Yorkshire Cheese

The second Thursday of the month is traditionally* the night for Homage 2 Fromage, Leeds' own cheese club, a gathering of fans of fromage, tasting and celebrating different varieties of cheese.  Sadly this month saw the night moved due to a pre-existing booking at the venue.  Cheese club happened last week and I was not able to attend.  The theme of the night was white rind cheese (brie, camembert etc.) which I love but you can't always get what you want.

Today, to make up for last week's omission, I visited George & Joseph at The Source on Leeds Market and stocked up on superb cheese for tonight's meal.  We already had a decent brie in the house but we topped up with a piece of Shepherds Purse Harrogate Blue, some Lacey's mature cheddar and some of Ribblesdale's mature unpasteurised goats cheese.

I'll skip the brie as it was a supermarket staple.  The three cheeses that I bought from George and Joseph were superb.  The mature cheddar was nutty and crumbly without trying to strip the enamel from my teeth, a trait of too many overly strong cheeses.  The Harrogate blue was nice and creamy.  I'm a big fan of blue cheeses and this is one not to be missed.  The star of the night for me was the unpasteurised goat cheese from Ribblesdale.

Unlike most goat cheeses this one was hard, not quite at parmesan levels but getting there.  The flavour was not too goaty and it had a good salty tang to its mature sharpness.  I can see myself going back to this one and just cutting off slices to eat by the light of the fridge.  I'll have to wait another month before I can go to cheese club but it's good to know that I can still get great cheese to satisfy any cravings I have.

*for the last year at least.