Tymsboro: a love affair re-kindled

What I love about artisan cheese is that it always tastes different. Sometimes so different that you feel as if you're tasting it for the first time again.

So it was yesterday with Tymsboro', an ash-coated unpasteurised goats' cheese I've been buying on and off over the years. It's made by Mary Holbrook of Sleight's Farm in Somerset and is a modern British classic

I hovered over it as it looked more mature than usual and my husband doesn't like very strong 'goaty' cheeses. But it was absolutely spectacular - with a fresh citrussy tang, yet palate-caressingly creamy in texture. I can't remember ever tasting a better one.

I bought it from the Trethowan's Dairy shop in St Nicholas Market in Bristol where the cheese is always in tip-top condition because they don't ever carry too many and pick it up themselves direct from the farm*.

At £7.50 it's not cheap but a whole one will easily serve four and you don't need to serve any others. And that's not a lot to pay for perfection.

* I would say nice things about Trethowan's Dairy because they're my partners in Cheese School but on the other hand I wouldn't have gone into partnership with them if they weren't so great!