cheese. The kiwis have cheeses called Tasty and Mild. I’m still unsure of what Colby is … I’m guessing somewhere in-between.

British cheese itself is a bit of an underdog and isn’t famed like the French cheeses. Running from camembert and, my father’s favourite, the exceptionally smelly Chaumes to more delicate brie French cheese is pretty special. Even their processed soft cheese Le Vache Qui Ri or The Laughing Cow has a flavour that no one else seems to have managed.
But what a variety of classic great British cheeses there are!

The classic Cheddar hails from the South West. A solid lump of cheese that’s perfect in a sandwich with lashings of Branston Pickle or melted on toast with a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Available in different strengths of flavour that all depend on its maturity, the only one to really choose is vintage cheddar to get the magnificent classic tang.

Stilton hails from Leicestershire. A rich crumbly cheese full of the blue veins giving its strength of flavour it’s not the prettiest cheese but boy it’s one of my favourites. Served on a cheeseboard, grilled on a portobello mushroom or in Beef and Stilton Pie, it gets my vote!

Wallace and Gromit made Stinking Bishop cheese famous and stink it does. Although it turns out to have a more delicate flavour than the odour would suggest, I have to say I think it smells a little bit too much for me. Cornish Yarg from the deepest southwest is a beautiful cheese wrapped in nettle leaves as it cures.

Red Leicester, Wensleydale, Double Gloucester or a bath blue…. I could go on forever as cheese is my favourite food. But for now I’ll just plan my lunch. After all this talk of cheese I’ll have a Ploughmans. A classic British country pub menu choice based upon what you’d have for lunch as you worked the horses ploughing ready for the crops. The Ploughmans consists of a lump of cheddar and a wedge of stilton with pickled onions, chutney and some crusty bread. This is best served with a pint of real ale at room temperature, of course.