Popular amongst farm shops and delis customers for their Sharpham Brie and Ticklemore, Sharpham Dairy launched two new chutneys - British Bramley Apple & Hunts Wobbler Cider Chutney, and Ploughman's Hunters Elmhirst Ale - at Dartmouth Food Festival on 21 October with a retail price of £4.50. They are the newest additions to the chutney range, which already includes Red Onion, Rosemary and Thyme Chutney, Caramelised Fig & Sharpham Pinot Noir Marmalade, and Smokey Red Pepper and Tomato Jam.
Developed with Devon-based Highfield Preserves, who have been making artisan preserves since 1984, this versatile range of chutneys, which are vegetarian, have been designed to pair perfectly with cheese. They also pack a fruity punch for boosting flavour in dishes such as shepherd's pie and stuffing or packing on picnics to accompany cold meats.
British Bramley Apple & Hunts Wobbler Cider Chutney £4.50 - combined with ground spices, and sultanas it's slightly sharp, tangy and lightly spiced. Hunts medium sweet 'Wobbler' cider and tart Bramley apple pairs beautifully with rich, oozy Sharpham Camembert. Try dropping a spoonful on top, before baking until the topping is sticky and the centre is perfectly gooey.
Ploughman's Hunters Elmhirst Ale Chutney £4.50 - a traditional chutney with chunky veg, raisins, dates and a good measure of local ale from Hunters brewery. Naturally, perfectly paired with cheese, or with cold meats and pork pies.
The couple who inspired the eponymous Hunters Brewery Elmhirst Ale and also Sharpham Elmhirst cheese, Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst, were pioneering entrepreneurs who founded the Dartington Hall Project nearly 100 years ago. As innovative thinkers, Dartington became a magnet for artists, architects, writers and philosophers and musicians from around the world who brought colour to South Devon.
Hunters Elmhirst Ale has been commissioned exclusively for Dartington Cider Press at The Shops at Dartington. It's a rich, mellow traditional ale with a good depth of flavour.
Commenting to us on their new chutneys, Sharpham Dairy's Greg Parsons says, “We're delighted to extend our chutney range to perfectly accompany our soft cheeses.
"We're proud people of Devon and we take every opportunity to showcase our wonderful produce, so it's been a real pleasure to work with Don and the team at Highfield, along with Hunts Cider and Hunters Brewery. This is a special launch that we hope will inspire others to collaborate.”
Don Fraser, who is the MD of Highfield Preserves says, “It's been a pleasure to work with Sharpham on developing their range of chutneys which pair so well with their cheeses.
"We feel a great sense of pride working with a local company who is respected not only locally but nationally too. We love to support local companies, and our partnership with Sharpham works so well because they have a similar ethos to us in wanting to produce only the best quality products and showcasing local ingredients where possible.”
Sharpham Cheese is the UK's first ever cheese dairy to be granted a B Corp certification and has just been named joint winners of the Sustainability Trophy at the Virtual Cheese Awards. Its selection of cheeses are handcrafted with South Devon milk from their own herd of Jersey cows, along with goats and ewe's milk from their West Country neighbours. For more information, visit www.sharphamcheese.co.uk.
The range is available from sharphamcheese.co.uk, or through Country Cheeses, Quicke's Cheese Shop, Greendale Farm.
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