Cheese and Butter making
    | Our recipe is loosely based on that of traditional West Country cheddar. There are, though, a number of small technical differences within the make that give the cheese its unique texture and flavour. Working in the dairy, we have Richard our head cheesemaker and Matthew our assistant cheesemaker. Our two cheesemakers definitely do not need to go to gymbecause a days cheesemaking is a serious work out with about 600 kilos of curd being moved by hand several times. Making the cheese is an unusual blend of art and science. Getting the right temperatures and acidities throughout the process is vital. The cheesemaker also needs to have a really good feel for the curd becauseit is this that determines when the whey is drained off. This is critical forgetting the right texture and our distinctive flavour. The cold milk from the previous evening's milking is piped into the cheese vat and to it, the warm morning milk is added.Initially starter culture is added to turn the milk sugars (lactose) to lactic acid.Then traditional animal rennet is added to the milk (1 litre to 5000 litres of milk) to separate the curds from the whey,after which the milk is heated to a temperature of about 41°C. |
  | Butter We also make fantastic hand patted farm butter which has a unique taste of its own. It is available from the farmers markets we attend and from a few farm shops and delicatessens in the region. When the milk is separated into curds and whey, there is some cream left suspended in the whey. This remaining cream is removed from the whey, kept for a few days to ripen,which allows it to develop some extra flavour and it is then churned into butter. We add a little salt and then pat the butter by hand using traditional wooden butter pats. The butter has an unrivalled flavour and a wonderful marbling when you cut through it. |