Cheese shops

[malumbu]

Picking up from another discussion what are people's views on local cheese shops?

I've used the Cheese Block, and in Pimlico, Rippon Cheese, since the 90s.  I particularly liked the latter as they had a separate walk in cold store for the cheeses that needed to be stored this way.  Supermarket cheeses are generally inferior, although Lidl occasionally stocks interesting Greek island cheeses, or continental.  Price differential is ginormous.

I have never used Mons and was surprised that there was enough demand for two shops in SE22, noting of course the Cheese Block offers other deli products.  I've used Heritage Cheese from time to time, as nice to walk down to the village.

I expect changing demographics have increased demand for high end quality products.  I recall Borough Market when it was a modest fruit and veg market, before Jamie Oliver put it on the map about 20 years ago.  [edited this is probably from the Naked Chef 1999 - 2002)].

 

Edited Wednesday at 10:58 by malumbu

[Insuflo]

Cheese Block, Mons and Heritage formed a cheese triangle.

[malumbu]

Have you ever wondered how you get triangle from a cow?

You need butter, milk and cheese and an equilateral chain saw.  

 

[Spartacus]

This is a Philly thread 

[David Peckham]

I think we're incredibly lucky around here for cheese. They all do a slightly different job. 

It's even possible to knock up a serviceable French cheese board from the Tesco on East Dulwich Road if you're surprised by unexpected supper guests - they do Brie & Camembert, Compte & Gruyere, Saint Agur & Roquefort, and chevre. So your whole soft/hard/blue/goat deal is sorted. 

A couple of part-baked baguettes, a bunch of grapes, some celery and a handful of walnuts; nobody would ever suspect that you'd forgotten that you'd invited them round after a couple of drinks.

Below that, the Pilgrim's Choice/Cathedral City thing depends on what's on offer at Morrisons, but they're perfectly fine for cooking with. The extra mature versions are great in a rarebit sauce and that freezes well in ice cubes trays. Perfect for a post-pub snack, or for unexpected supper guests that you'd forgotten you'd invited round after a couple of drinks.

For Lordship Lane, my very rough rule of thumb is:
 
If you want to know the region of the cheese, Marks & Sparks is fine.

If you want to know the breed of cow that produced the cheese, Cheese Block is the place

If you want to know the name of the actual cow (Daisy, Buttercup, Ermintrude, etc), then I'd recommend Mons.

It's not foolproof, but it's always sort of worked out for me. Apart from when I invite people round after a couple of drinks.

[Glemham]

Heritage Cheese in Vanity Square closed suddenly yesterday and has a High Court notice on the door “That goods have been secured on site”. Apparently the Dulwich Estate knew nothing about the closure.

It might be some time before another tenant can move into the shop……..

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

1 hour ago, malumbu said:

Have you ever wondered how you get triangle from a cow?

 

Call me a philistine but I like the small Laughing Cow triangles. Babybels too. They're a great snack for adults and kids. Yes, I'll never be shy about praising the Little Baby Cheeses.

[David Peckham]

 

As a teenager, it always pissed me off that the French looked effortlessly cool finishing their Alpine packed lunch with a triangle of neat 'La Vache qui rit', whilst I got laughed at back at home for doing the same with a St Ivel Gold Spinner or mainlining a tube of Primula straight into my gob.

[ianr]

1 hour ago, David Peckham said:

 

If you want to know the breed of cow that produced the cheese, Cheese Block is the place

Cue Bateman cartoon?: The Man Who Asked For some "Vache Qui Rit" in the Cheese Block

Edited Wednesday at 13:18 by ianr
?

[ArchieCarlos]

I like Ripon because it's an oasis of cool on a hot day and the selection is great, but I find the owner a bit too pushy for my liking. It's also pricier than the cheesemongers in Dulwich. 

Heritage Cheese I don't particularly like, and if as Glemham says it's going away I won't miss it. It's not a very good cheese shop (their selection is generic / not better than what you'd find in M&S), their deli section is poor, their art gallery is meh, their wine selection is unexciting. It strikes me as a shop that tries to be too many things and ends up being below average at all of them. The owner is quite weird.

The Cheese Block is great (as long as you don't get served by grumpy uncle), a very wide selection with several unusual cheeses and good deli supplies. Mons is also fantastic, a more restricted range but everything is great. As a cheese lover I find myself going to both regularly. 

[jazzer]

Just came across Davidstow Crackler as an extra mature cheddar (available in most supermarkets), but still no replacement for Canadian Extra mature cheese that is unavailable and has been for some years.

My go to cheese is Comte (surprisingly good value from Tesco) and a really nice blue is Dolcellate (supermarket available). The other go to has to be Lidl's Deluxe Parmigiano Reggiano for grating over pasta, matured and IMO generally better than other supermarket Parmesan cheese. 

[malumbu]

1 hour ago, Glemham said:

Heritage Cheese in Vanity Square closed suddenly yesterday and has a High Court notice on the door “That goods have been secured on site”. Apparently the Dulwich Estate knew nothing about the closure.

It might be some time before another tenant can move into the shop……..

Wrong thread.  

Warning for those endorsing extra mature cheddar, it's not great for welsh rarebit as it doesn't melt.

[David Peckham]

5 hours ago, jazzer said:

Just came across Davidstow Crackler as an extra mature cheddar (available in most supermarkets), but still no replacement for Canadian Extra mature cheese that is unavailable and has been for some years.

My go to cheese is Comte (surprisingly good value from Tesco) and a really nice blue is Dolcellate (supermarket available). The other go to has to be Lidl's Deluxe Parmigiano Reggiano for grating over pasta, matured and IMO generally better than other supermarket Parmesan cheese. 

 

As Malumbu said, Lidl is great for some continental cheeses. The Parmesan you mentioned won a blind tasting in one of the Sunday food supplements - I think it's 24 month aged. It's the closest I've tasted to gear straight off the rock in Bologna.

Their mozzarella is fine as well, and ridiculously cheap compared to the branded stuff. It's going to get complemented up by a light chiffonade of basil, a brunoise of red onion and a suggestion of Balsamic anyway,. So fuck it. It's a fool's errand to spend more.

I remember the Tesco extra mature Canadian Cheddar in the late 70s/early 80s. It made the roof of my mouth itch because it was so strong. The 'Cornish Cruncher' from M&S is similar. They do two and three year old versions. It's probably made by Davidstow, thinking about it. They often have a deal on the three year old making it cheaper than the two year old. Maybe people can't take a proper mature Cheddar these days. I'm still a heavy smoker, so it's fine for me.

4 hours ago, malumbu said:

Wrong thread.  

Warning for those endorsing extra mature cheddar, it's not great for welsh rarebit as it doesn't melt.

Reading your past posts, you're clearly a chemist by trade and I'll bow to your greater knowledge on this.

I've never had a lumpiness issue with supermarket extra mature cheese in my rarebit sauces, but then I do start with a basic roux. Is there a reason behind them not melting properly?  Extra mature probably loses moisture and gains salt, but surely that can be sorted out by adding a bit more Guinness?

[malumbu]

Mozzarella from Lidl is superb, it went up a lot in price in recent years but still cheap.   They have bureatta as well at the mo.  Extra mature cheese has less fat, which is the stuff that melts.  I'm talking more cheese on toast here, rather than welsh rarebit which as you say is based on a roux/beer/wine/mustard (and even egg).

Edited Thursday at 07:48 by malumbu

[IlonaM]

I used to get a very good Ricotta (made relatively locally) from a deli under the Brixton arches - just like I buy from local producers when I'm in Italy, rather than the creamy variety one buys from Galbani etc. 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good (not creamy) Ricotta, please.

[David Peckham]

Ricotta isn't really my bag, it reminds me too much of cottage cheese, but I'm sure Lina Stores on Brewer Street in Soho would have something. I can vouch for their Parmesan. I can't really think of a proper Italian deli closer than that.

 

[IlonaM]

Thanks for your suggestion David. Lina's a bit of a hike for me! I used to love them and the Flli Camisa when I lived in central London.

I use the smooth ricotta for cooking Ligurian spinach and ricotta pie - delicious!, but enjoy the more rustic ricotta as well.

[Insuflo]

Antonio’s in Lewisham but it’s probably almost as far.

[David Peckham]

1 hour ago, IlonaM said:

Thanks for your suggestion David. Lina's a bit of a hike for me! I used to love them and the Flli Camisa when I lived in central London.

I use the smooth ricotta for cooking Ligurian spinach and ricotta pie - delicious!, but enjoy the more rustic ricotta as well.

Have you tried in The Cheese Block?

They're more likely to have something in there than Mons, I would have thought. They definitely used to do the fresh mozzarella and burrata. But I expect you know an awful lot more about this than I do.

I've not tried Camisa, is it a similar thing to Lina?

An Anglo-Italian colleague introduced me to Lina Stores 30 odd years ago. It was a revelation, particularly the Parmesan straight from a lump and the hand made pasta.

Lina have opened up a small chain of restaurants, I notice. They look a bit swish compared the original deli, maybe it's a licencing agreement.

Quite a nice, simple menu. I'll be nicking a few ideas for my 'Osteria Di Dave' themed candlelight supper.

[HeadNun]

Ilona if, by rustic, you mean ricotta salata, I know the Cheese Block sells it, as I use it for my weekly treat of Pasta alla Norma. 

[Moovart]

1 hour ago, David Peckham said:

Have you tried in The Cheese Block?

They're more likely to have something in there than Mons, I would have thought. They definitely used to do the fresh mozzarella and burrata. But I expect you know an awful lot more about this than I do.

I've not tried Camisa, is it a similar thing to Lina?

An Anglo-Italian colleague introduced me to Lina Stores 30 odd years ago. It was a revelation, particularly the Parmesan straight from a lump and the hand made pasta.

Lina have opened up a small chain of restaurants, I notice. They look a bit swish compared the original deli, maybe it's a licencing agreement.

Quite a nice, simple menu. I'll be nicking a few ideas for my 'Osteria Di Dave' themed candlelight supper.

https://www.linastores.co.uk/history

[IlonaM]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'm thinking of ricotta fresca which comes with the little draining basket. I'll try Cheese Block and research further afield.

Camisa used to be on Old Compton Street and they used to have a second bigger store behind Goodge Street station for a while - not sure if still there. I'm talking donkeys years ago! Very traditional deli.

Was just remembering the old Italian neighbourhood near Chancery Lane - that might be productive!

[David Peckham]

1 hour ago, Moovart said:

https://www.linastores.co.uk/history

Thanks very much for that, it's fascinating.

I remember the first time I went in there, in the early nineties, and saw all the fresh pasta in drawers below the counter and the hams hanging from the ceiling.

The service seemed a little brusque at first, probably because I couldn't work out what I actually wanted, so I just stood there gawping. I was genuinely quite amazed by the place.

I was working off Broadwick Street at the time, so used to finish work, have a couple of pints outside The Blue Posts, pick up some veg from Berwick Street market and then some pasta from Lina Stores on the walk down to Piccadilly Circus for the tube back to Elephant.

I really thought I was Jack the Lad. It was ace until a slight misunderstanding. There used to be a really good photography bookshop in the basement at the south of Walker's Court, where the Raymond Revue Bar was, but you had to enter through the adult book shop above.

It was bonus day, so I loaded up with four or five albums from Sister Ray Records, fruit and veg from Berwick Street and a copy of Stephen Shore's photographic journey across the US 'Uncommon Places', which was quite a weighty tome in it's own right.

As I left the shop, via the adult bookshop above, my MD walked past and saw me with what must have appeared to be the mother lode of jazz mags; three or four large bags full.

I was invited to an informal meeting with HR, who asked whether I was developing a 'problem'.

I thought that was very caring of them.

 

27 minutes ago, IlonaM said:

 

Was just remembering the old Italian neighbourhood near Chancery Lane - that might be productive!

Do you mean the area at the back of Gray's Inn Road, towards Clerkenwell Green?

I was up there last year. There's still a couple of the old Italian run sandwich shops, they really haven't changed, but I can't remember seeing a deli around there.

There's a mad place, an electrical factors & electricians' supplies shop run by a Turkish family who sell olive oil from their farm in Turkey. It's reckoned to be the best olive oil in this country. I sampled it, it's really good.

[jazzer]

There where a couple of really old Italian deli's one on Farringdon Road, the other on Caledonian Road which was run by a really old guy and his shop cat. It ceased trading in about 2016 I think. He had the most amazing fresh Italian stringed sausages, Parmesan cut off the block, proper Italian bread, all manner of Italian cheeses, hand sliced cured meats. Such a loss when he eventually closed up.   

[malumbu]

I liked the Italian Deli at the bottom of Brixton Road, the sort of place that would close for a month in the summer for their hols. It looks like a chain nowadays.  There was also one in Sydenham, long since gone.