Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is a classic territorial cheese, made by Jo and David Clarke and is the only raw milk Red Leicester still made in Leicestershire, to the original recipe from centuries ago. This is what makes this cheese completely unique. It’s the first of it’s kind to be produced on the Sparkenhoe Farm since 1875, and is so far removed from mass-produced Red Leicester you might find in a supermarket.
This cheese has an incredible depth of flavour – it’s nutty and buttery but with that slight farmy/meaty/brothy flavour that you wouldn’t find in a mass produced Red Leicester. The vibrant orange/red colour comes from the addition of natural colouring Annatto to the curds during production of the cheese. It is then clothbound, rubbed in lard and then matured on the farm’s beech shelves for 18 months. A winner in cheese toasties!