“The three-cheese platter of Rosary goat, Isle of Wight Blue, and Somerset brie with quince jelly, walnuts and grapes went down a treat”

Neville Marten, in Salisbury Life, describing a meal at the Bell Inn in the New Forest, Hampshire

I had some visitors from abroad and I wanted to put together an interesting English cheeseboard. I selected a soft cheese – the wonderful Waterloo; a hard cheese – cheeky Lincolnshire Poacher; and then I set about selecting a blue cheese.

Of course there is that king of cheeses, Stitchelton, but that is a cheese of such magnificence that it tends to outshine everything else. And the Shropshire Blue has quite a strong tanginess… good with port, but perhaps at lunchtime … I wasn’t sure.

I noticed the Isle of Wight Blue in my local butchers and it turned out to be a happy choice. It’s softer… milder than many of the in-your-face blues, but it’s easy on the tongue. It has an attractive and distinctive silver-grey rind.

It’s made by cheesemaker, Rich Hodgson, of the Isle of Wight Cheese Company, from pasteurised milk from Guernsey cows grazing on pasture around the Queen Bower dairy where the cheese is made. Only matured for a month or so – it will continue to ripen in your fridge.

It’s great for cooking – good with cheesy, creamy bread to go with ham; in a soufflé; crumbled over asparagus; and also simply added to all kinds of soups and sauces.

For other posts on cheese, follow this link.

This post is dedicated to Bruno and Julia Posset