I’m not usually a big fan of flavoured cheeses – I like to taste the flavours trapped in each mouthful of cheese that come from the gradual breakdown of the grazing which is converted to milk.  Then in the hands of the cheesemaker, and the help of time, salt and Mother Nature, this is converted into a myriad of different flavours.  The older the cheese, the more varied the grazing and the better the cheesemaker the more complex the character of the final cheese.  But my friend Akash Charles has just started work at Karikaas and sent me some cheese to try.

A recently released study shows that eating cheese does not increase your risk of heart attack or stroke.

To bring out its best and ideally you need a good local retailer or mail order company so you can buy cheese when you need it rather than having to store it then you need to regularly check the smell, texture and taste as it will keep changing.  A simple rule is “if it gets really sticky and sweaty unwrap it and let it breathe.  If it starts to dry out and crack wrap it in plastic wrap”.