Clawson Farms Cheeses Of Character!

Clawson Dairy has been an established cheesemaker since 1912 with their blue stilton being the signature cheese on their extensive board! I love cheese so jumped at the chance to sample both their classic artisan 1912 stilton, alongside their golden version and more than that, get to create something yummy using their brand new range in the Clawson Farms character truckles!

The blue cheese is undeniably unctuous and delicious, and the new truckles, which come with a character to match the flavour, did not disappoint! Clawson have a few recipe suggestions which I will get around to trying to re-create, although I rather fancy a version of their mac and cheese with a blue cheese topping (using the 1912 of course) to give it my own twist (I like to serve sriracha on the side of a hearty dish like that so watch this space)…

but the first thing that sprang to my mind was just to keep it simple and let the cheese do the talking, it’s incredible on its own or with crackers so I wanted to do something with it which just kept it as the leading part, no supporting stars needed really other than perhaps a little home-made sourdough, the staple of the standing tall in the background, never taking over but absolutely making anything you put past your lips shine!

So… I used the “Wizard’s Fire”, a red Leicester with scotch bonnet and harissa to make a cheese toastie. That it all, just a cheese toastie! Only… This cheese (and this bread actually, see how to make your own sourdough here) couldn’t be called an “only” by any stretch of the imagination!

It’s hard to get a thin-ish slice of sourdough on account of the fact it both commands a thicker cut on taste and ease but… For this you do want to try and make it only slightly thicker than a sliced shop bought if you can. Two slices, cheese grated, sandwich together and butter (salted) the outside before frying for a few minutes each side. I think a coleslaw, BBQ dip or even both would go nicely on the side but again, nothing else is necessary when the main pairing is this good!

Not satisfied with just eating this cheese inside my bread for a toastie, I decided to put half a truckle into the dough of my next batch of sourdough and boy was that a good move! Just bake your loaf for maybe 10 minutes more with the lid on as the cheese demands a slightly longer bake but other than that add it in with the flour and water stage and you’re good to go! It gave my loaf a really golden bake and it tasted amazing!

I’ll let you know how the mac and cheese goes with that 1912 and in the mean time do check out both the websites, Clawson for their traditional cheeses and Clawson Farms for the new truckles with character! I’ve been perusing both and am also VERY keen to see that Clawson also do cheese cakes! Cakes as in tiered, but made of cheese rounds – I reckon this might be my next party purchase!

Collaboration.