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Read about the latest trips to producers, great tasting cheese, how cheese is made, and what to drink, eat and cook with it!
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rhubarb hibiscus and rose curd tart from yorkshire

Yorkshire Curd Tart with rhubarb, hibiscus and rose (by Ambry Bakery)

Beth and Sam at Ambry Bakery, located on-site at The Courtyard Dairy, have delved into the archives and created their delicious take on a Yorkshire curd tart – the recipe’s below if you want to have a go – or you can pop in their bakery and simply buy one! Ingredients (makes one big or 12 small tarts) Sweet shortcrust pastry: 150g plain flour 2 tbsp icing sugar 75g cold butter, cut into cubes 1 egg yolk ½ tsp lemon juice Cold water Rhubarb, hibiscus and rose jam: 500g Rhubarb 6 hibiscus flowers 25g butter 15g honey 80g caster sugar ½ tsp rosewater (or to taste) Filling: 50g caster sugar 225g fresh curd cheese (unsalted) 2 eggs 2 egg yolks Zest of 1 lemon 25g melted butter Pinch of salt 50g currants Pinch of nutmeg Method To make the pastry: mix the flour and icing sugar together, then add the butter, rubbing it in until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. (You could do this in a food mixer) . Make a well in the centre of the fmix.  Pour in the egg and lemon juice and work the liquid into the flour, adding enough cold water until it comes together.  When it…
yorkshire curd tart whitsun

Yorkshire Curd Tarts – they used to be seasonal!

Today (Whitsun) used to be the day of the year to eat Yorkshire Curd Tarts. Historically, Yorkshire Curd Tarts were a seasonal product and were eaten at Whitsun (49 days after Easter), especially during the local feasts and fairs that were held on this day. And there is a reason why they were made just for this time of year at the end of Spring… Traditionally in the Yorkshire Dales, cows were farmed seasonally and would only be calved in the spring so as to produce milk over the spring summer and early autumn (people didn’t enjoy year-round milk in those days). Calving late spring was ideal because the days were getting warmer and the grass needed to feed the cows and calves was starting to grow again. Traditional ‘turnout day’ in the upper dales, when the cows were released out to grass, is around 15th May. But at this time of year these newly-calved cows wouldn’t produce the best quality milk needed for making cheese or butter. Historically the cows’ feed at this time would often have been supplemented by the poor quality tail-end of last year’s hay – leading to inferior milk.  The milk would also have lots…
blown cheese faults

‘Blowing’ Defect / ‘Blown Cheeses’ Fault – what is it and how do I fix it?

This fault is commonly associated with Continental-style cheeses (Gouda, Gruyère, Comté, and Parmesan-style recipes). The low acidity of this type of cheese in the make means they are particularly susceptible to it. It is caused by butyric spores producing butyric acid and gas as the cheese ages, and is usually evident from two weeks of maturation. It cannot be solved by pasteurisation of milk because the spores survive heat treatment. The French have a great phrase for it “C’est Gonflé” (roughly “it’s swollen”). Ultimately, the fault is harmless, but causes wet-silage, farmy, rancid off-flavours (my favourite tasting note is ‘baby’s breath’) and a cheese that has big fissures and cracks, which can then be liable to browning and later blueing. There are only two guaranteed ways of stopping it: Stop using fermented and wet feed-stuffs to feed cows. Feeding cows just on hay, grass or dry fodder should eliminate the prevalence of ‘blowing’. (There is a reason it is illegal to make Comté, Gruyère and Parmesan with silage-fed cows’ milk. Sometimes you just can’t change the science.) Higher/faster acidification in the make. Look at culture type and usage. Though ultimately, this may change the character of your cheese. This is…
doddington dairy cheese selection

A visit to Doddington Dairy by The Courtyard Dairy Team

A great day out for The Courtyard Dairy team visiting the fabulous makers of Doddington Cheese up in Wooler, Northumberland; here is cheesemonger Gail’s blog: “I came to help out at the farm for a couple of weeks. That was ten years ago” James Maxwell tells us. Back then James decided he liked making cheese a lot more than milking cows – which is great news for us, because he’s really good at it. Reassuringly few things have changed since our last cheesemonger team visit to North Doddington Farm in 2018. Most notably, renowned cheesemaker Margaret Maxwell has handed the reins to her nephew James, after a thorough apprenticeship. James has also taken on a young local cheesemaker to help out, and their range of cheeses has expanded from six to eight. The four of us were here to see Doddington cheese being made. Like many British greats, Doddington came from a mix of influences and evolved into something quite unique; a Red Leicester recipe (without the ‘Red’ colouring), strongly influenced by visits to lots of different cheesemakers in France and the Netherlands. Cheesemaking starts in the morning with the first and freshest 2000 litres of unprocessed milk, brought across…
Yr Afr Cheeses in North Wales

An interview with Brad & Beth Cunningham, makers of Yr Afr Cheese in North Wales

Brad and Beth Cunningham make Yr Afr (which translates as ‘The Goat’ in Welsh) in Bethesda, North Wales. Andy interviewed them to find out what makes these fantastic cheese-makers tick. Give a brief synopsis of your business and career. We originally lived in Rossendale with Brad working as a Mechanical Engineer and Beth training as a solicitor. After some time tinkering in our family kitchen trying to make goats cheese (with varying success), Beth was given a job opportunity in North Wales so we both made the decision to move and get a small herd of 5 goats and rented a small section of a local farm. We then were put in touch with Carrie Rimes of Cosyn Cymru who makes some exceptional sheep’s cheese and from there we were given the option by Carrie to take our love of cheesemaking to the next level and rent a section of her dairy to follow our passion. And here we are! What made you get into doing what you do? Quite simply our love of cheese! We used to go to our local cheesemongers quite regularly in Manchester and it was just a couple of YouTube video’s later that we started making some…
tasting cheese with simon

Cheese Tasting: World Cheese Awards Champions of Cheese – Saturday 24th May 2025

An intimate cheese tasting event to be held within The Courtyard Dairy’s maturing cellars: Join World Cheese Awards Judges Simon Ferro and Andy Swinscoe in The Courtyard Dairy’s cheese maturation cellars, and experience this special cheese tasting, sampling six previous World Champions at the World Cheeses Awards, with the experts on hand to guide you through the tasting. Saturday 24th May 2025 ~ 7-9pm. £22 per person includes six distinctive cheeses, matched accompaniments, a glass of Yorkshire Wolds apple juice, tasting sheets and the special tutored tasting with Simon and Andy. Add the optional wine matching set (+£12) to include three glasses of wine personally tailored and matched to your cheese selection. Pre-booking essential: please email [email protected] or phone 01729 823 291.
BBC One Countryfile features The Courtyard Dairy

BBC One Countryfile features The Courtyard Dairy

The Courtyard Dairy was thrilled to be 15 minute segment of this weeks BBC One’s primetime show: Countryfile. The presenters selected The Courtyard Dairy to visit to showcase how traditional cheese is made.  After visiting the conservation farm (Colin Price), where the cows are milked and seeing Lapwings in flight, they came to see that milk transformed into ‘Courtyard Dairy Soft‘ – the perfect soft spring cheese. Watch on catch-up here > Find out more fascinating facts about cheese – simply sign up to The Courtyard Dairy monthly newsletter for regular  exciting offers and interesting info. from the cheese-world.  Sign up here.
BBC Food Programme Cheese Courtyard Dairy

BBC Radio 4: Food Programme. “Is our cheese heritage ancient history?”

Andy & Kathy from The Courtyard Dairy was excited to be featured on BBC Radio 4’s “Food Programme” this week, in their episode on: “Is our cheese heritage ancient history?”. Discussing their research into British cheese and it’s evolution: past, present and future.  They helped Sheila Dillon decode an ancient 112 page ancient vellum manuscript “A Pamflyt Compiled of Cheese, Contayninge the Differences, Nature, Qualities, and Goodness, of the Same” recently discovered by Leeds University and brought it to life. Using inspiration from their pamfylt and other historical references they handmade a recreation of an ancient cheese to the region: Courtyard Dairy Soft. Listen to it here:   Find out more fascinating facts about cheese – simply sign up to The Courtyard Dairy monthly newsletter for regular  exciting offers and interesting info. from the cheese-world.  Sign up here.
Cottage in wood cheese recipe

Cheese, Leek and Potato Filo Pie by Jack Bond (Cottage in the Wood)

1,000 feet up in the Whinlatter Forest above Keswick in the northern Lake District, ‘The Cottage in the Wood’ is a unique Michelin starred restaurant with rooms owned by jack & Beth bond. Jack uses The Courtyard Dairy Cheese throughout their menu and his creative cooking, boutique-style rooms, friendly service and a warm welcome are all combined in this stunning Old Coaching Inn, perched on the hillside to make a very special place to visit. This cheese, leek and potato filo pie is one Jack’s favourite ways to cook with cheese, and a great way of using Fen Farm’s Baron Bigod. Ingredients (serves six) 150g Baron Bigod cheese 500g Filo pastry 250g Unsalted butter 20g Garlic 100g Leeks 50g Celery 200g Chestnut mushrooms 300g Potatoes 150g Spinach 50g Onion 20g English mustard 30g Cream cheese 10g Parsley (finely chopped) Salt & pepper Method: pie filling Finely slice garlic, onion, mushrooms and potatoes. On a low heat, sweat them in a lightly oiled pan. Keep the ingredients moving, so they turn translucent, then to a light, golden brown. Once brown, slice the celery and leeks, and add these to the pan. Turn down the heat, we don’t want to ‘colour’ these…
Christmas Cheese Care Banner

How to look after your cheese this Christmas

In order to make sure your fabulous cheese tastes at its very best on Christmas Day, it’s advisable to do a couple of things: Sometime around the 21st-23rd December, ‘clean’ and re-wrap your cheese To keep it as fresh as possible, give your cheese a quick scrape on all over the cut faces with a clean sharp flat-bladed knife (as shown) to remove any ‘gloss’ or any surface mould, then re-wrap tightly, ideally in fresh greaseproof or wax paper or cling film. Store your cheese in the fridge Keep it wrapped in fresh greaseproof or wax paper or cling film and either leave within the delivery box (closed) in the fridge, or transfer it to a sealable plastic container with a layer of kitchen towel or a ‘jiffy’ cloth at the bottom. Serve your cheese at room temperature Remove it from the fridge a few hours before the big reveal! Your cheese will taste at its best within 10 days form delivery, if you haven’t finished it by then…   Find out more fascinating facts about cheese – simply sign up to The Courtyard Dairy monthly newsletter for regular exciting offers and interesting info from the cheese-world.  Sign up here.
global cheese awards winner 2024

Global Cheese Awards 2024 – Cheeemonger of the Year

The Courtyard Dairy was awarded Cheesemonger of the Year at this years Global Cheese Awards. Held in high regard, the awards have been going since 1861 and are one of the oldest continuing cheese shows in the world This year’s team of judges highlighted The Courtyard Dairy’s, “very interesting and original selection … particularly good to see a cheesemonger championing local producers.” Kathy Swinscoe “It’s a real credit to our skilled cheesemonger team, whose mission is continually to champion and support farm-made cheese in the UK. “The unique range of small farm producers that we work closely with, both developing and supporting, really showed through. The award recognises our local Dales community – they’ve really got behind the special, single-farm cheeses we stock, and make an effort to support them and us. Without our regular customers, we’d struggle!” Find out more fascinating facts about cheese – simply sign up to The Courtyard Dairy monthly newsletter for regular  exciting offers and interesting info. from the cheese-world.  Sign up here.
Resurgence of Farmhouse Wensleydale

The Resurgence of Farmhouse Wensleydale (video)

Watch Andy speaking on the resurgence of farmhouse raw milk Wensleydale cheese: an iconic traditional British cheese that had disappeared into the annals of history. In this short 3-minute video he tells of it’s decline and revival, explaining the three new producers and their differences. Video by Angus Birditt of Our Isles. To buy these Wensleydale’s as a set to compare, click here >. If you want to learn more about Wensleydale Cheese, this fascinating book explores it in depth >