NO WASTE
We work closely with our friends at Quicke’s to ensure nothing from the Clothbound Cheddar that we buy goes to waste; from the whey strained from the curds at the beginning of the process, to the crumbly bits that don’t make it into a slice.
We first met Quicke’s on our quest to find the perfect cheddar for our Ham and Cheese Sandwich. We still love the richness of Quicke’s Clothbound Cheddar, and to us it’s the perfect pairing with roasted ham, mustard butter and French Dark Sourdough, which is why it’s been pride of place in our bakeries ever since.
QUICKE’S WHEY BUTTER
We’re proud to butter our toast with Quicke’s Whey Butter. It’s made with whey cream, a bi-product from the Cheddar cheese-making process that would otherwise go to waste. Quicke’s add milk from their grass-fed herd to the whey cream and follow a rare heritage recipe to make the butter.
Whey butter is recognised by the slow foods movement as one of the great ‘forgotten foods’ and we love its rich and nutty flavour. Come in to try some on toast or a freshly baked Cheese and Chive Scone.
CHEDDAR SOURDOUGH STICK
We started selling this bread in our shops this year – it’s made with Quicke’s Clothbound Cheddar and we love it on its own and we also make a lunch or tea sandwich with smoked Merano Speck.
We buy the whole wheel of cheese from Quicke’s for our Ham and Cheese sandwich, but to get a clean slice, the ‘core’ of the cheese is removed for easier cutting.
To put the core to good use, we’ve developed the Cheddar Stick, which is made using the offcuts of the Clothbound Cheddar. We mix the offcuts into a sourdough base, with thyme, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.
As the amount of offcuts fluctuates depending on how many Ham and Cheese sandwiches we make, so does the number of Cheddar Sticks that we bake.
We are excited by both the opportunity and challenge of working with Quicke’s beautiful dairy – watch this space as we keep developing more recipes.
Click here to read our Baker’s Dozen with Mary Quicke, whose family have run the Devonshire farm for 14 generations.