Northumberland heads south
The great tastes of Northumberland come south.

Somehow a game to highlight local produce from the south coast morphed into a game showcasing the best local produce from Northumberland! We have to say, having sampled the fare, the locals in Northumberland have it pretty good.
The cheese and condiments came from the Northumberland Cheese Company and Northumberland Pantry. Both businesses have easy online ordering and engaging websites, pretty much our "shop windows" in the current limitations imposed by Covid. Delivery was excellent and everything packed securely and attractively. Christmas come early!
Our haul included 6 jars of condiments from Northumberland Pantry; Christmas Chutney, Tomato and Pepper Chutney, Pear and Ginger Chutney, Spiced Beetroot and Apple Chutney, Spiced Apricot and Orange Chutney and Northumbrian Chutney (with spiced plums and apples). Run by Alice and David Murray, Northumberland pantry focus on sourcing produce, services and materials from within the county of Northumberland. They fly the yellow and red Northumberland flag with pride. When great produce is right on your doorstep why wouldn't you?
The Cheese came from the Northumberland Cheese Company. Quality leads to success! In 1984 Mark Robertson's cheese called Redesdale (ewe's mike), was an instant hit with the locals and soon led to a wider range of Cheeses. Now based in a 19th Century Granary building on the Blagdon Estate you can visit for dairy tours and cheesemaking days. With their own cafe and tea room, we look forward to being able to take an extended trip North in more favourable times.
For our game of Crackerdash the selection of cheese included; Nettle, Elsdon, Smoked, Original, Redesdale, Marbler. The cheeses all came in 200g packs, so were a good size for the 6 cheese squares on the Crackerdash board.
Elsdon Goat's Cheese and Northumbrian Chutney - one of the many great combos!
The Cheese:
Elsdon; This bright white goats cheese is firm, with a delicate flavour. The mild goats cheese has a hint of nuttiness making this a great, attractive addition to the cheeseboard. A good choice for those who struggle with cows milk.
Original; This cows milk cheese is matured for three months to develop its well rounded, mild taste. Aside from the cheeseboard it can be used widely in the kitchen as it melts smoothly. We felt this went particularly well with the Xmas Chutney and the Northumberland Chutney.
Marbler; This looks great on the cheese board with it's orange / cream colouration. Perhaps it would be too much of a stretch to say that it is a reflection of the orange / red colours of the Northumberland flag, but it certainly flies the flag for the county. A great tasting mild cheese that everyone enjoyed.
Nettle; Another good looking cheese on the board. It has a creamy colour speckled with the green of the nettle, along with some chives, onion, parsley and garlic. Based on the Original cheese, the nettle mix adds a slight herby taste that is by no means overpowering.
Smoked; The oak smoked cheese takes the mild flavours of the Original and (following 12 hrs of cold smoking over oak chips) lifts the cheese to a new height. In fact the cheese won silver at the International Cheese Awards. The cheese gains an auburn coloured edge post smoking which is another attractive feature.
Redesdale; This ewe's cheese started the Northumberland Cheese Company story, and it was a strong start. We had to give orders for the team to stop nibbling the Redesdale before the start of the game, (it is sometimes tempting to get a head start). In this instance the head start nearly led straight to the finish, hardly in line with Crackerdash etiquette! The cheese is light coloured, slightly creamy in texture with a light and moorish flavour, reminiscent of a mild Manchego, but with none of the aged hardness.
The Condiments:
Christmas Chutney; This pickle has a hint of warm Christmas spices. The taste is well rounded with a great depth. Perfect as an accompaniment with the Original and Smoked cheeses.
Northumberland; The Northumberland chutney is smooth and rich, the taste of sultana's one of the stronger elements coming through. Whilst a rich taste, the chutney is by no means overpowering so makes a good match with all the Northumberland cheeses that we tried.
Pear and Ginger; This is a lovely light, fresh chutney. The sweetness of the pear is the more dominant flavour, with a slight note of citrus and hint of red wine vinegar coming through. The lightness of this chutney goes well with most of the cheeses, although the Eldon was a particular favourite.
Spiced Beetroot and Apple; Beetroot is a bit like marmite... people seem to be strongly for it, or strongly against it. In our game most people were in the latter camp. In the spirit of properly comparing tastes though, yours truly ensured every cheese was tasted alongside a small spoon of the deep purple chutney. By the end of the process I had not quite undergone a conversion, but it would be fair to say I would no longer shy away from this chutney. The beetroot flavour is dominant but is not overpowering. It combines with the red wine vinegar to give a sharpness, and a slightly sour note that comes through in a good way. Used in small quantities it can work with the cheeses, but of course there are thousands of other meals that can be enhanced by a chutney. As we didn't specifically purchase chutney's to go with a cheeseboard, it would be unfair to judge the beetroot chutney only on the basis of complimenting a cheese. Of course if you are a big fan of beetroot this will be right up your alley.
Spiced Apricot and Orange; Wow! This chutney is bright and strong, a small explosion of orange citrus notes with the red wine vinegar adding acidic tones. Initial thoughts were that the chutney was too overpowering to go with the cheese... however.... when used in small quantities alongside the cheese it made a great match. Sometimes less is more and that is certainly the case when used with the Northumberland Cheese. The spiced Apricot and Orange chutney went from "not sure" to "unmissable!"
Tomato and Pepper Chutney; Judging by the speed that this chutney disappeared it was the team's clear favourite. Light, full of fresh tomato and pepper flavour (not spicy), this was a winner. It went well with the cheese, but would be at home on any plate! No need to check any "use by" dates as once this jar is opened it's gone.
Thoughts:
We thoroughly enjoyed our "Northumberland" game of Crackerdash, with great cheeses and condiments making the journey South. You can check their web sites out by clicking on the images below. Even better place an order and get a small, but tasty piece of Northumberland in the post!



