Winner of 'Gold' at the World Cheese Awards 2018
Sinodun Hill cheese is sweet, almondy and complex, with a thin, beautifully wrinkly coat that develops natural spots of blues, greys and greens over time.
It is made by Fraser Norton and Rachel Yarrow, who only decided to become cheese-makers in 2014. Fraser worked in Project Management and Rachel was a teacher, but they felt a yearning for a different way of life. Such momentous changes take time to bring to fruition, but, in February 2016, they were ready to welcome their first goats to the barn that they had rented at Earth Trust Farm, a charity which helps people start up new agricultural businesses through a Farm Step scheme.
From the very beginning their standards were high, and their ambition has paid off. They looked to the great goats’ cheeses of France for inspiration, and have chosen a very slow, lactic set recipe, which preserves the flavour of the milk. They toyed with using no rennet at all but were not happy with the results, and have settled instead on using a tiny amount of French thistle rennet coagulant. This makes for a fabulous texture: smooth and rich, mouth-filling, but never cloying or claggy. All in all, a truly lovely cheese!
At the start of the year, Fraser and Rachel moved their home, family, dairy and 241 goats to their very own farm in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Once they got their goats settled in it was kidding time, and now their first Welsh cheeses are ready to be released. And they were worth the wait! These bright, fresh, zesty cheeses are light in texture and perfect for Spring.
