Creamery New Hartington Red Derby Cheese

It feels like only yesterday when we were announcing the long-awaited return of our traditional Derby cheese. Well, we may be old-school in our methodology, but we’re still innovators, and can now proudly announce a brand-new regional cheese: Red Derby.

When you buy your cheese from Hartington Creamery, either in a cheese gift hamper, subscription box, or just a regular cheese wedge order, you’re already spoiled for choice. But now with Red Derby there’s one extra option, and we think it’s one of the best in our range.

However, before you buy, it’s worth knowing the story behind our new Red Derby cheese and what makes it so special. So sit back and enjoy while we tell you all about it.

 

What is Red Derby Cheese?

As you can probably figure out from the name, Red Derby is a spin-off from our traditional Derby cheese, which we recently started producing again after a 16-year hiatus.

We use a similar method to create our Red Derby, except we have developed a culture that produces a slightly sweet and nutty flavour, and we use natural annatto colouring to give it its iconic redness. Annatto itself is flavourless, so it doesn’t affect the way the cheese tastes; it just makes it look fantastic on a cheese board or in a gift hamper.

Although not a PDO cheese (meaning it isn’t exclusively made in Derbyshire), a combination of happy cows and traditional methods have made it one of the best tasting cheeses on the market. Factory-produced cheese loses a lot of flavour when its being churned out at high speed; we prefer to do things properly.

 

Red Derby Cheese or Red Leicester?

When you think of red cheese, you’ll understandably think of Red Leicester. It’s the UK’s second most popular cheese, and for good reason. But what is Red Leicester and why do people like it so much?

If you’re a fan of cheese history like we are, you’ll know that Red Leicester cheese has been produced in the UK since the 17th century, but only became ‘red’ when it started being coloured a century later. That’s a long history, even by our standards, and there’s no denying that with its iconic colour it was a great choice for a cheeseboard. Until now.

The downside of Red Leicester is similar to what we see with stilton and other mass-market cheeses. Because it’s popular, it’s being made as cheaply as possible, as quickly as possible. As we mentioned, factory-made cheeses lose a lot of flavour. They’re still nice, but once you’ve tasted proper artisan cheese your tastebuds will be brought to life.

The only similarity between these cheeses is the colour. The flavours our team has been able to bring out of every curd blows Red Leicester out of the water. It won’t just stand out on your cheeseboard because of the colour, now it has the taste to match.

Our Red Derby cheese is like Red Leicester turned up to 11. It’s much richer in flavour and still has that bold colour that makes it stand out from the crowd. This is all because of the methods we use in its production.

 

How we Make Red Derby Cheese

When we say that we use traditional methods when making cheese, we mean it. Everything, from the way we stir the milk in our vats to how we wrap the finished product is a refined version of how the first generations of cheesemakers did it.

As advanced as cheesemaking factories are these days, a lot of that engineering can ruin the taste of the final product. For example, the larger the vats you use, the harder it is to get the quality of the cheese curds just right. The milk needs to be stirred at set intervals, something easy to automate, but how you stir is important too. By doing it by hand, we can adapt to the cheese we’re making, stirring more or less depending on the cultures and starters we’ve added. It takes a practised eye, which is why we only work with the best; every member of our team understands the value of the methods we use, and have strong connections to the farm too.

All of our products, from cheese, to wine, to chutney, is all made using locally sourced ingredients. We’re proud to support our local farmers, and use sustainable practices wherever possible to keep our environmental impact to a minimum.

The Importance of Pressing Cheese

Pressing cheese is a vital part of the cheese making process, but it needs to be done properly. We press our Red Derby cheese for a number of reasons, with the main one being that it creates a solid, uniform texture, which is why a block of red cheese is so satisfying to look at. Like Red Leicester, this is one of the crumblier cheeses in our range, so by pressing it we can ensure it keeps its shape even when sliced.

In order to age our cheese properly, unlocking all that wonderful flavour, pressing is important to get right. If you under or over-press your cheese, valuable flavour and texture can be lost. This is unacceptable, so we ensure that our pressing is always done to the highest possible standard.

Once the pressing is completed, and the cheese has been sufficiently aged, it’s time to store it. As we talked about in a previous blog, storing cheese is one of the most important parts of the process, one often overlooked by our competitors. Wrapping it in plastic can ruin the texture of cheese, which is why we use a biodegradable cheese wrap instead, which keeps the cheese together without losing any flavour.

The best part? Because we press our cheese, you can store it for up to three months, ready for the perfect moment.

 

Taking Artisan Cheese to the Next Level

At Hartington Creamery, we’re proud to do things differently. The methods we use have been long forgotten by other cheese manufacturers, and we’re one of the very few that still operate from a working farm.

By using these traditional methods, we can produce better artisan cheese than ever before. Our new Red Derby is just another example of this, being a fantastic alternative to Red Leicester and other ‘off-the-shelf’ cheeses. Whether it’s part of a cheese gift hamper or ordered on its own, we guarantee that this is one of the best cheeses you’re ever tasted.

If you have any questions about us or any of our products, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you!