Is it like taking coals to Newcastle? Is the UK so awash in cheese that it cannot accept any more? I’d wanted to to take vertical tastings of the terrific cheeses that the excellent Cato Corner Farm from Connecticut offers around this time every year (Vivace Bambino, Vivace, & Vivace Molto; Womanchego, Mrs. Robinson, & Wise Womanchego, etc.), plus their beautifully stinky Hooligan, to the UK next week – but, no, the British Government forbids dairy imports from the US.
Talk about a third-world country forbidding food from the first-.
That’s an indirect “victim” of the Brexit as regulations for imports (meat, diary etc) from non-EU countries have changed/became more strict after the Brexit.
(Not sure if I would call the US cheese quality “first world” compared to England’s (or Europe in general) - more the other way around)
Have you had Cato Corner, or Jasper Hill, or Rogue recently?
We’re at the California-France-wine inflection point in cheese history. (And, for cheese, I only talk UK, not Europe in general, of which the UK has made it clear it wants no part of.)
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
6
Yes, it’s a long time since the UK could really be regarded as a first line country. Whether we’ve quite descended to third world status may be a moot point but it’s not one I’d argue over. We’re a small, impoverished country without international influence on working domestic infrastructure.
As well as dairy products, we also ban meat products. Fish, fruit and vegetable products have restrictions but not outright bans. I’ve no idea of the reasoning behind these bans/restrictions so can’t answer the question posed in the title. Maybe it’s simply to piss off foreigners - we like to do that.
There are so many American cheeses that many people consider “first world.” I just tried the new Winnimere from Jasper Hill, a cider washed blue, only one of their latest and greatest. Too many to list so I won’t make a US favorite cheese list. I love UK including Irish cheeses and especially Spanish cheeses and also Italian, French, Greek, also lovely.
Not everyone by far in the UK wants nothing to do with the rest of Europe.
I personally don’t see a reason to make it an American vs. European contest with either wine or cheese. We are lucky to have so many great choices. Don’t buy the ones you don’t like. Try small samples.
I’m in Boston and I didn’t know about Cato Corner…that’s next up! So thanks!
Yes - all of them. The problem is that in the US there are a few good cheese makers which are on comparable levels with European/UK cheese makers but the breath of high quality cheese makers is missing. Every time we are back in Europe we are reminded on these differences - when we go to a supermarket to buy some cheese in Europe is it hard to not pick a good as the selection is excellent. Try the same in a supermarket in the US - limited selection of even decent cheeses
My Swiss brother-in-law always brings several vacuum packed cheeses from Switzerland to the UK when he visits. And he’s done that several times since Brexit. The UK rarely deploys sniffer dogs like Australia or the US, it relies on travellers to self-declare I think. So unless you are planning to bring in truckloads of cheese for commercial reasons, I’m sure you should be find to bring in cheese in sealed packs for personal consumption.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
14
One of my favourite British cheeses is Stichelton. A big piece is already in the fridge for Xmas Day. It’s very similar to a Stilton. In fact it is a Stilton.
Stilton has Protected Designation of Origin status. That means it can only be made in certain counties and has other specifications about its manufacture. Now, Stichelton conforms with the location requirement and all items of the specification except one. Stilton has to be made from pasteurised milk and Stichelton uses raw milk, so it can’t be called a Stilton. But, if you say “Stichelton” several times, you’ll find it almost sounds like “Stilton” - which is the intent.
Re: unpasteurised cheeses, I’m pleasantly surprised to see the range available even in run-of-the-mill supermarkets like Tesco in the UK. I’ve discovered some really nice cheese, usually always on a ‘3 for the price of 2’ offer, including unpasteurised cheeses and fancier cheeses from their ‘Finest’ range.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
18
I usually shop at Sainsbury where the cheese range has shrunk since they got rid of the deli counter. Only pre-packaged stuff now, mainly from the big producers.
Fortunately, I have two cheesemongers within a few minutes drive - both of them stocking almost exclusively British & Irish cheese. We’ll be popping to one later in the week to stock up for the festives - I have Gubbeen, Montgomery Cheddar, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester on the shopping list. And Baron Bigot - a farmhouse Brie like cheeese from Suffolk - if it looks oozy enough
Stichelton is one of our absolute favorite blue cheeses, and one of our favorite UK cheeses. I think I already shared my sadness about the Ardrahan dairy farm no longer making theirs
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
20
I had to Google Ardrahan. I see most of their production is exported to the States.
