A delicately infused Quince Gin
A beautifully simple quince gin recipe to make the most of this year’s abundance
SEASONAL NOTES
Editorial Feature
Bold awards are won by steady hands. At Clawson Farms in Leicestershire, where cheesemaking has been a way of life for more than a century, that steadiness has once again been recognised on the world stage.
This year’s World Cheese Awards, held in Switzerland for the first time, brought together more than 5,000 cheeses from 46 nations. For a single day, the BernEXPO Festhalle became a hall of quiet focus, where experts from across the global dairy community tasted, inspected and debated each entry with meticulous care. Out of thousands, only 107 cheeses earned the elusive Super Gold. One of them was Clawson Farms’ Aged Rutland Red.
The Aged Rutland Red, a clothbound cheese matured for up to twelve months, has long been admired for its sweet, caramelised depth and quietly confident character. Crafted from pasteurised cow’s milk, hand-buttered and finished using traditional methods, it stood out among the world’s best, earning Super Gold and the title of Best British Cheese with a score of 76 points.
It is the kind of recognition that arrives only when time, skill and patience all align.
Alongside this standout success, two more Clawson favourites were honoured. Shropshire Blue and the celebrated 1912 Stilton, named after the year the dairy first began, both received Silver Awards. The 1912 Stilton also achieved the highest ranking in its category, reinforcing Clawson’s position as one of the country’s finest producers of Stilton under its strict PDO status.
Together, these three cheeses form a picture of a dairy deeply rooted in heritage yet continually pushing its craft forward.
As a farmer-owned cooperative, Clawson Farms sources milk from 31 producers within a 30-mile radius of the dairy. It is a model that keeps tradition close and quality consistent. Every cheese, whether a classic truckle or a bold new expression of flavour, is shaped by artisans whose combined expertise spans more than a century.
“Winning both Super Gold and Best British Cheese for our Aged Rutland Red is an incredible honour,” says Bill Mathieson, Managing Director of Clawson Farms. “These awards reflect the dedication of our team and the passion we put into every wheel of cheese. It is a celebration of 90 years of artisan cheesemaking.”
These wins for Clawson Farms shine a light on the rhythm of British cheesemaking, where heritage, land and craftsmanship remain at the heart of every wheel.
For those of us who seek out artisan food with a story behind it, this is one worth lingering on.
If you’d like to discover the many beautiful cheeses that Clawson Farms craft, do take a look at Clawson Farms Webshop. I’m looking forward to trying out the Rutland Red, and I can highly recommend their Stiltons and Cheese Truckles which I’ll be writing about soon.
Lyndsey | Editor
A beautifully simple quince gin recipe to make the most of this year’s abundance
George & Joseph’s Cheese Advent Calendar brings together 24 hand-selected artisan British cheeses
ADVERTISEMENTS
MAY contain affiliate links
FEATURED BRANDS
In Partnership with The Artisan Founder
