It’s time once again for a raw ewe’s milk cheese! Today’s offering comes from a UK dairy, Neal’s Yard and the selection is their Spenwood.

This is a hard, semi-dry cheese, made from unpasteurized ewe’s milk. The folks at Neal’s describe it as a “nutty, sweet cheese with a translucent appearance and a smooth texture.” I’d agree, for the most part. It does have a hint on a nutty taste to it, but I wouldn’t quite call it smooth… it’s harder, like a Parmigiano-Reggiano, but not as crumbly. It does have a pretty good “melt in your mouth” factor to it, probably as a result of a higher fat content. The flavor is very nice, mild, but with just an ever-so-tiny nod to cheddar that it makes a fine snackin’ cheese. Jolly good!

Today’s cheese was a Castelo Branco, which is another raw ewe’s milk cheese, this time from the Beiras region in Portugal. It’s a semi-soft cheese, light yellow in color, pocked with small holes throughout. Some reports I read indicated that it’s sometimes made with a mix of ewe and goat milk, although my cheese monger indicated this sample was ewe’s milk. The flavor is mild, but with a tweak of an acidic sourness, not quite citrus-like, and reminiscent of a goat’s milk cheese (with a much higher fat content). Definitely worth a try although not my favorite of the ewe’s milk cheeses I’ve tried so far.

Tonight’s cheese was Ossau-Iraty, which is a French ewe’s milk cheese. Wow, it’s good, good stuff. I’m surprised they let it out of France, they usually horde the best stuff. Ossau-Iraty is actually an AOC cheese (that’s Appellation d’Origine Controle) which means that it’s regionally produced under strict quality guidelines. The Ossau-Iraty is one of only 3 AOC cheeses made from ewe’s milk. (Another favorite of mine is Roquefort.)

This is only the third ewe’s milk cheese I’ve had, the second being this Swaledale Ewes Cheese in England. I have to say, I’m a big fan.

Like the Swaledale, the Ossau-Iraty has a heavier or thicker feel in your mouth than a cow or goat’s milk cheese. It has a mild, but distinct flavor, almost nutty, and I thought kind of like a very mild, much softer Parmesan. Another keeper of a cheese.

Tonight’s other cheese selection comes from the Cowgirl Creamery. This was the Red Hawk I picked up at The Cheese Stands Alone.

This is not a cheese for the faint of heart. It’s triple creamed, made from organic cow’s milk, with a rind that’s washed in brine and aged for six weeks. The result is a very full-bodied, salty cheese that is packed with flavor. It’s a soft cheese, with a reddish/orange rind and quite a pungent aroma.

If you are not a fan of pungent cheese, this one isn’t for you. Personally, I love a good strong cheese, so I found this right up my alley. Taking the advice of the cheese monger, I let this one warm up to room temp and it really blossomed. It’s extremely flavorful without being as over-powering as you might think from the odor. A very, very nice cheese. I’m definitely going to try more Cowgirl offerings.

From the Cypress Grove Chevre I sampled a goat cheese tonight called Humboldt Fog.

If you are a fan of goat cheese I would highly recommend this winner (Blue Ribbon at the American Cheese Society 2005). It’s made from pasturized goat’s milk with a white mold and has a line of vegetable ash in the center of the cheese. It’s definitely a goat’s milk cheese, although the “goat-ness” is very, very mild. It has a really great, lemony tang that lingers very pleasantly. The center is the consistency of a chevre, while closer to the rind it’s creamery (think consistency of brie).

Delicious.