April Cheese of the Month: Buffalo Blue

Creamy, rich and oh-so indulgent, our Buffalo Blue has been a favourite amongst our customers since we launched it back in the early 2000’s.

Awarded 2 prestigious stars at the Great Taste Awards, as well as gold medals at the British Cheese Awards and the Great Yorkshire Show, we’re often asked what makes Buffalo Blue so special, and the truth is, there’s quite a lot that makes it special!

Thanks to the richness of the milk, Buffalo Blue is luxuriously smooth... and a real showstopper for your cheeseboard!

Handcrafted using milk from a single herd of Italian Water Buffalo, the journey of Buffalo Blue began when a local farmer acquired a herd of water buffalo and contacted our founder Judy to see if she would be interested in using the milk to make cheese.

The team began experimenting and after perfecting the recipe, launched Buffalo Blue  onto the market in 2001.

The following year saw its popularity soar and in 2003 it won its first of many awards at the British Cheese Awards, with prizes at the Great Yorkshire Show and the International Cheese Awards following soon after.

Thanks to the richness of the milk, Buffalo Blue is luxuriously smooth, super-rich and indulgent

In late 2004 the local farmer stopped milking, but Buffalo Blue had been such a success we began to explore other supply routes, and met the wonderful Bob Palmer, a single-herd farmer based in South Warwickshire, who was producing phenomenal milk.  

Fast forward to the present day and we receive a milk delivery from Bob every 6-8 weeks and our team here on the farm carefully craft batches of Buffalo Blue using traditional methods, before leaving it to mature for around 10 weeks. 

The Benefits of Buffalo Milk

Buffalo milk isn’t widely produced in the UK making it significantly more expensive, but it brings with it a whole host of health benefits!

High in Vitamin A, which gives it its wonderful bright, creamy white colour, it’s also higher in protein and has around 50% more calcium compared to cow’s milk.

Buffalo milk is higher in fat (and therefore calories) than cow's milk, which is perfect for making cheese.  It’s much higher proportion of mono-unsaturated fats however, means it’s better for cholesterol levels and has great antioxidant properties too.

Buffalo Blue… did you know?

• Good quality milk is the key to creating great buffalo milk cheese and Bob’s milk is consistently exceptional!
• We treat the milk with the utmost care, carefully pasteurising each batch onsite.
• Bob delivers around 1,000 litres of milk every 6-8 weeks, which produces around 65 cheeses.  
• Our cheesemakers turn each cheese regularly to remove the whey and ensure a balanced flavour and consistency throughout.  
• Each cheese is hand-salted before being left to ripen and mature for a minimum of 10 weeks.
• We taste each and every batch to ensure it’s perfectly ripe and ready for release.

As well as being available on our website, Buffalo Blue is stocked in specialist cheese shops throughout the country, as well as on the deli counters in Booths Stores across the north of England and Waitrose stores across the whole of the UK.