Traditional Welsh Caerphilly Cheese — Caws Teifi Cheese (2024)

FAQs

Why was Caerphilly cheese banned? ›

Factories in the Welsh town stopped making the crumbly, white cheese in 1995 following concerns over new European legislation that made it illegal to take delivery of unpasteurised milk in metal churns.

'Traditional Welsh Caerphilly/Traditional Welsh Caerffili' has a fresh cheese aroma and a smooth, close and flaky texture. It is sold as a 'naked' cheese which is not cloth bound and is made to be eaten young from 10 days old or can be matured for up to 6 months.

Caerphilly cheese was originally a moist curd, made in local farms. It has since been replaced with a much drier version produced on an industrial scale. However, there still remain some cheesemakers producing Caerphilly in the old style on an artisan basis.

If you're unable to find Caerphilly, a young, creamy English cheddar can serve as a substitute in recipes.

Caerphilly is typically very light in colour, almost white – while Cheddar is often a warmer golden yellow. Caerphilly has a lactic, fresh, lemony flavour and a slightly crumbly texture, whereas Cheddar takes longer to mature, resulting in a rich, creamy hard cheese that can sometimes taste sharp or tangy.

A densely crumbly centre with fresh, lemony flavours that gives way to a creamy, more mushroomy layer beneath the edible rind.

It's a moist, crumbly cheese, and its flavor is usually described as salty buttermilk, slightly sour, but buttery. The nose is slightly sour but not overpowering. With its tangy taste and distinct smell, this gentle cheese is one you could probably pick out blindfolded.

1. Perl Las - Caws Cenarth. One of Wales' best known cheeses, Perl Las is a golden-coloured blue cheese with a creamy and delicately salty taste that grows stronger with maturity.

One of Wales' best loved soft cheeses – along with its equally loved Cenarth cousin, the blue Perl Las – Perl Wen is a glorious and unique cross between a traditional Brie and a Caerffili.

That honor goes to pule cheese (or magareći sir), a rare cheese produced in Zasavica Donkey Reserve in west central Serbia. The price? Around $600 a pound. To put this in perspective, a pound of Parmigiano Reggiano costs $15 to $25 per pound and up, depending on the producer and how many months the cheese is aged.

What goes with caerphilly cheese? ›

pairing suggestion. Melt down with a hit of strong mustard for a delicious Welsh rarebit topping. Spoon over smoked haddock fillets and bake until bubbling and golden.

Store hard cheese in an airtight container in the fridge, wrapping blue cheese in tin foil. If you're not going to get through it before it goes off, you can also freeze hard cheese in a sealed bag or container for up to two months. A great tip is to grate it first, ready to use in recipes when you need it.

Traditional Farmhouse Caerphilly with a moist, crumbly texture. The flavour varies between mild and medium and has fresh lemony notes. Great on its own, with a crisp apple or grapes.

I've been really diggin' Halloumi cheese of late. It's a semi-firm, slighty salty cheese that's popular in Cyprus and much of the Middle East. One of the characteristics about this cheese is that when you're chewing it in your mouth, you hear this squeaking noise.

Romania: Two versions of it are tobă (drum) or, especially in Transylvania, caş de cap de porc (pig head cheese, akin to the Hungarian disznófősajt), which looks like a wide, four-inch-diameter, sausage and the marginally similar piftie.

The French cheese, Roquefort, is banned by the Foods and drugs administration or FDA, in the U.S. because it contains E. coli bacteria (J.S. Bailey, 2022, par. 3).

Cheese lovers no doubt know that France produces some of the world's best and most varied cheeses. But one distinctive variety that's among the country's most popular is actually barred by law from the United States. It's called Epoisses, and it traces its roots as far back as the early 16th century.

It's illegal to sell or buy casu marzu. When tourists visit Sardinia, they usually wind up in a restaurant that serves porceddu sardo, a slowly roasted suckling piglet, visit bakers who sell pane carasau, a traditional paper-thin flatbread, and meet shepherds who produce fiore sardo, the island pecorino cheese.

Caerphilly cheese is a hard, crumbly white cheese that is reputed to have been made on the Wentlooge Moors, but which takes its name from the market town where it was sold. By the late nineteenth century, the miners of South Wales found it tasty and convenient to take down the pit.