March Cheese of the Month: Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese
We’re delighted to share that the first signs of spring are finally appearing here on the farm!
With longer days and (hopefully!) warmer weather just around the corner, March feels like the perfect time to celebrate our creamy, fresh Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese as our Cheese of the Month.
Yorkshire’s answer to traditional Mediterranean-style salad cheese, it’s been a store cupboard essential for its many fans since we started making it back in 1987.
Mrs Bell's Salad Cheese actually holds a really special place in the Shepherds Purse story, as it was our founder Judy’s very first creation. Since then it’s earned international awards, (most recently a very prestigious 2 Great Taste stars) and even featured on Paul Hollywood's BBC One program Pies & Puds!
Versatile and easy-to-enjoy, it adds freshness to a cheeseboard, is delicious crumbled into a salad, or, our current favourite, baked in the oven with honey and nuts until gooey! Sensational!
Our team here on the farm carefully handcraft it using fresh British ewes’ milk, taking enormous pride in making this special cheese using traditional methods; methodically hand salting, cutting and wrapping to lock in the piquant, lemony flavour and slightly crumbly texture. You can learn more about how we create our cheeses here.
Yorkshire’s answer to traditional Mediterranean-style salad cheese, it’s been a store cupboard essential for its many fans since we started making it back in 1987.
Whilst we’re not quite ready to say goodbye to the comfort food just yet, our Salad Cheese lends itself to lighter dishes and pairings like this Messicana Pasta Salad which perfectly bridges the gap between winter indulgence and spring.
Did you know?
Mrs Bell’s Salad Cheese was originally named Yorkshire Feta, before changing to Fettle in 2008 after the word "Feta" was awarded a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) by the European Commission.
More recently, after our campaigning to support sheep milk producers during the pandemic, we had to change it again (!), as it was thought that Fettle was too close to the original Feta. So, we finally settled on the name Mrs Bell’s Salad Cheese, which pays homage to our founder Judy and her pioneering sheep milk vision. (You can read the full story about that here.)