Saturday, 04 Feb, 2012
 Evening Dining Cheeseboard

Cheeseboard

Spenwood, Wigmore, Barkham Blue, to name but a few

Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality.  - Clifton Paul Fadiman

We are passionate about our local produce, this is no more apparent than in our Cheese selection, sourced from local farmers by our Head Chef.

Please see below where we have described our selected cheeses in detail.

Selection of local Cheeses  £8.50

Spenwood is a vegetarian cheese that is made from sheep's milk. According to its texture it ranks among hard cheeses. The cheese is creamy in the mouth, melting to release its distinct sweet, caramel flavour, which is superbly balanced with acidity. The affinage takes six months and the fat content is 50%.

Wigmore is an English cheese that comes from Berkshire region and was created by Anne Wigmore. It is a vegetarian cheese made from sheep's milk and belongs to semi-soft cheeses. The curd is washed to remove excess whey, then packed in moulds to drain. The cheese has a fantastic taste, combining floral flavours with burnt caramel, mocadamia nuts and roast lamb. Wigmore constantly wins gold medals at the British Cheese Awards.

Barkham Blue is made with Chanel Island cows milk, a firm, buttery, slightly open textured cheese with a natural mould ripened rustic rind.  It has a deep yellow moist interior spread with dark blue-green veins.  It can be matured for up to ten weeks when it becomes richer and softer.  Winner of the gold medal in both the British and World Cheese Awards in 2003.

Anne Wigmore makes Waterloo, Wigmore and Spenwood at Riseley near Reading.  Her cousin Sandy Rose makes 3 blue cheeses, Barkham Blue, Barkham Chase and Loddon Blewe at the Two Hoots dairy near Arborfield.

Neustift Dairy Goats is made from unpasteurised goats' milk from our own herd. Available in plain, garlic, chives, black pepper, mixed herbs. Also award winning plain in vine leaves, suitable for vegetarians. NEW: Lemon and lavender soft cheese.

Tornegus is a washed-rind cheese: the wash used to include Kentish wine until the food safety people got nervous.  Finding that the wine didn’t add a great deal to the cheese, Pat left it out, and she feels that the cheese is just as good.  The pinkish rind also has a scattering of Egyptian Mint, to give the cheese a sweeter finish.  the texture is  silky - semi-soft, and the flavour spicy, becoming fruitier and more powerful as it matures.

Rowans Restaurant at the Coppid Beech Hotel | Bracknell, Berkshire | 01344 303333