Finn

Charlie Westhead makes several of the outstanding cheeses supplied by The Courtyard Dairy.

Finn is based on a French cream-enriched cheese (such a Vignotte, Delice or Brillat-Savarin).

The milk used for Finn is collected from Glasbury-on-Wye, at the farm of Andrew and Rachel Giles.  They operate a ‘New Zealand’ system of farming which means the cows are only ever milked when grazing out at pasture and are ‘dried off’ for the winter months.  Hence Finn is made when the cows are feeding on the best product – grass!  This means the cows also require less concentrates and can have a more natural feeding regime; all of which improves the quality of the cheese.

The herd is New Zealand Frieisan (akin to the old British Friesian, which is better than the black-and-white Holstein-Friesians you see commonly throughout the country).  They also have some Jersey cows in the herd, which gives an added richness to the milk.

This local milk is combined with double cream before a long gentle set, making a rich delectable cheese.  Double/triple cream cheeses like Finn are difficult to make because the cream settles out whilst the curd is setting.  Hence Charlie has to ‘top-stir’ the setting curd several times to ensure the cream is all trapped in the cheese.

This slow setting leads to fresh lactic flavour initially in the cheese, which then breaks down with time to form a rich, intense creaminess, showcasing the cream and milk!

Charlie Westhead started making cheese 20 years ago in Central London, before moving out to Sevenoaks.

Several years ago they relocated in Herefordshire (land was cheaper there!) and built a brand new creamery.  Their new creamery is extremely eco-friendly – all their power comes from solar panels, wind turbines and wood burners.  The waste water is also disposed of and filtered through their own wetland system.

Click here to read about The Courtyard Dairy’s last visit to Neal’s Yard Creamery, discovering it’s history and how their cheeses are made.

This product will have two weeks shelf life from the date of delivery.  Conveniently, at checkout you can choose a delivery date even well in the future if you would like your cheese delivering for a specific event.

Nutritional Data (typical values, per 100g):
Energy 1425kj/345kcal
Fat 30.6g
(of which saturates) 20g
Carbohydrates 1.1g
(of which sugars) <1.1g
Protein 14.8g
Salt 1.7g

Weight: 1 x 200g cheese.

Ingredients: Milk, salt, cheese cultures and rennet.