I do love to read about cheesemakers and how they came to produce their lovely cheeses.
One of our customers came to us last week to order this cheese, we have been supplying it for years but in all honesty, it has been interesting learning more about this wonderful cheese and the people who produce it.
Baron Bigod is made at Fen farm in Bungay, Suffolk; the cheese is named after 12th century earl of Norfolk, Baron Bigod which is pronounced By-God. Originally from Normandy, and where bloomy rinded cheeses came from such as the brie and camembert. The Earl came over to Britain during the Norman invasion.
Fen farm are predominantly a family run farm,3 generations of the family have been running the farm, now taking the reins are Dulcie and Jonathan Crickmore. Baron Bigod is said to have graced the table of royalty and becoming a top choice of cheese for chefs around the country, it certainly has become a menu staple and loved by many.
The family have their own Montbeliarde cows whom graze the fertile marshland of the Waveney River valley and whose nourishing unpasteurised milk is used to produce the finest of dairy products; the cheese is ladled by hand and aged for up to 8 weeks.
A Brie de Meaux style cheese which is very full in flavour, soft in texture with a nutty, mushroomy rind. Break into that rind and you get this lovely smooth paste with a silky centre and flavours of earthy truffle and citrus.
A baby sized version of the cheese (approximately 250g), comes in a hand wrapped wax paper and packed into a wooden box. Priced at £7.72, it is definitely worth gracing your table with this for any occasion!
