Cheese is for life, not just for Winter

Although, this summer hasn’t been the most sparkling example of glorious sunshine, as the temperatures rise, cooking and eating outdoors has become an appealing option in the longer lighter evenings.

One obvious route to go down when choosing cheese is lighter options that work well in a salad or cold platter and we do have a delicious range of seasonal Provencal goats cheeses, Fleggas barrel-aged Feta, St James A Lomi (Halloumi style cheese from Cumbria) and Polito Mozzarella that fit the bill perfectly.

However, let’s think a little more creatively.  What about when you’re looking to top a burger, sausage or melt over a steak fresh from the barbeque?  Here are some tried and tested favourites.

Swiss Fondue

Yes,  Fondue.  Not the sort of thing you’d associate with balmy summer evenings, but hear us out.  Our Fondue mix is designed to be a perfect melting consistency and a lovely blend of Vacherin Fribourgeois, Gruyere, Raclette and Tilsit that has a creamy consistency & gentle, buttery flavour that will meld nicely with a rich, beefy burger.  A handful of the flaked fondue mix, melts easily on top of the burger as you grill it and has so much more to offer than the ubiquitous processed cheese slice.  We have, in the past, done collaborations with burger restaurants using our fondue mix as well as having tried it out ourselves at home, so this isn’t just an out of the box idea of ours, we know it works and it works well.

Persille de Beaujolais

Blue cheese on a burger or on a rib eye steak is a classic combination and the subtle blueing and melting consistency of our Persille de Beaujolais works very well.  The Lapierre family’s gorgonzola influence (their starter cultures and blue mould cultures are those used to make Gorgonzola dolce) means that this cheese has a gentle, sweet and balanced character with notes of herbaceous complexity.  As such, when melted, it complements the flavours of the meat beautifully.

Cantal au Lait de Salers

Another very successful melting choice, a few crumbs of Cantal au lait de Salers can really ramp up the umami and beefy characteristics of your grilled meat of choice.  Made by Geraud Delorme on his family farm near Recoules in the Auvergne from their rich Salers cows’ milk, this Cantal has warming spice and buttery, richly savoury notes when melted.

Tomme de Savoie

A final lighter option that lends its fresh, zingy, lactic quality to a hot dog with caramelised onions,  Our Tomme de Savoie which we buy from Mercier’s 2 farms where they rear their own herds and make their cheese with full fat milk is a gentle but indulgent .choice in a category of cheese which is known for is variety and some might say inconsistency.  There are as many Tommes as there are valleys in the Savoie and many are made from skimmed milk as the cream has been used in the house for butter.  It lends gentle flavour but subtly complex flavour.

All 4 of these options would normally be considered autumn or winter cheeses by most people but when it comes to toppings and additions to your barbeque,  they more than hold their own.

Life is too short for bad cheese and some of the winter classics, with a little bit of imagination and invention can find a happy home in the summer too.