Mr Hubby accepted the Davidstow Ultimate Cheeseboard Challenge, see how he got on!
In my opinion, a good strong cheese makes your cheeks tingle and I can tell I’m at my limit when I start to get the attractively named “cheese sweats”. Some people suggest this is a mild allergic reaction, but it’s not unpleasant (just a rosy glow on the tops of the cheeks and under the eyes).
When we were approached to take on the Davidstow ultimate christmas cheeseboard challenge, I was more than happy to accept.
I’m not a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination but I have always liked cheese. My tastes have changed somewhat since the soft cheese triangles in my schoolboy lunches and a mature cheddar is now firmly among my favourites. It would always have pride of place on any cheeseboard I would serve up.
The Davidstow 3 year reserve special vintage is not one I’d tried before. It’s only available from Sainsbury’s and Ocado and is matured for a minimum of three years. A mature cheddar is sold at around nine months so I was expecting great flavours from the vintage.
I added a blue, a Brie and an Ossau Iraty to the Davidstow 3 year reserve for a range of flavours and textures. I also added a variety of biscuits and a hearty bread; all well flavoured to stand up to the cheese, a sweet caramelised onion chutney and a homemade chilli jam/relish to balance the savoury bite of the cheese.
I’m more of a beer drinker than a wine drinker so I chose a hoppy IPA to cleanse the palate between cheeses; I think it worked rather well.
Here is our Chilli Jam recipe;
2 tbsp olive oil
3 large red onions, diced
1 kg plum tomatoes, halved
500 g Bramley apples, chopped
3 red chillies, finely chopped
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tbsp tomato purée
200 g light muscovado sugar
350 ml red wine vinegar
Method
1. Heat the oil, add the onions, cook until brown, adding 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Add in the plum tomatoes, apples, chilli and paprika. Cook for approximately 5 mins until the tomatoes have begun to soften.
3. Stir in sugar, vinegar and tomato purée. Bring to the boil, simmer for 30 mins until it starts to thicken. Then spoon into jars, then allow to cool before popping on the lids.
Do you ever order the cheeseboard? What is your favourite cheese?
Disclosure: We were given a shopping voucher and some cheese in order to create this post.