The Long Paddock - Driftwood

Driftwood - Soft rennet-set cheese 180g

Soft rennet-set cheese with spruce-bark belt, made in the style of French Vacherin/Mont d’Or. Flavour is mild, grassy and mushroomy when young, intensifying and developing earthy, meaty, woodsy, umami flavours as it ripens. Texture is semi-soft & pliable when young, developing a more flowing, creamy texture with age. Mottled rind and mould on bark belt is perfectly safe to eat and a natural & delicious aspect of this cheese. Can be eaten fresh or baked.  

Aspect: cream colour, slightly wavy geotrichum rind.

Texture: with a thin bloomy rind, the paste is creamy and melty, becoming oozy, runny and spoonable as it ages.

Flavour: mildly-woodsy, creamy and nutty, becoming stronger in aroma and taste with age.

Baked Driftwood: remove cheese from box, remove wrapping, leave bark belt on, and drop cheese back into box or an oven-proof dish. Pierce the top of the cheese a few times with a fine skewer, drizzle with white wine, sprinkle with chopped thyme, stud with slivered garlic. Bake cheese in oven (pre-heated to 180°C) for about 15 minutes or until it is heated through and centre has melted. Serve immediately with crusty bread for dipping, or accompanied by cooked potatoes, cornichons, mushrooms – or try dipping in blanched broccoli or cauliflower florets.

Just outside the ranges and based at The Mill Castlemaine, Long Paddock Cheese is a small-scale Australian artisan cheesemaker, recognised as one of the best in Australia. We create deliciously-different hand-made cheeses, mainly in the French style but with a definite Australian identity. Our globally-renowned cheesemaker, Ivan Larcher, heads a small-but-skilled team making soft and semi-hard cheeses and fresh dairy products, perfectly ripened and beautifully packaged. All our products are hand-made from certified-organic cow’s milk from a nearby family-owned farm, delivered to us several times a week.