The cheese counter
Twenty-four cheeses, labelled honestly.
Every cheese on the counter with its milk, a strength from one to five, its country, its maker and the price per hundred grams. Filter by milk or by strength to find the one you are after, then come and taste it; we cut from a hundred grams and you try before we wrap.
The counter
24cheeses on the counter this week
- Cow · Wales
Young Caerphilly
Six weeks old, lemony and crumbly; the miners' cheese
A farm in Carmarthenshire
£2.40/100g
- Cow · Wales
Aged Caerphilly, raw milk
Four months, a soft breakdown under the rind
A farm in Carmarthenshire
£3.20/100g
- Goat · Wales
Gower goat's
Fresh and ashed, lemony, from April to October
A herd on the Gower
£3.60/100g
- Cow · Wales
Pembrokeshire blue
Creamy, peppery, the Welsh answer to Stilton
A dairy near Narberth
£3.40/100g
- Cow · Wales
Teifi, aged
A Gouda-style that tastes of caramel at a year
A dairy in the Teifi valley
£3.30/100g
- Cow · Wales
Brie-style, Welsh
Soft, white-rind, best a week before its date
A farm in Ceredigion
£3.10/100g
- Sheep · Wales
Welsh sheep's, hard
Sweet and nutty, like a young Manchego
A flock near Lampeter
£3.80/100g
- Goat · Wales
Goat's tomme
A hard goat's cheese for people who think they do not like goat
A farm in Monmouthshire
£3.70/100g
- Cow · England
Cloth-bound Cheddar
Eighteen months in cloth, crystalline, long
A farm in Somerset
£3.50/100g
- Cow · England
Stilton
The Christmas one; at its best from November
A dairy in Nottinghamshire
£3.20/100g
- Cow · England
Mrs Kirkham-style Lancashire
Buttery and crumbly; the best toasting cheese there is
A farm in Lancashire
£3.30/100g
- Sheep · England
Hard sheep's, Midlands
Shaped like a flying saucer; sweet, fruity, grainy
A farm in Warwickshire
£4.60/100g
- Cow · England
Camembert-style, Hampshire
Mushroomy and rich; bake it
A dairy in Hampshire
£3.90/100g
- Goat · England
Ash-rinded goat's log
A wrinkled rind, a dense centre that softens under it
A herd in Somerset
£4.10/100g
- Cow · France
Comté, cave-aged
Twenty-four months; hazelnut and brown butter
A cooperative in the Jura
£6.80/100g
- Sheep · France
Roquefort
Salty, sharp, sheep's milk blue; with a Sauternes
A cave in Aveyron
£5.40/100g
- Cow · France
Époisses
Washed in marc; the one that clears the room
A maker in Burgundy
£5.90/100g
- Goat · France
Crottin de Chavignol
A small goat's button; grill it on toast
A farm in the Loire
£4.80/100g
- Cow · France
Brie de Meaux
Raw milk; the real one
A maker in the Île-de-France
£4.20/100g
- Sheep · Spain
Manchego, twelve months
With quince and a fino; the cheap thrill
A farm in La Mancha
£4.40/100g
- Goat · Spain
Valdeón
A blue of goat's and cow's milk wrapped in leaves
A maker in León
£4.30/100g
- Sheep · Spain
Idiazabal, smoked
Lightly smoked sheep's cheese, nutty and long
A shepherd in the Basque country
£4.60/100g
- Cow · Italy
Parmigiano Reggiano, 30 months
Broken from the wheel with a knife, not grated
A dairy near Parma
£4.90/100g
- Cow · Italy
Gorgonzola dolce
Spoonable and mild for a blue; with honey
A maker in Piedmont
£3.60/100g
Strength is our judgement: one is mild and milky, three a mature Cheddar, five a cave-aged blue or a washed rind. Prices are per hundred grams; we cut from 100g and say the price before we wrap. About half the counter is made with vegetable rennet; ask.
The cellar
Twelve degrees, under the shop, where the cheese waits.
The old saddler's had a stone cellar, and it is the reason we took the lease. Whole wheels and truckles wait there at twelve degrees and high humidity until they are ready, and come up to the counter in the morning. A Caerphilly that came in at six weeks goes up at four months when it has started to break down under the rind; the Christmas Stilton arrives in October and is not cut until it is right.
- Cut faces re-wrapped in waxed paper every evening, never cling film
- A cheese past its best comes off the counter rather than being sold cheap
- Whole truckles to order at about ten per cent under the cut price
Questions about the cheese
What does the strength number mean?
One is mild and milky, a young Caerphilly or a fresh goat's cheese; three is a mature Cheddar; five is a cave-aged blue or a washed rind that announces itself. It is our judgement, and we will argue about it at the counter.
Can I buy a whole cheese?
Yes: most of the counter is available as a whole truckle or wheel to order, with a week's notice, at about ten per cent under the cut price. Popular for weddings, as a cake.
A hamper built by you, packed on the day.
Choose the basket and what goes in it from the shelves; the total runs as you go and tells you how far you are from free delivery in the Vale over £75. Packed with wood wool and a handwritten card; posted anywhere in Britain for £9.95.