On holiday cheese platters, a hefty wedge of farmstead cheddar belongs right next to the Stilton. Add some pears and sliced panforte, and you've got dessert.
For good value, I'm not sure you can do better than the Borough Market Westcombe Cheddar, a classic cloth-bound wheel from England.
Along with Montgomery's and Keen's, Westcombe is one of only three remaining creameries making cheddar in the county of Somerset by traditional methods, at least as these producers define it.
To protect the reputation of Somerset cheddar, these three creameries developed their own standards and applied to Slow Food for Presidium status. Unlike the Protected Designation of Origin from the European Union, Slow Food Presidium provides no legal protection, but it does raise consumer awareness.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: San Francisco Chronicle
