Baron Bigod, the British take on a classic French Brie-de-Meaux, was voted “Best British Cheese 2024” for the second year running, in the Fine Food Digest annual survey.
It’s undeniable that British cheese consumers can’t seem to get enough of it, to the point where many retailers have stopped stocking French Brie, as the Baron is so much more popular. But what makes it so irresistible to the British palette?
Jonny and Dulcie Crickmore of Fen Farm Dairy, makers of Baron Bigod, have this to say about it:
“Baron Bigod is very unique in being one of only a handful of its type in the world to be made by the farmer on the farm.
We make Baron Bigod by hand in small batches, very early in the morning so that we can use the fresh milk straight from the cow. The mould cultures are added to the warm morning’s milk and it is gently gravity fed into small vats just a few metres from our milking parlour, where the rennet is added. The curds are cut with a long-sword and carefully hand-ladled into large moulds, using traditional pelle-a-brie ladles. The young cheeses are hand salted and then aged for up to 8 weeks in a cave-like environment.
You will find that when tasting Baron Bigod, beneath the nutty, mushroomy rind there is a smooth, silky golden breakdown which will often ooze out over a delicate, fresh and citrussy centre. It is a unique expression of the incredible milk of our free-ranging Montbeliarde cows and the diversity of our wildlife-rich grazing marshland.”
Alongside cheese, Fen Farm Dairy also produce a much-coveted range of other dairy products, all made on-farm from their fresh cows milk.
Fen Farm Dairy’s new range of artisanal layered yoghurts are fast becoming a household favourite among shoppers looking for simple and additive-free “real” dairy. Available in Natural, Wildflower Honey, Strawberry and Blackcurrant, these deliciously thick Icelandic-style yoghurts are made using only natural, local and British ingredients.
Fen Farm Dairy also produce the popular “Bungay Butter”, a raw cultured butter, fresh buttermilk and thick cultured cream.