Baron Bigod is the cheese I reach for when someone asks whether Britain can stand toe-to-toe with Brie de Meaux. Made by Jonny Crickmore and his team at Fen Farm Dairy in Bungay, Suffolk, from the pasteurised morning milk of their Montbéliarde cows, it won Silver at the World Cheese Awards and is one of the finest soft cheeses these isles produce.
The recipe came from a French cheesemaker and the method still follows it closely. Warm milk is gravity-fed into small vats just metres from the milking parlour, set with traditional rennet, and the young cheeses are matured for up to eight weeks in a cave-like room. What you get is a golden, silky paste that breaks down from the rind inwards over a fresh, citrusy core.
Expect rich cream butter and earthy button mushrooms up front, with a caramelised note of pan-roasted parsnip on the finish. Serve Baron Bigod at room temperature on a cheeseboard, or bake it whole with a healthy portion of honey and fresh chives.
Pairs with Saffron Grange Classic Cuvée - the cheese's rich, creamy butter and earthy mushroom notes are lifted by the sparkling wine's citrus, apple and toasty depth.
Want to know more about how this cheese came to be? Read getting to know Baron Bigod.
