The list of cheeses below, reflects the vibrancy of Britain and Ireland’s cheesemaking scene, highlighting "modern" rather than traditional cheeses.

Looking at today's cheesemaking scene it is hard to realise that only a couple of decades ago traditional farmhouse cheesemakers were an endangered species, struggling to find outlets and an audience for their cheeses.

The range of flavours and textures on offer today is notable. Each of the cheeses listed here are made with great care and dedication – food made with love that we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy.

CELTIC PROMISE – Ceredigon, Wales

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Made by John Savage of Teifi Farmhouse Cheese using raw cow’s milk sourced from a single herd, this shaped cheese is matured for seven weeks in a humid atmosphere. During this time it is washed twice a week with a solution containing Brevibacterium linens, which acts on the cheese to create flavour and texture. It has a sticky orange rind, a pungent smell, a soft, giving texture, and a rich, full flavour.

COOLEA – Co Cork, Ireland

Coolea Farmhouse Cheese at Macroom has been making this cheese since the late 1970s. The recipe is in the Gouda style and involves washing the curd, heating it, moulding, pressing, and salting in brine. The cheese is matured for around six months, during which time it develops a smooth deep yellow rind over a firm yellow paste. The taste, initially salty and savoury, has a rich caramel sweetness that lingers.

CRIFFEL – Dumfries, Scotland

This organic Scottish cheese is made by the Loch Arthur Community at Beeswing using milk from its biodynamic farm. Criffel is both a washed-curd and a washed-rind cheese, sprayed with a bacterial mixture containing Brevibacterium linens while it is ripened for a month. The cheese has a textured golden-orange rind and a smooth, shiny primrose yellow paste. Very flavoursome, it is sweet with pleasant bitter notes.

DODDINGTON – Northumberland, England

This Northumbrian hard cheese is made by Doddington Dairy, North Doddington Farm, Wooler. The dairy uses unpasteurised milk from the farm’s cows and traditional animal rennet, and matures the cheese for 12-14 months. Doddington has a dark reddish-brown natural rind and a dry deep yellow paste with a faintly crystalline texture. The flavour is rich and salty-sweet with a long finish.

DURRUS – Co Cork

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