England v France in a battle of the cheeses

We asked cheesemonger Andrew Swinscoe for his five best French cheeses, and five best English ones. So 'set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide', it's a cheese battle across The Channel!

The French cheeses 

The French will always be known for their cheese and the quality small farmhouse producers in France that we buy from are making, without doubt, some of the best cheeses in the world. Of course, it helps that cheeses I stock are made by close friends of mine from my time working in France.

1. Tarentais

When enjoying French cheeses you’ve got to have a classic Chevre ‘goats cheese’. France is well known for the small fresh and aged goats cheese that frequently come from the Loire valley (historically the Saracens left their goats here when they were defeated by the French). Tarentais is a little different as it is made at high Alpine pastures in the Savoie where the slopes are too steep for cows; the wild Alpine flowers that the goats’ feed on add a real depth of flavour to this unusual goats’ cheese.

2. Brie de Meaux

Brie de Meaux is the classic and original Brie that originates from just outside Paris. I adore the Dongé family’s Brie de Meaux. One of seven remaining producers, they are third generation cheese-makers and their Brie is considered one of the best: mushroomy with a velvety texture.

3. Langres

The French are known for their ‘stinky’ cheese and Langres, like its more famous cousin, Epoisses, is no exception. A ‘washed rind’ cheese it is frequently washed in Marc de Bourgogne. The Courtyard Dairy buy it young and wash it more frequently than most to give this orange cheese an unctuous, winey, perfumed note.

4. Comté

Comté is to France what Cheddar is to England. France’s biggest selling cheese, made in the mountains, Comté has a butterscotch/toffee sweetness and nutty bite. Marcel Petite is the most well-known affineur, but try the Mons aged version for an extra bite to the sweetness.

5. Persille du Malzieu

France is well known for its spicy rich blues – from Bleu d’Auvergne to Fourme d’Ambert. Roquefort is perhaps the most well known but all of it is made by five big producers – try something different, like Persille du Malzieu, a rich, spicy, sheep’s milk blue cheese made just outside the region of Roquefort.

The English cheeses

In 1965 J G Davis, an eminent dairy professor, reported, “The biggest problem with the food industry in the year 2000 will not be quantity, but monotony”. And for a long time, as more and more farmhouses stopped producing unique quality cheese, it looked like that was the way cheese was going in the UK: the way of mass-production block cheddar.

Thankfully, however, there has been since the 1990’s resurgence in the production of quality artisan cheese, with it now being said by some that the UK produces a greater range of cheeses than the French! The quality in the UK is staggering and it gets better every week. It’s exciting to be in the UK with all these new cheese-makers springing up. In France cheese-making can sometimes be constrained by tradition, but here in the UK we haven’t got that legacy – which I think helps with innovation.

1. Dorstone

A deliciously fluffy, light goats’ cheese made in Hereford by Charlie Westhead. Clean and fresh, with lemony flavours.

2. Tunworth

Vegetal and punchy Camembert style cheese made in Hampshire by two stalwarts of the British artisan cheese industry: Stacey Hedges and Charlotte Spruce.

3. St James

A ‘washed-rind’ pungent sheep’s milk cheese made by Martin Gott, Nicola Robinson and Andrew and Sandy Legg on the Holker Farm in Cumbria. St James is named after the late James Aldridge, the champion of farmhouse cheese makers and unpasteurized cheese. 

4. Dale End Cheddar

A tangy, rich, full-on Cheddar made in Yorkshire by Alastair Pearson from unpasteurised Dairy Shorthorn milk and aged for 18 months. Alastair, a local lad who worked at Botton, travelled to Germany to learn his cheesemaking trade. Dale End Cheddar is made by a Camphill Community in Botton Village. Camphill Communities are a social enterprise for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other special needs.

5. Cote Hill Blue

A soft and creamy blue: a recent invention by Michael and Mary Davenport on their farm in Lincolnshire. Mary & Michael Davenport are small tenancy farmers in Lincolnshire with only 63 cows (including the unusual Red Poll breed which has a nice, rich milk). Cote Hill Blue is a soft, rich blue with the quality of their unpasteurised milk giving it a distinctive and unusual taste.

But which is my ultimate favourite?

I love Dale End Cheddar; it’s got such a rich flavour with the unpasteurised Dairy Shorthorn milk.

Which is your favourite cheese? Talk to us in the comments box below

Andy Swinscoe is a cheesemonger and ‘affineur’ at The Courtyard Dairy, near Settle, Yorkshire. For more information visit www.thecourtyarddairy.co.uk 

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