close up of barkham blue cheese on a paxton and whitfield wooden cheeseboard
close up of barkham blue cheese on a paxton and whitfield wooden cheeseboard

Barkham Blue

From £13.00

An award-winning, intensely buttery British blue cheese, which owes its dense richness to the Channel Islands milk from which it is made.

From £13.00
Pasteurised Pasteurised
Vegetarian Rennet Vegetarian Rennet
Cow Cow

Barkham Blue

This product is available for in-store collection only! Please see shop availability at checkout.

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Order by 11am for next day delivery.

Order by 11am for next day delivery. Delivery information

Available for Click & Collect.

Available for Click & Collect. Find a cheese shop

Reserve your cheese and preorder now.

Reserve your cheese and preorder now. Learn more

Product Details

Intensely Buttery Barkham Blue Cheese

Barkham Blue cheese is a relatively mellow blue, with a peppery tang to the blue and rind.

Barkham Blue has a wonderful creaminess due to its rich milk. When young it is firm and dense with wonderful grassy notes. As it matures it softens and the buttery quality of the milk is more evident. The cheese melts in the mouth and never leaves the harsh metallic taste sometimes associated with blue cheeses.

A unique, artisan blue which has a distinctive appearance. The whole mould ripened cheese is just under 1kg in weight, ammonite shaped and covered in an attractive, natural, rustic rind. The deep yellow moist interior is spread with dark bluey green veins.

There is a fundamental difference to how the French cheese market works and how we make cheese in the UK. By and large, in France they work very much within the AOC naming system – as such there will be many makers of Comte, Roquefort, Camembert de Normandie etc etc etc, and our job as mongers is to seek out the very best maker of these iconic cheeses. In the UK, with a couple of notable exceptions like Cheddar or Stilton, cheeses tend to be made by a single farm, dairy or family. This means that when those makers no longer want to continue, for example they would like to retire, we face the very real possibility of losing that cheese for forever.

Barkham Blue has been produced by the Rose family in Berkshire for over 20 years, winning many awards for this unique ammonite shaped blue cheese. Recently, they took the decision that it was time for them to ‘hang up their aprons’ and explore new adventures. However, we are absolutely thrilled that rather than lose this cheese to the midst of time, Barkham Blue will be returning to our counters! Cheesemaking must be in the blood for this family, as Sandy Rose’s cousin is none other that Anne Wigmore of Village Maid Cheese. The Wigmore family recently started making Barkham Blue alongside their stalwart cheeses Waterloo, Wigmore and Maida Vale and we are confident that it will be as delicious as ever.

Barkham Blue is produced with milk from Channel Island cows. Sandy’s father had farmed this breed and the origin of the recipe was based on her desire to make a cheese specifically from this incredibly rich and golden milk – no mean feat for a blue cheese, where fatty rich milk can cause a few hurdles in cheese make. It’s a milk that the Wigmore family also use in their Waterloo cheese and are very comfortable working with. It had the most delicate, thin rind and a delicious texture like cold butter.

If you're looking for a drinks pairing, the creamy, gently spiced Barkham Blue is fantastic when contrasted by the sweet, juicy dark fruit of Paxton's Vintage Port.

Awards

  • 2022 Great Taste Award Winner
  • 2019 World Cheese Awards: Gold
  • 2018 British Cheese Awards: Gold
  • 2017 World Cheese Awards: Gold

Nutritional Information

Cow's Milk, Salt, Rennet, Dairy Cultures (Milk)

How To

STORING YOUR CHEESE

The first thing to remember is that cheese keeps best as a whole cheese. So unless you are buying a whole cheese it’s best to eat it as soon as you can. However, this may not always be practical and you may need to store it. Larger pieces of cheese keep better than small pieces. There are few hard and fast rules, merely lots of hints and to make life more complicated, conditions will change with the seasons as will the cheese.

WHERE TO STORE

If you are storing cheese in a refrigerator, it is best to store it in the salad drawer, which although may be running at a slightly higher temperature, it is a confined space that will retain humidity levels. However, do bear in mind that if using the salad compartment to store your cheese, do not also store salad items in the same compartment, as it can transfer harmful bacteria to the cheese.

TEMPERATURE

Some cheeses are best kept cool, others need a warmer environment; it depends on the type of cheese and its stage of maturity. Most hard cheeses that arrive with you will be fine at 8 degrees centigrade to 15 degrees centigrade, at warmer temperatures they will continue to mature; a cool, humid cellar would be perfect, or any unheated part of the house that has a constant temperature between 8 &15 degrees centigrade. Soft and blue cheeses need to be stored at low temperatures, preferably in a refrigerator between 5 & 8 degrees centigrade.

HUMIDITY

Nearly all cheeses like a moist atmosphere, 80% relative humidity is ideal. A humid cellar is often ideal, as is the dairy or salad drawer in your fridge, but if this is not possible cover the cheese with a clean, damp cloth or keep the cheese in a container which prevents moisture escaping, for example a cheese bell or cardboard box. Too dry an atmosphere will mean the cheese will crack; too moist an atmosphere and mould growth is encouraged. Moulds are part of the natural development of cheese and often enhance their flavour but scrape them off if they look unattractive.

WRAPPING

The waxed paper in which we supply our cheese does a good job at keeping the cheese in the right condition. It allows the cheese to breathe but not to dry out too quickly. Cling film, if used for any length of time, tends to allow too much moisture to build up, encouraging moulds to grow on the surface of the cheese. If you do use cling film, cover only the cut surface, allowing the rind to breathe and use a new piece every time you open it. Kitchen foil is good for wrapping moist blue cheeses.

SHELF LIFE AND STORAGE

With individual cheeses you can expect a natural shelf life as indicated by the Use By / Best Before Date on the packaging. With hard cut cheeses (including robust blues like Stilton), if carefully wrapped and stored as suggested cheese will keep for a minimum of a week or more from the date of purchase (all cut cheeses are cut to order and will have approximately 12 days shelf life on them).

At Christmas our last delivery will be a few days earlier than Christmas Day and keeping the cheese in the refrigerator as recommended will slow down maturation and help prevent premature spoilage.

SERVING YOUR CHEESE

To enjoy your cheese at its best, allow it to come to room temperature between 18 & 23 degrees centigrade for an hour or so before serving. Cut the cheese according to its shape, for example if it is a wedge follow the lines of the cheese. Round cheeses such as Camembert should be cut as you would cut a cake, so that each piece has an equal proportion of rind. Remember that small portions of cheese tend to dry out quickly, so cut as small a surface as possible and try to finish up little pieces quickly to enjoy your cheese at its best.

We would recommend that cheese should be served before the dessert as the flow of flavours through the meal is best preserved and the wine from the main course can usually be enjoyed with the cheeses. On the other hand, it is always nice to sit and relax at the end of a meal and pick at a cheese board intermittently, and so the choice is yours! Accompany with quality bread or crackers and a selection of pickles and chutneys.

Cheese delivery

FREE UK* Delivery when you spend over £40 

Fresh, Overnight UK Cheese Delivery

Overnight Cheese Delivery: Our UK delivery charge is £6.95 for UK* orders under £40. Delivery for orders over £40 is free.
*Please note Free UK Delivery is only valid for deliveries to the UK mainland and also excludes deliveries to the Scottish Highlands. We do not currently deliver to Northern Ireland and we do not deliver to international locations outside of the UK.

Named day deliveries on all orders: You can select a delivery date on Tuesday - Saturday when you go to checkout. (Please note. a surcharge of £10 applies to Saturday deliveries) .  

Chilled overnight cheese delivery: All of our cheese parcels are cooled with re-usable ice packs and insulated with recyclable packaging. We always use an overnight delivery service for UK mainland orders to ensure that your cheese arrives with you in fine condition. 

Hand cut & hand wrapped: Our cheese for online orders is hand cut to order and hand wrapped in Paxton & Whitfield wax paper by our expert cheesemongers. Your cheese will have approximately 12 days shelf life on them from the date of despatch.

Delivery tracking & notifications: Please provide your mobile phone number or email address and you will receive tracking details and anticipated delivery times. On the day that your order is despatched, you will recieve a notification that your delivery is on its way and an anticipated 1 hour delivery time slot. 

Carbon-neutral delivery: Our delivery partners at DPD commit to make every parcel they deliver carbon neutral. They measure their CO2 emissions, strive to reduce them, and offset the remaining emissions.

No signature required: You may use the "Delivery Instructions" in the ordering process to provide succinct instructions such as "leave in the garage if out" (choose a cool place) if the recipient is out. The driver is instructed to leave your parcel somewhere safe if you are out to ensure that the cheese is not delayed or held for too long in a warehouse. We regret we cannot accept responsibility for the condition of the goods or non-receipt if goods are not signed for.

UK Highlands & Islands Delivery

There are some places we simply can't get to in under a day and cost more for delivery. If you live in the UK Highlands or Islands, or in a particularly remote location then an additional delivery charge and longer delivery time may apply. You will be notified of any additional charge when you go to checkout. 

Click & Collect

If you would prefer to avoid the queues, rather not wait for delivery or avoid delivery cost then try our FREE order online Click & Collect service.

Simply order on line one day and collect your purchases the next day from your chosen shop. This service is available at all four Paxton & Whitfield shops in Jermyn Street, London; Cale Street, London and Bath.

This service is only available for the items that are listed on our web-site. If you want to place an order for products that are not included on the web-site please call the shop and place a telephone order for the entirety of your order directly with them on the phone. See Visit Our Shops for contact details and maps of each shop. Please note that we are unable to process orders that include items for collection from one of the shops as well as items for delivery. If you want to split your purchase please place two separate orders – one for collection and one for delivery.

Place and pay for your order online

Orders placed before 5pm are available for collection at your chosen shop after 11am the next day that the shop is open. (Pick ups not available Sundays and Bank Holidays).

Orders placed after 5pm are available for collection at your chosen shop after 2pm the next day that the shop is open. (Pick ups not available Sundays and Bank Holidays).

If you do not want to pick up your goods the following day, please specify in the comments box of the Order Form the day and approximate time (ie morning before 1pm/afternoon after 12 noon) that you want to collect the goods.  Please note that 2 full working days are required for any orders which include a Ham.

Pickup In Store

Maps and opening times of our shops are available at Visit Our Shops. Details of the shop that you have chosen to collect from will be shown on your receipt.

Please give a contact number so that we can call you if there are any issues with your order.

On arrival at the Shop please make your way to the counter where a sales assistant will be able to collect your purchases. At particularly busy times, for example, just before Christmas please make your way to the Collection Point which will be clearly identifiable.

To ensure we are handing over your purchase to the correct person, please bring with you a copy of your order receipt email or, at a minimum, your order number. Goods will not be released without this information.

Your order will be available for collection for 24 hours. If you are unable to collect it within that time, please contact the shop from where you were meant to be collecting your goods (see Visit Our Shops) to rearrange collection.

Key Facts

Country: England

Region: Berkshire

Flavour:Buttery and spicy

Type of Milk: Cow

Pasteurisation: Pasteurised

Vegetarian Rennet: Yes

Organic: No

Store & Serve

All cut cheeses are cut to order and will have approximately 12 days shelf life on them from the date the order is despatched. Due to high demand, it is occasionally necessary for us to substitute items in orders for an alternative. We will always endeavour to choose an alternative, which is the most similar to the item you have selected and of equal or higher value for no additional charge.

Storage: Keep refrigerated.

Instructions for use: Serve at room temperature.

Recommended Drink: Monbazillac

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