June Cheese of the Month: Harrogate Blue

Beautifully buttery with a full, rounded flavour and a slightly peppery finish, it’s a cheese that continues to win hearts (and awards) for its gentle strength and striking appearance.

A modern classic, it’s handcrafted here on the family farm in North Yorkshire using fresh local cow’s milk. Harrogate Blue has become a true flagship cheese, winning a Super Gold at the 2017 World Cheese Awards, where it was ranked the 11th best cheese in the world, along with further Gold awards in 2018 and 2019 — a testament to its consistent quality and craftsmanship.

“Exceptional cheese, incredible lingering taste in the mouth. So much personality, it is an honour to taste this.”

— Roland Barthélemy, Cheese Expert and World Cheese Awards Top Judge

Harrogate Blue also holds a special place in our story. It was the first cheese co-created by Katie and Caroline after taking over the business in 2012, marking an exciting new chapter for Shepherds Purse while staying true to our traditional cheesemaking roots.

Our team follows time-honoured, truly artisan methods to create Harrogate Blue. We use annatto, a natural plant-based colouring traditionally used in cheesemaking to create its distinctive golden-coloured body, and carefully hand-salt and turn each individual cheese before leaving them to gently mature deep inside our maturation rooms for a minimum of 10 weeks.

Once matured, each wheel is wrapped by hand in foil and transferred to a second ripening room for a further eight weeks — allowing the flavour to deepen and the character to fully evolve.

 

We take the quality and consistency of every batch seriously here, with each one methodically sampled and profiled by our team before release. Only once our team are 100% happy do the cheeses move onto the next stage, where they are cut, wrapped by hand, and prepared for deli counters and customers across the country and beyond.

A cheeseboard staple, and indeed a weekly fridge favourite for many, Harrogate Blue is delicious with fruity pairings as well as dense sweet treats like parkin, ginger biscuits, and dark chocolate. It’s also wonderful to cook with, as its dense, buttery texture melts beautifully and can be added to dishes such as quiches, mash, risottos, and so much more besides.

You can find more recipe inspiration using Harrogate Blue here.