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Complex and balanced, nutty and mellow, this farmhouse British cheese is full flavoured with a texture that is at once chewy and moist.
Historically, all Red Leicester cheese was made in the county of Leicestershire using raw milk. A hard cheese with a longer shelf life than soft or blue cheeses, it was a favourite of Stilton makers who made it from surplus milk. But until David and Jo Clarke decided to revive the practice in 2005, Red Leicester in its true raw milk, clothbound form had been extinct for 50 years.
Though neither David nor Jo had any cheesemaking experience, the had inherited a herd of Holstein-Friesians whose pedigree and quality had been carefully overseen by the Clarke family for generations. Looking to old books and local advice, the pair recovered a traditional recipe and set to converting the milk of their 150 cows into Red Leicester using animal rennet and annatto; a natural plan dye obtained from a South American bush that has been used to colour cheeses for 300 years.
Selected by Neal’s Yard Dairy Sparkenhoe Red Leciester Cheddar 10kg 707162 Calendar Cheese Note