Friday, October 22, 2010

A Wales of a Good Cheddar

This smiley face belongs to a Welsh cheddar cheese maker named Susan.

She makes her world famous Blaenafon Cheddar Company cheeses in South Wales, in a town that is also a World Heritage site.

“Everything we use in the cheese is Welsh,” Susan explains. “The cheeses tell a story and they’re all hand-made.”

One cheddar is oak-smoked, another is Welsh ale-and-chilli-spiked. There’s one spun with traditional mustard and leek, and a seasonal gem with bits of Christmas cake thrown into the mix.

But Susan and her small family-run Blaenafon Cheddar Company are best known for what she calls her “everyday” signature cheddar, Pwll Mawr, which is covered in black wax and aged 300-feet down in the local coal mine (the Big Pit, which is now a mining museum), the perfect use of the decommissioned mine’s constant, cool temps.

My favourite food souvenir from that UK trip was a good hunk of her Pwll Mawr coalmine cheddar, which sadly, is now long gone.

Uh oh: Cheddar depression!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I was in England last year and the best dish i have ever tested in England was "Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding". Since i have back to Luray VA Accommodations, i still feel taste in my mouth.