I went looking for more Brightwell Ash at the Tuesday market. No luck! However The Little Shop of Cheese had some Sainte Maure which is also coated in ash. It is log-shaped, close-textured cheese, traditionally impaled with a straw for ease of handling. The pate is a creamy white, and sometimes liquefies below the rind. This particular cheese was made using raw milk by a cooperative – La laiterie de Verneuil which makes both Goat’s milk and Cow’s milk cheeses as well as selling cream and butter…
Laiterie de Verneuil was founded in 1899, and is located in Verneuil-sur-Indre in the Département de Indre et Loire, sometimes referred to by the historic name of La Touraine.
I forget how wonderful French cheeses are. My late brother in law Sylvain would insist that the English couldn’t make cheese and often described cheddar as “soap”. Whenever we were together we would “compete” pitting English artisan cheeses against French.
