A Cheerful Cheese Tasting


Still in the party spirit at our January meeting, we celebrated our WI’s 92nd birthday with wine to accompany the cheeses brought for us to taste by our speaker Ian Rogerson. As the son of a butcher who followed his father into the trade, cheese had never been part of Ian’s diet until he moved to Leicester. There, following his mother’s advice to “always eat what’s put in front of you,” he tasted Stilton for the first time which began his passion for cheeses.

He kept us laughing throughout his entertaining and informative talk, passing on many tips and wise words. We shouldn’t approach new foods with an “I don’t like” attitude – our palates are there to enable us to learn to like. If you’re not sure about tasting a new cheese, try it with two other varieties which you know that you like. We should change our thinking about how cheese should be used and served – to appreciate it fully, eat it before pudding as the French do. Don’t always eat it with savouries – try it with jams as well as chutneys and with puddings such as apple pie. When cooking, add small amounts of cheese to vegetables and a bit of Stilton on top of a steak and kidney pie just before it comes out of the oven. Smoked mozzarella is good with meat and blue Brie with warm bread and cranberries.

Cheeses are living things because they are filled with ‘good’ bacteria which give the cheese its flavour and character as it matures. The longer a cheese matures the drier and more strongly flavoured it becomes. A strong cheese like Lincolnshire Poacher needs fifteen months to mature while milder, moister cheeses such as Wensleydale are ready much sooner. The rind which forms on the outside contributes to the flavour and most rinds can be eaten.

Our mouths watered as Ian described the wonderful range of cheeses he had brought and soon we were greedily sampling about a dozen different varieties which included ‘Grandma Singleton’ – a strong Lancashire which ’bites your tongue’, a Welsh Cheddar called ‘Collier’ containing granules of sea salt, Webster’s Stilton – smaller than other Stiltons and very blue and creamy, and a new Wensleydale with mango and ginger. This was Ian’s second visit and was again such a treat that we’re already looking for another booking!

It was a busy meeting as we had to pay our annual subscriptions, give in our individual votes for the proposed resolutions for future WI campaigns and consider a special opportunity on offer – the chance for one member to attend the AGM of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes at the Albert Hall in May with all expenses paid, only available to our WI once every three years and usually taken by a committee member. A draw for this will be held at the February meeting when John Clews will speak on ‘Action for Birds’ and visitors will be very welcome. For information please contact Penny Bailey on the link below.