Stawley Cheese ... images/stawley-goats.jpg
Stawley Cheese, produced at Stawley just outside Wellington is a Cheese and Wine Shop Favorite. Its a top favorite of many of our customers, and its perfect when paired with our Segale loaf.
Stawley is made with unpasteurised milk from the Stawley herd. The milk is gravity fed from the milking parlour to the dairy below, which minimises agitation. The evening milk is "ripened" overnight, and is then added to the next day’s morning milk. The curd is then formed by a slow process of acidification and hand ladled into cylindrical moulds.
The cheeses are left to drain and turned regularly before being individually salted. After a couple of days in the drying room, the cheese has grown a fine covering of wrinkly geotrichum. The cheeses are then moved to the humid ripening room to begin a period of maturation. At ten days old Stawley is soft, with mild, lactic, honeyed flavours. At three to four weeks the cheese develops a more complex, floral flavour and a firmer texture.
For 2012, Stawley are developing a new cheese called Wellesley, named after the Duke who took his title from Stawleys local town, Wellington. As with Stawley, it is made with the raw milk from our herd, but will be a washed rind cheese.
About the Stawley Herd ... The first 23 goats arrived shortly after Will and Caroline moved to the farm, in early 2008. They have grown the herd using their own kids, and now have approximately 100 girls. They also have four fine billies, who are on duty from October onwards, but spend the spring and summer in their own residence on the other side of the farm.
The herd comprises three different British goat breeds. “Cleo”, pictured on this page, is one of the Anglo-Nubians, and we also have British Toggenburgs and British Saanens. The Saanens give higher yields, but the Nubians and Toggenburgs produce richer milk. The Goats enjoy a diet of cereals and hay, which is taken off the RSPB nature reserve at West Sedgemoor. They will also browse the permanent pasture from early spring until the start of the winter, when, aside from the odd stroll around the yard, they seem to prefer to stay inside in their stylish abode.
