Naturally our chilled cabinets are filled with organic milk, cream, clotted cream and yoghurt direct from the Riverford Dairy but we are also proud to showcase a large number and variety of local organic cheeses. The last ten years has seen an explosion in numbers of quality Westcountry cheese makers. One reason for this is victory for small dairies (championed by Neal’s Yard Dairy in London) over whether or not they could continue to make unpasteurised cheeses. We buy direct from as many small dairies as possible. This coming of age for local dairies was recognized in 2006 by the publication of an excellent book, 'West Country Cheesmakers' by Michael Raffael. Below are just some of our ever increasing list of cheese makers, who's cheeses we stock, together with information on Riverford and other dairy suppliers.
Riverford Organic Dairy
Riverford's 350 hectares gained full organic staus in 1988 and the dairy herd was certified in 1995. In 1999 a purpose built micro milk processing plant was built on the farm. The first tetrapak rolled off the production line in October. It was dropped on the floor and split.
Riverford Organic Dairy opened in October 2000. It processes and packs the farm's milk as well as making cream and yoghurt. These products are sold through the Vegetable Box Scheme throughout South Devon, and the dairy has been particularly successful getting its milk into school canteens. The clotted cream has twice won first prize at the Devon County Show. Surplus milk is sold to the Organic Milk Suppliers' Cooperative. So you might well be enjoying it in products like Lye Cross Cheese, Yeo Valley Yoghurt and Rocombe Farm Ice Cream.
The milk is unhomogenised which means the cream will separate. Cream always rises to the top at Riverford. The decision to stick to unhomogenised milk was in keeping with the farm's ethos. Homogenisation distributes the fat throughout the milk by forcing through tiny nozzles at high pressure. The sheer force smashes the large globules of cream to a tenth of their normal size. There is evidence that these small particles can be easily absorbed into the blood stream with obvious cardiovascular implications. |
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Exmoor Blue Company
Made by Ian Arnett from his farm idyllically situated between the Brendon and Quantock Hills. Exmoor Blue is made with Jersey cows' milk and is rich and buttery in colour and flavour with a moist but firm texture. Blissful Buffalo, made from buffalo milk (the herd residing near Holsworthy in North Devon) has a creamy texture and mild blue flavour.
Exmoor Blue Company also produce Somerset Blue (strong, very blue from Jersey cow's' milk); Partridge Blue (strong blue from Jersey cows' milk); Quantock Blue (from ewes' milk, semi soft and distinctly strong); Brendon Blue (from goats' milk, again pretty powerful) and Brendon Baby (the only non-blue that they make, being a mild, firm goats' cheese) |
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Montgomerys
For three generations the Montgomerys have made cheese on their farm near Yeovil in Somerset. They produce a fine traditional cheddar, and made in a truly traditional way – matured for over a year wrapped in muslin cloth on wooden shelves - this wonderful cheese has won numerous awards, including Best Cheddar at the 2006 British Cheese Awards.
We also stock their Ogle Shield - a hard creamy cheese made from Jersey cows' milk, washed in a weak brine solution so that a mould and a hard rind cannot form and you have Ogle Shield. The cheese itself is firm but has a sticky orange surface, a pungent aroma and a mellow flavour. |
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Cropwell Bishop Creamery
Is run by the Skailes family and produces award-winning Stilton cheeses from its creamery in the Vale of Belvoir, home of Stilton cheese making since the 17th Century. We have a liking for their Cropwell Bishop Blue Stilton which is a prime example of its kind. |
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Oakdown Farm
Max & Jackie keep a relatively small herd of goats on their Teign Valley farm in Devon and produce a subtle, moist, fresh goat's cheese - either plain or with garlic and herbs. Both are delightful and both are packaged in 165g wooden boxes. |
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Greens of Glastonbury
The Green family farm four farms around West Pennard, on the Somerset levels near Glastonbury Tor. They make organic traditional farmhouse Cheddar and Double Gloucester at their dairy at Newtown Farm, West Pennard. Most of the milk comes from the parlour across the yard. Forget the miles; you can measure the food footsteps. |
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Westcombe Dairy
Is owned and run by the Calver family. Tom Calver makes fantastic unpasteurised farmhouse Cheddar, smoked Bricklecombe, and Westcombe Red. The Cheddar is slightly moister and fruitier than Keen’s and Montgomery’s, with whom Westcombe share the Slow Food Presidium label, but delicious nevertheless. |
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Ducketts
Chris Duckett shares Westcombe Dairy’s facilities to make his young, fresh Caerphilly (top left, shown together with Ducketts Aged Caerphilly) . For years he was the only traditional Caerphilly maker left. There were none in Wales. Ducketts were so badly hit by the furore about unpasteurised cheese in the 1990s that they came close to giving up. Fortunately they didn’t, but ended up selling their farm and moving in with the Calvers (work wise) at Westcombe Dairy. As well as the Caerphilly they also make Wedmore (bottom, left) and Smoked Wedmore, compact, semi-soft cheese flavoured with herbs. |
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Sharpham Creamery
Debbie Mumford makes her famous soft cheeses at her new, purpose built dairy, overlooking the Dart Estuary at Sharpham, three miles down the river from Totnes. With the exception of Ticklemore Goat, which they make for Robin Congdon from nearby Sharpham Barton, the milk comes from the estate's organic Jersey cows. The cheeses include soft Sharpham and Elmhirst and semi hard Rustic (with or without chives). |
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Ticklemore
Just up the hill from Sharpham, Robin Congdon makes his blue cheeses from cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk. Devon, Harbourne and Beenleigh respectively, all are unpressed and pleasantly salty but completely different in taste. The sheep’s is full bodied and creamy, the goat’s milk, tangy and the cow’s milk rich and yellow in colour from the Ayrshire Milk. |
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Vulscombe
I have to confess to never having been to Graham Townsend’s dairy but I should. Delia Smith raved about Vulscombe Goat years ago but I am pleased to say we were selling it a long time before that. It comes in plain, herb, and peppercorn & garlic. It is particularly good crumbled into one of Delia’s lentil, walnut and rocket salads. |
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Norsworthy Dairy
I haven’t been there either but have spoken to Dave Johnson many times on the phone and he seems nearly as nice as his cheeses. He makes his Norsworthy, Gunstone, and Posbury from milk from his herd of Saanen, Alpines and Toggenburg goats on his farm near Crediton. Norsworthy (young) and Gunstone (matured) are both ‘rind washed’ cheeses while Posbury is flavoured with horse radish. |
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Davas
Made by Hugh Eddy of Davas Yoghurts from his own flock on his farm near Penzance in Cornwall. Small, individually wrapped cheese made from organic ewes' milk - mild and creamy and delicious with a drizzle off honey. We also stock his yoghurts. Hugh said this of his farm and cheese...
“Davas cheese is a fresh curd cheese made from organic sheeps’ milk on our farm in West Cornwall. The farm has been in the family for 90 years, formerly we grew vegetables and kept beef cattle, nowadays it is home to 100 Freisland ewes. I have been milking sheep for 7 years and most of the milk goes for Davas Yogurt, however in 2005 we began making this simple soft curd cheese. Davas is the word for a ewe in kernewyk, the old Cornish language, and this seemed a good name as at the moment we are the only sheep dairy in Cornwall, one of about 20ish in the UK.
The sheep are fed on grazed grass on fields that look out to the sea, and the milk is taken following milking into the cheese room. The cheese is made from raw (unpasteurised milk) with vegetarian rennet in small batches by my parents, Rosalind and Trevor Eddy. The cheese has no other additives and is ready for sale after 3 days as a fresh curd cheese.” |
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Lynher Dairy
Lynher Dairy was set up in the early 1980s as a partnership between two farms in Cornwall; Pengreep, west of Truro, and Netherton on the edge of Bodmin Moor. Cornish Yarg has always been their number one product but they make a number of other soft and semi-hard cheeses including Wild Garlic Yarg. Cornish Yarg is a young cheese with a faint lemony flavour. The nettle leaves, which give it its dictinctive appearance also add considerable depth and complexity to the flavour. The cheese is made at a new dairy on the farm at Pengreep. |
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Hafod - Welsh Organic Cheddar
Hafod is a traditional hard cheese handmade by Sam and Rachel Holden on Wales’ longest certified organic dairy farm, Bwlchwernen Fawr.
Made from unpasteurised milk from Ayrshire cows. Ayrshire milk is rich in butterfat and protein, and is widely regarded as being ideally suited to cheesemaking. It is this unique combination of creamy organic Ayrshire milk and traditional cheesemaking techniques that give Hafod its buttery, rich and nutty flavours.
The name - Hafod (pronounced Havod) – is Welsh for summer place or pasture. In the farm’s case, Hafod is an area of meadow next to the river Aeron where all the cows graze as heifers before joining the milking herd.
Bwlchwernen Fawr has been farmed organically for 35-years, by Sam’s father Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association. |
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Alsop & Walker, East Sussex
Arthur Alsop and Nicholas Walker specialise in artisan cheese making at their Factory in East Sussex. Winning 3 stars in the Great Taste Awards 2010 for Mayfield, an Emmental-style cheese.
Mayfield: The British version of Emmental, made form cows' milk and aged for 5-7 months. This firm, golden cheese has oval shaped holes throughout and has a soft, sweet, fruity flavor. A wonderful cheese for melting and snacking. Kids love this cheese!
vegetarian/pasteurised |
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Yeo Valley
Yeo Valley is probably the biggest organic brand in the country and Riverford gets it straight from the factory at 'factory gate' prices. Despite the fact that Yeo Valley is, without question, big business, they are still a family owned company. Yeo Valley made its name with its full fat yoghurts and these, particularly the natural, strawberry, and raspberry are superlatively good. After the yoghurts, Yeo Valley Ice Cream is very close to the top of my Riverford shopping list. Rocombe Farm Ice Cream is brilliant but with four kids it can work out a little expensive. The Yeo Valley litres (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and a very questionable banana) are made at the Rocombe Farm factory and at half the price - what more can I say? The Yeo Valley frozen yoghurts and sorbets are equally good and the Crème Fraiche Ice Cream with Blackcurrant swirls is (I never thought I would say this) 'to die for'. Try it with strawberries and a twist of black pepper.
Their new range of Panacotta desserts is pretty good too, but don't forget to go straight to the gym. Do not pass the fridge.
You don't get to be as big as Yeo Valley without being able to blow your own trumpet. This they do very effectively on their website so I took the liberty of copying the following from their old website. For more infprmation on their extensive list of products visit http://www.yeovalleyorganic.co.uk:
"Yeo Valley has been producing yogurt since as long ago as 1974. All these years of know-how were put to good use in 1993 when we first began producing organic yogurts with organic milk supplied by The Organic Milk Suppliers' Cooperative Ltd (look out for their logo on our own and others' organic dairy products).Our very first product (an organic natural yogurt), is the best selling natural yogurt in the UK today. Our strawberry and apricot organic yogurts are also two of the best selling of their kind.
The success of our products from the outset soon meant that we needed more space in order to meet demand. We decided to establish a new company - one dedicated to Organic agriculture, Organic farmers and Organic products. The Yeo Valley Organic Company Ltd was born in 1996. We bought a high quality dairy at Cannington, Somerset, and moved our cherished organic products to their new home. Our dairy is set in 28 acres of land at the foot of the Quantock hills, with plenty of room for expansion. Our original Organic Wholemilk range now has a family of related products, including:
• Organic Virtually Fat Free Fruited Yogurts
• Organic Children's Yogurt
• Organic Crème Fraiche
• Organic Cream
• Organic Fruit Compotes
• Organic Frozen Yogurt
• Organic Butter
All of our products are certified as being totally organic by the Soil Association. They all carry a seal of approval that guarantees the 'Organicness' and integrity of our products. Our aim remains to produce high quality, value for money organic products and we promise that as the range and availability of organic raw materials improves, we'll keep on innovating and producing new products to give our customers more and more choice." |
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