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	Herriard Estates
	Hampshire Cheeses
	Lasham Gliding Club
	The Forge Studio and Gallery
	Open Sky

Herriard Estates

The Herriard Estate is a diversified business, including the letting of farms, cottages, houses, workshops, stores, offices and a variety of other premises. It is located in beautiful countryside in northern Hampshire.

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Hampshire Cheeses

Click here to visit the Hampshire Cheeses website.

The Herriard Cheesemaker: What makes the taste?!

“What our cows, sheep and goats eat is usually reflected by the seasons of the year. The milk produced by these animals certainly changes according to it's diet, a variation of 'you are what you eat' if you like. As you can imagine, eating the bountiful, moist grass of spring and summer is going to create different milk to that produced from the conserved fodder (such as hay or silage) of winter rations.

Although the farmer can control his herd's diet to some degree, the soil and geology will influence the pastures and therefore the milk too. An interesting example was tasting Caerphilly made in a valley in mid-Wales. It was striking to try these cheeses made by the same cheesemakers from two contrasting farms. One was from a farm with a southerly aspect whilst the other farm had north facing pastures. This meant that they had differing swards and herbs in their fields and so the resulting flavours were as diverse as night and day. Not only do the seasons alter the flavour and content of the milk but also the stages of the lactating animal play a part too. During early and late lactation the milk will be more concentrated compared to mid-lactation milk. To have the cows calving throughout the year will help the cheese and the cheesemaker! This means that at any time in the year there will be a good mix of milk from cows at varying lactation stages. So this will help to give a more consistent cheese by keeping the correct relationship between the butterfat and protein content of the milk.

Knowing the provenance of your ingredients in a recipe helps to understand the bigger picture of your final product. Knowing where the milk comes from and how it is produced helps us to understand our cheese. It is an ever changing scenario and this is exciting. The varying flavour of milk throughout the year should be celebrated just as much as enjoying fresh asparagus or strawberries at their correct time.” Report by Julie Cheyney. Try the excellent and award winning Tunworth cheese - available at the Fur and Feathers and local shops.

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