Lincolnshire Poacher

Lincolnshire Poacher is a truly artisan cheese and is the pride of Lincolnshire and justifiably so!

Made by Simon Jones on his family farm and matured for up to 24 months using both evening and morning milk Lincolnshire Poacher is an award-winning handmade cheese produced on a dairy farm nestling on the eastern edge of the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds. It is made in a way that is similar to traditional West Country Cheddar using unpasteurised cow’s milk. The cheese was invented by Simon Jones from Lincolnshire, who decided to turn the spring milk from his herd of Holsteins into cheese. Traditional Lincolnshire Poacher is available in a cylindrical shape, coated by a rind appearing similar to granite. It is a slow-maturing cheese that takes between 12-24 months to develop a golden, straw-coloured yellow paste and spotted brown and grey colour rind.

Simon Jones started making Lincolnshire Poacher cheese at his fathers farm; Ulceby Grange Farm.  Simon is the fourth generation to be running the farm, which has been in the family since 1917. It is situated on the edge of the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds about ten miles from the east coast. The lush pastures sit on chalky land, which enables Simon to have a successful dairy herd in an area where dairy farms are very scarce and cheese making is virtually unknown.

The farm began dairying in 1970 with Simon’s father, Richard, but it wasn’t until Simon came back from agricultural college and needed something to get involved with, that he looked into the possibility of making cheese on a small scale. His research began with a cheese making course at Reaseheath Agricultural College in Nantwich and visiting various cheese dairies in the South West. He then set up a small dairy of his own with a 1000 litre vat and with the help of Welsh cheese maker Dougal Campbell, who came armed with a tonic bottle of rennet and a sachet of starter, made his first batch of cheese on February 17th 1992.

The recipe for Lincolnshire Poacher is a cross between a West Country Cheddar and an Alpine Comte and was based on Dougal’s own cheese called Tyn Gryg. Dougal’s parting comments were “Right boy, you can make the cheese tomorrow”. So Simon started making cheese on a regular basis from then on. The cheese proved very popular, to such an extent that in the local cheese shop customers were rationed to ¼ of a pound each! This early success led to Simon taking on a full-time cheese maker, Richard Tagg, and in 1995 the creation of a larger cheese dairy, within a lovely old farm building. Now the vast majority of the farm’s milk is turned into cheese, as a rule seven days a week.

Lincolnshire Poacher is a unique and totally delicious cheese. Using raw unpasteurised evening milk which is allowed to cool over night before the warm morning milk is added along with a starter to turn the milk sugars (lactose) into lactic acid. Traditional animal rennet is then added to separate the curds from the whey after which the milk is heated to 41 degrees centigrade.  Even though the milk used is unpasteurised it is still suitable for pregnant ladies to eat according to NHS guidelines but it is not suitable for vegetarians due to the animal rennet used. 

The curds are then cut and recut til until they appear to be as small as a grain of wheat, The whey is drained off and the remaining curds are cut into slabs and layered one on top of another.  They are then turned, individually, so the top becomes the bottom.  This is Cheddaring and allows the way to drain away. The layers are turned intermittently for up to 2 hours.

The final stage of making the cheese is to put the salted curds into the moulds, each holding 20kg and being pressed for 36 hours to displace any remaining moisture. Finally the cheeses are stored on wooden shelves and turned each month by an automated turning robot lovingly named Florence. The cheese is left to mature for unto 24 months.

Lincolnshire Poacher has a rich, herbaceous and almost nutty taste that will linger on the tongue for quite a time. It’s strong and mature paste, the body of the cheese, makes it the perfect ingredient for cheese straws or even cheese scones. Thomasina Miers, food writer for The Guardian, recommends using Lincolnshire Poacher as the main ingredient in her tomato, cheese and tarragon galette and of course it’s ideal for the cheese board accompanied by a traditional Cheshire Chutney Co Plum & Ale chutney and a full bodied glass of Tanners aged Port or a Toms Tap House hoppy beer.

Lincolnshire Poacher is best at room temperature. Remove from the fridge when you open your bottle of wine; thus allowing the temperature of the cheese to rise.

When you have finished. resist the temptation to wrap the cheese in cling film or place in an air tight container.  Cheese needs to breathe or it will sweat.  So rewrap in the wax paper your cheese monger used and place it in the crisper draw of your fridge.  Cheese stored like this will keep for up to 14 days from the date it was cut by your cheesemonger.  If some white blooming appears, it is totally natural, don’t be concerned, just remove it and enjoy the remainder of your Lincolnshire Poacher.