Cheese: decent supermarket offerings vs specialist shop

[RockingMyFiftiesNot]

Prompted by cheese featuring in lots of chats on the Christmas board....

We always have cheese & biscuits Christmas Evening, remaining cheese to snack on Boxing Day.

I normally just buy cheese from the supermarket. One of our neighbouring towns has a specialist cheese shop, and so I thought I might 'buy local' this year Googled and their cheese starts at £4 for 150g cheddar , £5.50 and upwards for 100g brie.

I have no doubt that they will be amazing and you'll definitely be able to taste the difference. But £££ given how much cheese we eat. it got me thinking that there has to be an in between option.

I normally buy a range of the supermarket's own brand , but am aware they stock a range of brands at various price points.
We do the usual mix (hard, soft, in-between, blue, something a bit different)

What are the best tasting cheeses you have bought from supermarkets? (we have access to all major uk chains)

What specialist cheeses is it worth adding in from the independent cheese shop?

And while I'm on, same question about biscuits/crackers:. Best I ever had were a gift. They were from a garden centre, absolutely gorgeous but v expensive. Any recommendations for 'better than bog standard supermarket but cheaper than garden centre artisan' crackers ?

Thank you.

Most supermarkets have the same old boring cheeses, even when they’re trying to be different they still have the same ones. Never anything unusual!
The only exception I find is sainsburys, they do some nice cheese, well our really big one does.
be warned about cheese shop cheese tho, it never lasts long, it’s past it’s best quite quickly.

give me a decent sage derby!

I love cheese! Waitrose do a few good cheeses at their counter: montagnolo affine or cashel blue (both creamy blue cheeses) and another nice cheese is Kaltbach creamy, which is a good flavoursome alpine cheese.

Old Winchester is worth seeking out in independent shops (I think it’s like a cross between a Parmesan and a good mature cheddar).

Waitrose also do some good fancy crackers - peters yard crackers are good, as are Millers three nut crackers.

My absolute favourite brand of cheese is Snowdonia Cheese. Their black bomber cheese is amazing as is the beechwood smoked and the cave aged cheddar but they are all really tasty if you are a cheddar fan. I might just have to go and buy some now as I am craving some.

You need to go to Booths.

Waitrose has a great cheese selection

My favourite cheese you can get in a supermarket is Pie D'Angloys. It's the kind that's so deliciously stinky you can't help but keep sniffing it. Lovely and creamy. Now I really really want some

Booths cheese counter is wonderful but priced similarly to specialist cheese shops. They specialise in local cheeses from Lancashire, Cumbria, County Durham but have a wide selection of French, Italian, Swiss, German etc.

We have a local producer who makes fantastic cheese and I'm saving up for a couple of pieces at Christmas (Teesdale cheesemakers). And we often by Cotherstone, another local cheese.

Thanks all, will take a look.

Posters who recommended Saisnsburys and Booths, if possible, please would you let me know what specific cheeses you have enjoyed from there. Thanks

I like Waitrose’s cheeses but my absolute favourite is Manchego from Aldi. We also go to a local NT property around Xmas and often buy something local from them.

I love cheese. I’d always recommend a local cheese shop or a farm shop where they know what they’re doing and can recommend suggestions.

I love a nettle yarg!

This from marks and Spencer’s bigger stores - Montagnolo Affine,

a soft creamy blue from Germany
also second pp snowdia black bomber

also watching with interest for ideas .

Tbh, when I buy from a specialist shop I tend to buy more unusual cheeses that you would never find in a supermarket, so there's no comparison to make.

Check out the Courtyard Dairy for amazing cheese - it's based just outside Settle, but they also do web orders. If you can visit the shop in person, they will let you try all the cheeses before you choose what to buy, so you won't make an expensive mistake!

Waitrose do a quartz cheddar which is to die for! The best crackers in my opinion are the Aldi specially selected salted ones - they have the right level of crunch to them!

Lidl Caledonian Cheddar and Welsh Cheddar, from the Tri-Nations range, have been brilliant and very different from each other, and their Wyke extra-mature. Sainsburys Cambozola. Sainsburys Stilton (I lived in the area it was made and Sainsbury's is pretty excellent).

Hafod Welsh cheddar is the best IMO

I love heading to Borough Market to get my Christmas cheeses.

Yes its expensive but you tell them what you like and they direct you. Plus you can usually taste a sample of everything with a cheesemonger.

I’m a Booths and Waitrose shopper my favourite cheeses from their deli counters are; Chaumes, Delice de Bourgogne, Vignotte and Black Bomber.
Lidl however do an aged Brie that is outstanding and very good value.

Comte is another lovely cheese.

Our new M&S food has got a dedicated cheese aisle. I can’t imagine how amazing all those cheeses are, but probably not cheap.

Lidl usually have some interesting cheese around Christmas. My favourite find there was an Epoisses de Bourgogne - not the strongest but definitely the cheesiest cheese I’ve ever had. Amazing.

If you go to a booths cheese counter they will give you advice and let you taste some.

You might find some cheeses are £4 for 150g but not all of them are!!

If trying Booths I would look at

Butlers Blacksticks blue

Mrs Kirkhams crumbly or tasty lancashire
one of their good hard cheddars (they will let you taste to see which you prefer)

a nice ripe soft cheese - will depend on what age they have of whatever is in the counter

Then something a bit unusual, perhaps a Bowland which is mixed with apple, sultanas and rolled in cinnamon.

Thanks all.

Where do you live? Independent cheese shops often have a bigger range of small local producers which can be really good.

I bought a cheeseboard of five cheeses from a local place this weekend for £20, which felt like really good value for how nice they were. Three were local, one was smoked Stilton, which I’ve never seen before, and one a Delice de Bourgogne, which I don’t think is very unusual but was delicious.

Yes I agree @Doubleraspberry. We have one about 5 miles away and at least a couple more within 10 miles.
If I was going purely for quantity eg having friends round for supper, I would be happy with the deal you got. But with at least 3 adult males here on Christmas Day, possibly 4, I'd like to bulk it out with some less costly but better than normal cheeses.