Does anyone know about Cheese?

[RubyFakeLips]

Would you like to recommend me some cheese please?

I want to send my brother some cheese throughout December, sort of weekly advent calendar. Hopefully culminating in him spending Christmas with someone in our family where he will find under the tree a giant wedge of parmesan my parents are apparently getting. His relationship has ended, will be on his own, far from us and rest of the family right up until 23rd December.

He loves cheese, slight problem being I do not. I know nothing of such things and neither does DH. I have found various places online I can use (although recommendations VERY welcome) but turns out selection is far wider than I had anticipated. I know he isn't keen on goats cheese but enjoys blue cheeses (Stilton, Roquefort), in the past week of strategic questioning he seems to have eaten some Cheddar, Compte and Brie.

Accept this request is probably grating to true connoisseurs but please help!

Cornish Yarg with the nettle rind. Delicious!

Go and have a browse at Paxton & Whitfield's brilliant website which will tell you everything you want to know. Or sign him up to their cheese club which would be a brilliant, if pricey gift. They also sell lovely cheese collections. Not knocking the cheeses you've mentioned - can't beat a good Cheddar - but there's so much more out there that maybe your brother hasn't already tried.

Black bomber!!!!

You could do English cheeses - a really good Cheddar, Lancashire, Yarg as someone suggested, Stichelton, a blue cheese, maybe not the creamiest/stinkiest cheeses unless you pay for next day delivery. Best to err on quality over quantity.

Danish blue is lovely as a blue veined cheese.
Port Salut is a smoked cheese, also Applewood.
A nice vintage cheddar, one that’s crumbly when cut.
Wensleydale cheese. They do this in various flavours with cranberry, apricot etc.
You have your soft French cheeses like Brie and Camembert.
Around Christmas time they sell cheese truckles. These are a wax coated cheese in a variety of flavours.
Don’t forget the a complements like crackers and chutneys.
I don’t go to the Melton Mowbray cheese festival every year

Pretty sure there are some cheese advent calendars too

Wigmore is gorgeous www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/products/wigmore

’grating’ boom boom

Yes, the cheese advent calendar is available at Lidl’s very soon. I had one last year.

Port salut is not smoked

I have a long subscription and they do some grate discovery boxes. You have to open them Caerphilly (boom boom)

PONG not long.

www.pongcheese.co.uk/shop/cheese-gift-boxes/

confidentials.com/manchester/british-cheesemakers-need-help-new-market-dairy-launches-online-cheese-shop

Lovely to support something like this. But there must be many, many other small local dairy's and cheesemakers around the country who need us to buy their produce to keep afloat.

I have a good friend in Devon who runs an on-line artisan cheese shop - highly recommended:

www.thecheeseshed.com

Another recommendation for thecheeseshed.com. Mistidri’s friend is so helpful if you phone him but the website is also easy to navigate.

The cheese shed is brilliant. I often use them for gifts.

This is my very local cheese shop.

They're really lovely and knowledgeable and I'm sure would be happy to help.

Where do you live? You could visit a local farm shop and ask them for a selection of their local cheeses - you may be surprised how many cheeses are made locally to you!

Not British but Brillat Savarin is a gorgeous, really creamy cheese with a slightly tangy taste.

I've used Pong Cheese before, they have a fantastic selection! Bath Soft Cheese is Brie like and tastes amazing!

As for cheeses - Godminster cheddar is really good
I like mayfield cheese which is a bit like compte - not very strong and has holes in it - you can’t get it from many places so would have to google by name to find a supplier.

Beauvale by cropwell bishop is a fantastic cheese more people should try. Never had anyone I suggested it to not love it.

Check out the Lincolnshire Poacher cheese website. Fantastic stuff!

Thank you so much, my heart is melted, so many cheesos (apologies, don’t know what the appropriate term for cheese lovers is). Great pun work too all

Going to spend the day browsing, which is tough stuff for me, find sight of most cheese gets me churning.

Love the suggestion of my local farm shop. I live in Hackney, in London, visiting my local farm shops would probably run me at risk of arrest!

My brother does have broader tastes than I’ve suggested and has been to cheese fair/event things but I don’t think he bores me with the details of things I’ve never heard of. Hopefully can cheer hear from the daily rind with a few of your fab suggestions.

If you are on Instagram- instagram.com/thecheesebarldn?igshid=1c11nramnrymf