Sparkenhoe Farm, Upton, in the South West Leicestershire countryside, is where the very first cheese to be LEAF Marque certified is made, according to an old recipe discovered by David and Jo Clarke.
David and Jo Clarke’s families have farmed in the area for generations.
They started making Sparkenhoe in November 2005, from the milk produced by their 150 pedigree Holsten Friesian cows – the unpasteurised milk from the previous day’s milking is pumped across from the parlour to the cheese room at 4am.
Traditional animal rennet added and annatto is then added to give the cheese its rich orange colour. Annatto is a natural plant dye obtained from a South American bush.
The curds and whey are scalded gently and separated, and the curds are cut into blocks and turned to release further whey.
The curds are then put through the mill and salt is added.
The cheese is put into moulds and pressed for 24 hours, turned and pressed for a further 24 hours. They are bound in cloth and lard and matured for four and a half months in the store at 10 degrees.
It is made in large wheels of 10Kgs and 20Kgs.
The dairy enterprise is run by David with help from Roger, who does most of the milking and Billy who is in charge of feeding the cows. (William and Annie also have a big part to play in seeing that everything runs smoothly!)
David tries to grow as much of the feed on the farm as possible and buffer feeds the cows all year round to help produce milk as consistent as possible for the cheese making.
The cows are all pedigree with names such as Greeta and Hyacinth, and the herd was in the semi final of the National Herds Gold Cup Award.
http://www.leicestershirecheese.co.uk/
01455 213863
info@leicestershirecheese.co.uk
