British Cheese Festival

I haven’t disappeared, but have been taking a bit of a break. In that time I did go to the British Cheese Festival and found I do have a limit to how much cheese I can eat in one day. It turns out that 5 tastings may be too many. So here are a few shots of the day – held in the grounds of Cardiff Castle.

So how do judges pick their favourite cheeses? According to Juliet Harbutt, this is the way to taste:

1) Don’t smell or taste yet. Instead, look at the texture, maybe squeeze the cheese a bit, and, if you can, break a small amount off  and push it around a bit with you fingers, making it warm.

2) Now you can smell it. If you want to do this properly, tilt your head back slightly and inhale

3) Now comes eating. Bite a small amount, seeing how it tastes on different parts of the tongue, and whether there are after flavours or spikes.

Apples and apple juice are the key to cleaning your palate inbetween.