Cheese Wire title graphic
 Issue no 17 - May/June 2003
 

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Issue 15 ... Issue 16
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Welcome to the seventeenth issue of the Teddington Cheese Wire.

The recent good weather has made us all look forward to summer, picnics, BBQ's and days out. Don't forget your cheese. Tips - think of lighter cheeses (flavour wise), subtle, gentle more summery tastes. Also try to have smaller (individual) cheeses if you are buying soft ones.

As summer gets closer we will be bringing in new cheeses or seeing the return of old favourites. If you are unable to visit the shop in Teddington then our website always has a comprehensive guide to what we have available; or alterntaively give us a call and speak to Richard our Head Cheesemonger (see article below).

Our programme of trying out new cheeses is going very well. We do this in the shop initially to gauge popularity and get opinions from our local customers then the best ones go onto our website (recently Mahon, Cornish Blue, Lord of the Hundreds, Westcombe Red). We hope you enjoy seeing new additions.

One new line we have just received is some new Organic Sweet Biscuits from Island Bakeries in Scotland. These were discovered at IFE and were sold for the first time in our shop on 10th May with resounding success. They will appear on the website in a few days. There are four varieties - Lemon Melts, Oat Crumblies, Chocoalte Ginger and Shortbread. They are made by the same family who make our Isle of Mull Cheddar!

At the Teddington Cheese we are always trying to source new lines in cheese, wines, biscuits, books, knives etc. If you have any ideas on what you would like us to sell then please do let us know and we can try and source it for you.


Meet Head Cheesemonger - Richard Adamson



We felt it would be a good idea to find out what made Richard so interested in cheese. Richard's background is Arts based (degree in Film & TV). Richard came into cheesemongering by a twist of fate - an unstable and fickle world of television and the need for a job!
Richard says he always had an interest in cheese (as a consumer) and found out that the local shop was in need of a cheesemonger (2000) and so the story began.

Following 2 years work at Teddington and Kew Richard left to tour the world with his girlfriend Charis (some people blame them for the shops closing as two fully trained staff left at the same time).

Richard return to Teddington Cheese is thanks to his girlfriends mother!! She was walking past the shop and saw a note in the window for 'Head Cheesemonger' and within two days he was back in the swing of things.

For those who visit the shop or speak on the phone we all recognise his enthusiasm, knowledge and keeness to find the best cheeses for the customers. Richard says it is the interest and the passion for cheese which keeps him at the Teddington Cheese (lucky for us).

Drawing of a mouse on a cheese wire


Inside

Features
Head Cheesemonger

Cheese during Pregancy

Offers
May Special Offers

Fondue and Raclette

May Cheese Selection

Cheese Focus
Crottin de Chavignol

Recipe
Crottin on a bed of green salad

Making the perfect Fondue

Competition
Name that cheese
and last months competition winner


SPECIAL OFFERS
FOR MAY

For May only we are offering:

  1. 10% off all hampers and cheeseboards over £40
  2. Extra 15% off our champagne
  3. 20% off any Pitt or Churchill Hamper


If you have any comments on this Cheese Wire or what you would like to see in the future issues then please e-mail us.

Next Issue - Number 18

  • What makes a good cheese;
  • Meet the owners;
  • what cheese can I send abroad?
  • Drawing competition

Recipe

Crottin on a bed of Green Salad Leaves

This is a very quick but deleicious starter for 4 or light lunch for 2.

4 Crottin - cut into 3 widthways and a paket of mixed green salad leaves.

French Dessing:
(can be made in advance and stored in fridge).

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard
1 clove of garlis, crushed
salt &freshly ground pepper

make up dressing by crushing the garlic clove and then add the balsamic vinegar followed by salt and pepper and mustard. Mix this all together then gradually add the olive oil.

Layout the salad leaves onto the indivdual plates if you are making a starter or on one plat for a lunch dish. Sprinkle over the French Dressing and gently toss the leaves getting an even distribution.

When ready to serve, put the slices of Crottin under a hot grill for approximately 3 minutes or until the cheeses are just starting to mlt. Place these on top of your salad leaves and serve immediately.

Delicious served with fruit chutney of your choice.


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Cheese Focus Cheese Focus Cheese Focus
Crottim
Crottin de Chavignol

France

Situated in the north-east department of the Cher, Chavignol is a hamlet near the town of Sancerre, which is famous for its wine production.

The Crottin de Chavignol was first made as a snack to be eaten during the grape harvest. It took its name from the small clay oil lamp from the Sancerrois but was soon nicknamed 'horse droppings'. This was because crottin in French means 'dung' and because of the cheese's resemblance to horse dung when mature.

The Crottin de Chavignol was granted its AOC status in 1976. When fresh, a Crottin de Chavignol weighs 140g, but during the first two weeks of maturation it dries to 110g. The rind develops a white bloom with a bluish hue and can be eaten at this young stage. Its texture is moist and it has a light goaty flavour. After a further three weeks of ripening the small cheese shrinks to 70 grammes. It becomes harder and drier, and the flavour becomes fuller and the smell stronger.

It is at this stage that we sell the Crottin de Chavignol at The Teddington Cheese. The cheese can be matured for a further three months during which time it shrinks to 40g. The rind becomes pitted and brown, and sometimes black. The flavour is intense and the very hard rind can only be removed by grating. Sixteen million Crottin de Chavignol are made every year, the majority in large creameries.

The farmhouse Crottins we sell at The Teddington Cheese are made using unpasteurised goats' milk. They represent a very small proportion of the total production and their flavour is always superb. These small cheeses are excellent throughout the year although the very best, as with most goats' milk cheeses, are made from spring to autumn.

Enjoy with a glass of Sancerre wine (click here for details). Each Crottin measures 4cm in diameter, is 3cm tall, weighs 75 grammes and has a fat content of 45%.

Click here to buy some crottin.

£2.60 per crottin or order 5 and get 1 free!

Name that Cheese

This Cheese wire we have disguised 10 cheeses and all we want you to do is to guess the cheeses. All cheese are on our website.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10

All entries must be received by 15thJune 2003 (please include your name, address and telephone number). The winner will receive one of our brand new Cheese Boards and Cheese Knives. Entries will be accepted by post or e-mail.

If there is a tie then please complete this question:

Since we re-opened how many different cheeses have we sold through the website?

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Fondue and Raclette sets
for sale and hire

Photograph of a Swiss fondue set

For Sale:

Swiss 'Alpe' fondue set £65.00
(complete with pot, stand, burner, 6 forks and 6 plates)
Raclette 'Ambiance' for half cheeses £175.00
Raclette ' Party' for quarter cheeses £115.00

Hire service:

(for those who live close to our Teddington shop)

Fondue set £12.00 (+ VAT) per day and Raclette 'Party' £10.00 (+ VAT) per day

Photograph of a raclette sets

 

COMPETITION WINNER FROM CHEESE WIRE
No 16

The winner of the last Caption Competition, was Gemma Parry of West Bridgeford, Nottingham with:

It was the dreaded weigh-in time at The Celebrity Cheese Club!

Thank you to everyone who entered our competition and we certainly had some very original entries.

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OUR SELECTION OF CHEESES FOR MAY/JUNE
We have looked at our cheese and come up with an original and unique selection of cheeses we hope will compliment the late spring and early summer. We have included some new, some old and some of our favourites. Click here for May Choices.
Mahon: Spanish cheese of year in 1992. Has a bright orange rind with an ivory interior.
Gabriel: Wonderful Gruyere type cheese is full of flavour and a strong, fruity zing.
Beeleigh Blue: It is a blue sheep's milk cheese - moist yet crumbly. Flavour is steely blue with a burnt caramel sweetness.
Gorwydd Caerphilly: matured for 2 months and exhibits a lemony taste with a creamymoist texture.
Old Amsterdam: Coated in black wax and matured for 18 months. Deep yellow interior which is sweet/ fruity.
Smoked Montgommery's: oak smoked for six hours, which allows smoked flavour to penetrate the cheese.
Valencay: Elegant pyramid goats cheese coated in ash Taste at first is fresh then cirus like and then with age a nuttier flavour..
Comte: Mountain chalet cheese. Very creamy and has a piquant yet sweet, fruity flavour. Bite is firm, dry and slightly granular.

Eating Cheese during Preganancy.

We get many mothers (and also fathers) asking what cheese can you eat when pregnant. We have spoken to a number of experts - Food From Britain, Dept or Health and Specialist Cheesemakers.

Our advice is therefore:

Pregnant mothers are advised not to eat mould ripened cheese i.e brie types and blue cheeses, whether pasteurised or not. Fresh unpasteurised cheeses should also be avoided.

Well matured cheeses (pasteurised on unpasteurised) are safe, as the longer the cheese is matured, the maore acidic it becomes and bacteria cannot survive in this environment.

Cheese we sell which we classify as 'Safe for Pregnant Mothers' are:

Applewood
Cilowen Organic
Cornish Yarg
Boilie Cow
Fowlers Derby
Gubbeen
Jarlsberg
Halloumi
Manchego
Old Amsterdam
Pecorino
S/P Wensleydale
Talleggio
Y Fenni

Mahon

THE PERFECT FONDUE

Fondue started life in Switzerland as a rustic affair using leftover scraps of cheese, and although nowadays the ingredients may be more sophisticated it is still a sociable and down-to-earth dish with everyone sharing from the same pot. The famous Swiss cheeses Gruyere, Emmental and Appenzeller remain the most popular fondue ingredients but good results can also be achieved by adding Comtè, Beaufort, Raclette or Tete de Moine to the mixture. We are often asked for advice on how to prepare the perfect fondue, and so here is a classic recipe.

Swiss Fondue
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/2 clove garlic
500g Gruyere
250g Emmental
150g Appenzeller
350ml/1/2 bottle dry white wine
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons cornflour
1 1/2 tablespoons kirsch
pinch of nutmeg
freshly ground pepper

To prepare:

Rub the inside of your fondue pot with the cut surface of the garlic. Grate the cheeses and put them in the pot. Mix the cornflour with the lemon juice and then add to the cheese together with the wine. Heat the mixture gently on your kitchen stove until the cheese melts, stirring frequently to achieve a smooth consistency.

Take care not to let the cheese boil (if your fondue pot is the ceramic type do this part in a saucepan and then transfer the melted cheese back into the fondue pot). Stir in the kirsch, pepper and nutmeg and then place the mixture over the burner on the table.

To serve:

Spear bite-sized cubes of bread on to a fork and dunk them into the cheese. Stir until the bread is well-coated, then remove whilst rotating your fork to stop the cheese from dripping. Give the mixture a stir every time you dip into it and it will remain creamy down to the very bottom.

Useful tips:

• If the fondue is too thick, beat in a little warmed wine or kirsch.
•If the fondue is too thin, stir in some grated cheese over medium heat. If you have run out of cheese, add a little cornflour mixed with some white wine.
• If the cheese and wine separate, return to the stove and beat with a whisk over a high heat. If you keep on stirring as you eat, the fondue should not separate.
• Make sure everyone drinks plenty of wine.
• Get someone else to wash up the fondue pot.

All articles © www.teddingtoncheese.co.uk