Christmas cheeseboard – Will Britain’s favourite cheese make it onto yours?

Get the full lowdown on what cheeses won at this years British Cheese Awards and what you’ll be tucking into this Christmas.

Will Somerset’s, The Sheep Rustler grace your Christmas dinner table?..

Cheese stack — Image credit: The Sheep Rustler | British Cheese Awards 2018

The Sheep Rustler has been crowned this years winner at the annual British Cheese Awards on Wednesday, but as the name suggests, it isn’t made from cows milk but by using thermised ewe’s milk and is then aged for around three months.

The result is a semi-hard cheese with a medium, mellow flavour that is slightly nutty with a hint of caramel,” says the cheesemaker, sounds like the perfect pre-xmas dinner appetizer.

Could The Sheep Rustler grace your cheeseboard over the festive season? with so many winners it’s going to be hard to choose.

With over 1,000 cheeses entered, there were many winners and also 13 Special Awards given to cheesemakers. Winners included Smoked Mull Of Kintyre for Best Scottish Cheese by First Milk Campletown and Blue Swaledale by The Swaledale Cheese Company LTD for Best Blue which could be a Christmas contender for us.

Peter Mitchell, chairman of the British Cheese Awards, says: “The number and quality of the cheeses entered for this year’s awards has been exceptional and made judging and choosing the winners a real challenge. We’re delighted that White Lake Cheese, a local Somerset cheesemaker, won the Supreme Champion trophy for its Sheep Rustler; a delicious and intriguing ewe’s milk cheese.”