New cheese made on Shropshire border is packing a punch
A trout farm on the Shropshire border has joined forces with another food producer to roll out a new cheese.
The Chirk Trout Farm and Food Smokery agreed to help the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre produce a new, smoked, variety of its award winning, Aberwen cheese.
The Abermwg is smoked over oak and beech wood chips from the Ceiriog Valley. It has proved so popular in trials it is now available across the UK.
The cheese is made and matured at Bodnant Welsh Food Centre in the Conwy Valley before being brought to Chirk.
Around 15 wheels of Aberwen cheese, each weighing three kilos, are put into the hot smoker at Chirk by owner Richard Simpson, and left there in temperatures around 25ºC for up to three days to take in the flavours. When they come out the cheeses have developed a rich tawny orange rind and a smoky flavour that's perfect for cheeseboards or using in cooking.
The cheeses are then returned to Bodnant, where they are packaged and sent out by specialist artisan cheese wholesalers. Mr Simpson said the fish farm in the Glyn Ceiriog valley dates back to the 1890s and once supplied the nearby Chirk Castle
"We supply many restaurants, butchers and food companies – for example, our smoked fish is served on the Orient Express. We started the smokery side a few years back.
"The Abermwg is a lovely cheese, and takes to the smoking process really well. It goes into our smokebox over a fire fed by a blend of mainly oak, ash and beech chips, from up the valley in Glyn Ceiriog, for the best flavour.
"The warm, smoky air gently dries and preserves the food. This takes two to three days and is where the skill and experience comes in.
We only use traditional methods to ensure the best results and the real taste of properly smoked foods, rather than the artificial smoked flavours used in processed foods," added Richard.
Chris Morton, managing director of Bodnant Welsh food centre, said: "This is another successful story for our on-site dairy, and a great way to start 2015.
"Feedback from our customers has been very positive."
"The name was a simple choice – our cheeses are all called Aber, which means river mouth in Welsh as we overlook the River Conwy estuary, and Mwg is smoke in Welsh."
