A couple of weeks ago we were asked to put our cheese knowledge to the test by submitting a judge to the British Cheese Awards 2011. The awards have been running since 1994 and whilst there’s plenty of dismal block paste submitted amongst the 904 entries, they do by and large provide the opportunity for speciality cheeses to shine. Take a look at the list of supreme champions from the past few years – Montgomery’s Cheddar, Tunworth, Lincolnshire Poacher – and you’ll see that the cream always rises to the top.

Working with Dorset cheesemaker Amanda Streatfield of Denhay Farms, whose cheddar was one of the award winners, we were delighted to judge the small washed rind cheese category first. Feisty, pungent, squishy little numbers full of character. Real farmhouse cheese that ranged from the truly great to the downright inedible. Fabulous stuff to judge, a Russian roulette of flavour as you cut into each cheese. Our gold medal winner was Milleens Dotes, an Irish cheese that we’ve long admired at Forman & Field with just the right meaty richness for a washed rind but none of the potential acidity of this style and staying just the right side of ‘farmyard’ all the way.

Next up ‘New Blended Sweet’. No, us either. This was a difficult category to judge and consisted of newcomer cheeses with sweet additions to them, cranberries and cherries, that sort of thing. The cheeses in this category were just as awful as they sound, with some we struggled to even award a point. Compared to the the fine wines of the previous category this was like judging an orange squash competition. With every mouthful we gave thanks that we’re in the daily business of finding delicious food and not this sort of stuff. Suffice to say, we won’t be making a recommendation from this category.

To celebrate the awards we’ve put together some of our favourite winners past and present in a handy British Cheese Awards Selection including Tunworth (soft cow’s milk) – Supreme Champion 2006, Lincolnshire Poacher (hard cow’s milk)- Supreme Champion 1996, Dorstone (soft goat’s milk) – Best Fresh Cheese 2011 and Milleens Dotes (washed rind cow’s milk – Gold Medal 2011.

Order 0ne here and enjoy the best of British cheese: http://www.formanandfield.com/british-cheese-awards-winner-selection-p-3359.html

“Authentic”, “smooth, excellent”, “strong taste of roe – this is a taverna flavour”, “a real colour” – The FT review our handmade tarmasalata.

The standard offered by the supermarket offerings in this taste test is typical, we’d be horrified if any of our products performed didn’t trounce the equivalent from any of the multiples. To be favourably compared to two restaurant offerings just goes to show that when you order from Forman & Field you can be sure of enjoying restaurant quality food at home, very good restaurant quality at that.

The taste test: taramasalata

By Peter Bazalgette

Published: September 9 2011 19:32 | Last updated: September 9 2011 19:32

Full disclosure: I have a fetish for taramasalata, and eat it at least twice a week. Up to now I’ve been content with whichever sloppy pink concoction I happen to pick up from the supermarket. But the interesting thing about blind tasting products against each other is this: you can think you’re happy with a brand until you compare it with others. Then any imperfections are cruelly exposed. This week’s winner, for instance, beat all the products I normally consume with an original take on the classic smoked cod’s roe/olive oil/breadcrumbs/garlic/lemon juice recipe.

Tasting panels are a bit like making a movie – casting is everything. Taramasalata is a Graeco-Turkish speciality so this called for our eastern Mediterranean bureau. When we summoned the Greek Magnate (GM) and the Lebanese Gastronaut (LG), they came with alacrity. GM declared he had an open mind about the various products since, “there’s no authentic recipe – you do it your own way”. At this point his eyes met those of a sleek urban fox peering at us from the garden. But, with the Discerning Litigator (DL) and the Gluttonous Pig (GP), this was to be a panel of only four and we sent the animal on its way.

We were a mite disappointed by Tesco’s Taramasalata: “bland leading the bland”(GP); “over blended”(GM). Perhaps its none-too-generous 8 per cent cod’s roe prevented it delivering enough flavour. We had a similar criticism of the smooth but fainthearted tara sent to us by The Real Greek, a chain of Greek restaurants across London: “not fishy enough”(GP); “is this mayonnaise?”(LG). But the product that really surprised us was Essential Waitrose Taramasalata: “old cardboard”(GP); “stale taste”(DL); “not my cup of tea”(LG). It came bottom by some margin, making us wonder if we’d happened to get one of a substandard batch.

The supermarket taras were not only quite runny but also uniformly pink from the frankly, peculiar addition of beetroot juice. The best was Asda’s, one of our runners-up: “pleasant”(DL); “more like the real thing – bring on the grilled octopus”(GM). We thought that its judicious use of onion powder gave it a good kick. We also liked the more pungent, oily tara from the Turkish restaurant Sedir (does its superior performance over The Real Greek tell us anything about their respective economies?): “very olivey”(GP); “good flavour”(GM).

Now to our winner on the day – a pale white tara that comes from H. Forman & Son in a spring-sealed Kilner jar: “authentic”(DL); “smooth, excellent”(LG); “strong taste of roe – this is a taverna flavour”(GM); “a real colour”(GP). So taken was the panel with Formans’ recipe that, the tasting completed, we toasted some brown pitta bread and polished off the jar with a glass of white burgundy.

Later, I telephoned Lloyd Hardwick, Formans’ director of operations, to find out more about the tara. Its ingredients are smoked cod’s roe, mascarpone, garlic, yoghurt, lemon juice and seasoning. Hardwick says that the unusual addition of mascarpone makes it silky smooth while also helping to stabilise the blend. And the yoghurt gives it a sharpness, which balances the saltiness. What about the cod’s roe? “We buy it from Iceland – IQF Grade A” – this means Independently Quickly Frozen, and is better quality than bulk-bought roe. Then it is smoked in the company’s east London smokery.

In summary, Formans buys the best raw materials and then controls the process carefully. And it shows – this is a first-class product. Hardwick told me that it’s difficult to sell much of it because it’s not pink. But why should our tara be the same colour as our newspaper? The good news is that Formans’ tara is available for home delivery. We highly recommend it.