Know Your Source

You may have made various food related New Year’s resolutions that you may or may not have succeeded in keeping. Perhaps you vowed to give up chocolate, eat more fruit and veg, limit the carbs or cut back on alcohol?                                

Whatever dietary promises you made, a good approach to food is to eat a balanced diet (a well-worn phrase, but a good mix of different foods in moderate amounts seems wise) and to understand more about where your food originates and what it contains.

We certainly care more about the use of additives, rearing of livestock and source of origin than we did in the past, which is very positive. Of course, the more we make our own foods, using locally sourced ingredients where possible, or at least those with a reliable provenance, the more we can be sure of what we’re eating.

You may bake your own bread, make meals from scratch and even grow some of your own veg, so why not add cheese making to your list? By making your own cheese you can select the type of milk you use (sheep’s, cow’s or goat’s) from your preferred source, use our high quality rennet (including vegetarian and GM free) and cultures/starters and add natural flavourings and herbs of your choice for added interest. That way you’ll know exactly what’s in your cheese and how it was made!

Find out more at www.cheesemaking.co.uk

A New Start

With the start of a new year you may be considering taking up a new hobby or pastime. There are so many great activities available, but if you’re looking for something really different that provides a tasty end result, then cheesemaking could be the pastime for you.

Cheese is a very nutritious foodstuff (an added bonus if you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to eat more healthily) as it is a great source of protein, calcium and vitamins. The options you have when making cheese are also endless, with a great variety of hard and soft cheeses to choose from and the scope to add herbs, seasoning and flavourings of your choice to create even more possibilities.

A great way to get started is with one of our comprehensive kits that include the essentials to get you started, together with full instructions. www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cheese-making-cheese-making-kits

We also supply a range of equipment and ingredients, such as rennet, to provide you with everything that you need to make delicious cheese.

So what are you waiting for? Take up cheesemaking today!

Christmas With Moorlands

It’s that time of year again when you find yourself scratching your head, trying to think of unusual Christmas gifts for those hard-to-buy-for people.

Maybe you’re looking for a present for someone who seems to have just about everything! Or perhaps you’re searching for something to give to a couple or a whole family as a joint gift. You may be totally out of ideas, so we have a great suggestion - choose one of the great cheese making kits from our selection at Moorlands!

From budding young chefs to seasoned food connoisseurs, our kits are sure to please everyone. Our popular kid’s kit is a definite winner, whilst our combined kit contains what you need to make both hard and soft cheeses. Take a look at these and more at:   

www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cheese-making-cheese-making-kits

Of course, by giving a cheese making kit this Christmas, you’re not only giving the opportunity to enjoy a pleasurable pastime, but the ongoing gift of lovely fresh cheese to enjoy!

Merry Christmas from Moorlands!

A Cheesy Tradition

A traditional part of Christmas is to serve a tasty, festive cheeseboard, whether that’s after a hearty lunch or dinner for family, or as part of an informal drinks party for friends and neighbours. A Yorkshire tradition is to serve cheese with the Christmas cake, a practice that dates back to the 1900s.

Favourite choices for your festive spread may include vintage Cheddar, Stilton, Brie, smoked cheeses and maybe some Wensleydale with cranberries or White Stilton with apricots. What would be your number one Christmas cheese choice?

Whichever specific cheeses you choose, it’s a good idea to have a mixture of hard and soft cheeses, offering a variety of flavours and textures. What you serve them with is up to you: savoury biscuits, grapes or simply a glass of wine or port.

Of course, to add even more variety to your cheeseboard, you can make your own cheese, to which you can add your personal choice of herbs, spices and flavourings, giving your Christmas spread that truly unique touch.

Regardless of which cheeses you select or how you serve them, there’s no doubt it’s just not Christmas without some delicious cheese!

For cheesemaking kits and equipment, please visit www.cheesemaking.co.uk

Keep It Fresh!

Once you’ve made your tasty cheese, you want to be sure to store it correctly in order to keep it fresh. Many people think the best way to store cheese is by wrapping it in cling film (indeed many shop-bought cheeses are wrapped in plastic) but this traps moisture and encourages the growth of mould. We recommend that you wrap your cheese in waxed paper or ultra-fine polypropylene sheets (depending on the type of cheese), which will prevent the cheese from becoming too dry and prevent the build-up of excess moisture. To store soft cheeses, wax coated paper product code 0154 is best, whilst hard cheeses benefit from being wrapped in ultra-fine polypropylene sheets, product code 0157. See http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cheese-making-cheese-wrap to read more and place an order.

Then there’s the question of whether to refrigerate cheese. It’s possible to keep hard cheeses in an environment with a constant temperature of 8-15°C, but soft cheeses really do need refrigeration. To get the best of the cheese’s flavour, it’s best to remove it from the fridge up to an hour before serving.

Another important thing to remember is that mould ripened cheeses need to be stored completely separately from non-mould ripened cheeses, to avoid cross contamination.  Blue and white mould ripened cheeses also need to be stored separately from one another. If you need to store both in the same area, they should be placed in different, sealed containers and when handling the cheeses, the blue cheese boxes should be opened and handled last, to minimise cross contamination.

 

Got any questions about cheese making and storage? Then visit Moorlands http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/qa where we’re pleased to provide lots of answers!

Softly, Softly

Soft cheeses are delicious served simply with savoury biscuits, apples, grapes or a glass of wine, but there are some great recipes that you can make with them too.

Try cooking some mushrooms in butter and garlic and serving on top of brie (or a similar cheese) melted on wholemeal toast. Or combine soft goat’s cheese with chopped herbs and seasoning, halve some small tomatoes and scoop out the centre, then use the cheese mixture to stuff the tomatoes.

To liven up chicken breasts, make a slit to form a pocket and insert a generous helping of soft cheese and herb mixture before baking, or for a sweet take on soft cheese, add some sugar and vanilla essence to taste, mix well, and use to stuff fruits such as dates, figs or halved pears.

 

Of course, before you try any of these tasty serving ideas you’ll need some soft cheese, so why not try making your own? With our easy-to-follow soft cheese kit, you can make your own tasty version, with the option to add herbs or flavourings at source!

Visit http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/soft-cheese-making-kit to learn more or order your kit from Moorlands. Enjoy!

The Big Cheese Move

If you’ve visited our website recently, or if you follow us on Twitter, you will have seen that Moorlands has recently moved our premises from the beautiful setting of Castle Cary, Somerset to the equally beautiful Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire.

Of course Somerset is known for being the home of Cheddar cheese, which originated from the village of the same name. It is thought to have been around since the 12^th century, when it was purchased by Henry II, and it’s still a hugely popular buy today.

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire is the home of the popular, semi-hard Gloucester cheese, which is actually available in single and double varieties. Double Gloucester is aged for a longer period, creating a stronger taste, and is often blended with ingredients such as chives and spring onions. It also features in Gloucestershire’s annual cheese-rolling contest.

But whatever your taste in cheese, and regardless of where we’re actually based, you can be sure of purchasing premium quality cheesemaking kits, equipment and supplies from http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk