Royal George cheeses
Having first caught a glimpse of Royal George cheeses at KosherFest, I was excited to see them appear in my local kosher dairy case. I took the opportunity to purchase all three available varieties ($5.29/each at the Butcherie) for a thorough sampling.
Production
The Royal George line (called “Chevington” in the UK) is produced by Dew-Lay Products, Ltd in Garstang, Lancashire, England. According to their website, Dew-Law is the country’s largest manufacturer of Kosher cheese… which they’re very proud of: “The Kosher stamp of certification … is seen as the hallmark of a quality cheese.” (Have they eaten mainstream kosher cheeses before?) Atalanta Corporation of Elizabeth, NJ imports the cheese.
Supervision
Cheeses are under the “full-time supervision” of the Kedassia Beth Din, and feature an OU heksher in the states.
Taste
The three cheeses we sampled were Mild White Cheddar, Double Gloucester, and Red Leicester, the annatto contents of which increase in that order. At first, that was the only real difference we could discern between the three of them. All of them are creamy and mild, and the cheddar was only slightly crumblier compared to the others. Upon reviewing Judy Ridgway’s The Cheese Companion (which is a very useful little book), we discovered that the three cheeses are supposed to be very similar (aside from color). However, the various characteristics I’ve seen described in print and online (Double Gloucester as “nutty” with an “orange-zest tang,” Red Leicester as “delicately sweet”) seem to be absent from either these cheeses or my taste buds’ available sensations.
Overall
The cheeses were tasty, but I wouldn’t choose the Royal George cheddar over the cheaper, domestic Tillamook, and I wouldn’t go out of my way for the other, orangier varieties. Maybe Dew-Lay will start exporting their Mature Cheddar or Gouda varieties, which would certainly be more interesting. The absence of a good, aged cheddar from the kosher market is sorely noted.
Update: Ian Coggin of Dew-Lay says we’ll have to be patient for the introduction of a mature kosher cheddar, as they’ve only recently launched into the U.S. market, and it takes 12 to 18 months to age.
It’s funny that I just found this post, as I just found the King George cheddar at Brach’s in Far Rockaway. Since we keep chalav yisrael, finding really good cheese is difficult. I enjoyed it, but really wonder what “sharp” cheddar actually takes like, as I have yet to find any that are even kosher, let along chalav yisroel. It does taste differently than the usual Haolam cheeses, and is pleasant, IMHO. I have to see if they get in the other flavors.
What I would like to bring to your attention is that chalav yisrael unshredded Parmesan is available, if you know where to go.
Two years ago, I was tremendously pleased to find a store called “Epicure Grocer” in South Miami Beach, FL. I saw the name and ran to its front door ;). I admit wholeheartedly that I am a foodie!
Well… that store is *such* a pleasure… but torturous as well. So many things, and 90% of them not kosher. BUT!!!!
They have chalav yisrael Parmesan cheese from Italy. And foie gras. And caviar.
The Parmesan costs a holy arm and leg. Literally. It was about $25 for a respectably sized triangle. I bought it and shlepped it back to NY. What a difference compared to the pre-grated garbage! I’ve been forever spoiled.
I’ve been wanting to go back ever since, and finally got the bright idea of checking if Epicure has a website, or if I could find it elsewhere on the Internet.
Epicure does indeed have a website that you can order from (which I can’t find right now), but I’ve found that a local store stocks it as well! Zabars in NYC stocks it - http://tinyurl.com/3rhrv. But as it happens, I’ll be in FL sooner than I go into NYC, so I’ll probably pick up another package of Parmesan at Epicure if the price has come down (and ask for the price on the foie gras again, just to freak out the husband yet again )
Thanks for a wonderful blog. Very enjoyable. But now I need a snack.
Rivkah–
Thanks for reading the blog, and for contributing the cheese news! Is this the parmesan you discovered? Looks like it’s only $14/lb. Do you happen to know the rabbi/certifier? Does it have some sort of brand name?
I’ve ordered the Zabar’s parmesan block for few years. It is very much the real thing. The hechsher is from Rabbi Yitchak Belinow of Milan. The brand is “Pieffe” by a company named Fanticini. It is marked kosher for Passover and the label states “It was controlled since the beginning of milking till the end of the production.” Presumably this means it is cholov yisroel. Here are some pictures of Rabbi Belinow from the manufacturers web site (http://www.sirio.com/fanticini/English/Products/PR/kosher.htm)
Shipping is minimal as it can be mailed at room temperature.
Hi anyone know where i can get cholov yisroel sharp cheddar? online or somewere in N.J N.Y area
koshergourmetmart.com has royal george cheeses
just saw this blog, finally some English cheese in the US. interesting though cause i spoke to the owner in the UK he says he is not exporting to the states? He also said that his cheese has a different Hashgacha? Strange.
Hi guys!
I really want to buy these cheeses but I live in Montreal, Canada…any ideas?
Danna
Sorry to revive an old thread, but does anyone know about the hashgacha on the Pieffe di Fanticini parma? I have a block, but am not familiar with Rabbi Belinow, or any Italian hasgachas, for that matter.
Rabbi Belinow is completely reliable. He’s whom I ask about other Italian hechsherim, not all of which are so reliable.
I may have located the best online deal on Royal George cheeses at igourmet.com which has a about 16 different types of kosher cheese, including Cabot’s hard to find OU kosher sharp cheddar which is $8 for a 10oz block. The prices aren’t the best, but there’s a promotion with which you get overnight shipping for only $10 if you spend $85 or more.