£6.50 – £60.00
One of the only traditional Farmhouse Red Leicesters, Sparkenhoe is a mellow yet complex cheese full of nuts and fruit with balanced acidity. Clothbound and aged, the cheese will often have slight blue veins near the rind.
Red Leicester style cheese began as a way to use up surplus milk from Stilton production and turn it into a longer life hard cheese. With the increase in demand for Stilton, by the 1950s true farmhouse Red Leicester faded into history and we were left with only mass produced creamy processed versions. That is until David and Jo Clarke decided to resurrect a true farmhouse Red Leicester on their property where they had discovered the cheese had been produced from 1745 to 1875. Handmade, clothbound and covered in lard, the cheese ages for six to seven months. It's wonderfully complex, yet mellow; like a fine burgundy it's full of little nuances to discover.
Upon completion of your order, you will be asked to select a delivery date. We will always work to deliver to you on your date chosen but sometimes delays may occur. We will contact you if a change to the delivery date is required. At check-out, your delivery charge will be calculated.
All our products are packed in Cheese Cuisine boxes (unless you have ordered a giftbox or added a hamper to your order) with filling (bubble wrap where needed) and gel ice packs when required, to preserve the quality of fresh products.
Your cheese will arrive wrapped in speciality cheese paper and we recommend you refrigerate it as soon as it arrives. We recommend using your cheese within five days of purchase, however, many cheeses will last far longer. To serve, take your cheese out of the fridge, unwrap, and let it come to room temperature before serving (about an hour). To see more about taking care of cheese click here.
Wherever possible, we use environmentally friendly packaging, including recycled and compostable material. We are not big on paper waste; all the information on our products can be found on our website. However, if your order is a gift, select the option at check-out to include a personal message on a gift card with information letting the recipient know how they can find out about their products on our website.
Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company is located in Upton, a small hamlet in the south west Leicestershire countryside, on a working dairy farm called Sparkenhoe Farm. Sparkenhoe is made by David and Jo Clarke in a totally authentic way using the farm’s unpasteurized milk.
