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During 23 years with the BBC, and a 43 year journalistic career (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), for our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, spotting trends was crucial, and today a new one could be emerging – in the rise of cheeses!
The Economist has the ‘Big Mac Index’, so perhaps it’s also time for the ‘Cheese Index’!
Wales could be at the top of this Index, too, because there are a lot of cheeses here…
Wales has major producers like Caws Cenarth, and the Snowdonia Cheese Company which lead a vibrant modern craft scene.
- Perl Wen: An innovative organic soft cheese from Caws Cenarth that blends the fluffy bloomy rind of a Brie with a lactic, lemony Caerffili centre.
- Perl Las: A creamy, golden-hued blue cheese that balances a gentle, salty kick with a mellow, buttery finish.
- Golden Cenarth: A washed-rind semi-soft cheese bathed in local cider, yielding a pungent aroma and a savoury, nutty depth.
- Black Bomber: A powerful, extra-mature artisan cheddar from the Snowdonia Cheese Company encased in signature black wax.
There are iconic traditional cheeses such AS Caerffili (Caerphilly) which is a pale, crumbly, and slightly tart cow’s milk cheese historically packed for local coal miners, as well as Hafod Cheddar, an organic, raw cow’s milk hard cheese with a rich and buttery flavour.
Matthew O’Callaghan, who organises the Artisan Cheese Fair, Britain’s largest, reckons that the number of UK cheese varieties has risen to around 1,400 (well over double the total in France, by some counts), and more than 300 cheesemakers.
“You could have a different British cheese from a different cheesemaker every day of the year”, he has declared.
As more consumers want cheeses with a clear provenance, linked to a nice craft story and better farming practices, sales of speciality brands have been outgrowing the general market, according to IMARC, a research firm.
The reputation of cheeses in Britain generally, and Wales in particular, is rising.
At last year’s World Cheese Awards, three of 14 finalists were British: two Red Leicesters and an ash-coated soft goat’s cheese.
So now perhaps that classic line in Wallace and Gromit should be changed, when a person who doesn’t like cheese is confronted.
Instead of Wallace saying plaintively, “Not even WENSLEYDALE?”, maybe now he should proclaim: “Not even CAERPHILLY?”!
Phil’s memories of his extraordinary award-winning career in journalism as he was gripped by the incurable disabling condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’ (although there is NOTHING about cheese in there!). Order it now!
