Cinderella cheese wins top raw milk prize

Margaret-Ann Maxwell took advice from James Aldridge

The Gouda-style cheese Berwick Edge was named the best British unpasteurised cheese for 2011 last month by the Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association (SCA).

The cheese, made by Doddington Dairy in Northumberland, was one of 21 finalists nominated by fellow cheesemakers in the James Aldridge Memorial Trophy for 2011. 

 

Berwick Edge was crowned the winner by a panel of judges including Randolph Hodgson of Neal’s Yard Dairy, Tim Rowcliffe of Anthony Rowcliffe and Clare Cheney, secretary of the SCA, along with James Aldridge’s widow Pat Robinson. 

 

The trophy is named in honour of pioneering cheesemaker and affineur James Aldridge, who died in 2001. “It’s a particularly fitting award as James rang me many years ago out of the blue to give me some very valuable advice on my cheeses when I first started making them,” said Doddington MD Margaret-Ann Maxwell. “I am particularly delighted that Berwick Edge won as I often think of it as the Cinderella of our cheeses as Doddington Cheese is much better known nationally. Now I can say this has definitely had its time in the limelight.”

The cheese is aged for between 12-14 months and joins a long line of winners, including Saval, Innes Log, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, Golden Cross and Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire. 

www.doddingtondairy.co.uk

* First published in the Cheeswire section of Fine Food Digest's August 2011 issue. Click here