Out & About Winter 2019

Out&About feature

Sinodun Hill was awarded Best New Cheese at the Artisan Cheese Awards in April 2017, and won Gold in 2017 and 2018. It also won a Silver in 2017 and Gold in 2018 at the World Cheese Awards. They make approximately 1,000 cheeses per week on site. The goats are milked twice a day and after adding the starter culture it takes approximately 24 hours before the milk has turned into curds and whey. “At Christmas demand may jump by as much as 25 per cent,” The curds are then drained to turn into cheese and the whey is given to a local pig farm. From goat to distribution of cheese to the retailers takes approximately one week – so cheese from Norton and Yarrow is very fresh. “At Christmas demand may jump by as much as 25 per cent,” Fraser explains. This is quite a demand on the whole team, which comprises four part-time staff and one full-time, with Fraser’s wife, Rachel, currently on maternity leave. Norton and Yarrow are also part of Earth Trust, which through its farm- step scheme helps local agricultural businesses by renting land at a reasonable price. On the same site is a pig farm and a herd of sheep. You will find Norton and Yarrow cheese at local retailers such as Cheese Etc. Pangbourne, The Cheese Agent, Newbury, and Savages in Blewbury so order now in time for Christmas.

Norton and Yarrow, Shillingford A s you enter Earth Trust Farm, Shillingford you are greeted by the noise of 120 goats bleating, ruminating food and making a variety of other noises unique to goats. When Fraser Norton and Rachel Yarrow first started on their cheese- making venture in 2016 they had two goats who were in kid, and two kids. Three years later and they now have a herd of 120 Anglo Nubian goats, 80 of which are in milk at any one time. They hope to extend the herd further by next summer to have 100 goats in milk. All of the goats have names such as Alison, Diesel, Cooper, Mini, Himalaya, Mr Frosty and Cairngorn. So how did Fraser and Rachel’s cheese journey begin? Fraser explains: “My wife and I were on holiday and read an article in a magazine about somebody who had set up a cheese-making business with goats down in Somerset and it sounded interesting. “She was a teacher and I was a project manager and we thought ‘did we want to return to our jobs?’ So we started doing some research. “We liked the look of the Anglo Nubian goats as their milk has a high fat content. Creamy milk to make a really creamy cheese. “Temperamentally they are melodramatic and they can start making a fuss when the smallest thing goes wrong.” Norton and Yarrow produce two goats’ cheeses – Sinodun Hill, a pyramid-shaped cheese which is bag drained, and Brightwell Ash, which is direct ladled cheese rolled in ash.

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O&A WINTER 2019