Cheese Making
Traditional, award-winning Scottish Farmhouse cheese from the Isle of Mull — made with raw milk from our own herd of dairy cows.
Decades of Cheesemaking
The Reade family began making cheese in the 1980's, dabbling in the the craft of cheesemaking, whilst still living on their Somerset farm. From this self-taught start, and a drive to live outside the box, cheesemaking has become the core family business.
Our own progression as cheesemakers has seen the whole family learn and improve our processes over time — with delicious results.
Historically, cheesemaking on the islands had long been a necessary method of conserving the plentiful milk supply of summertime. In these less accessible areas of Scotland, hard 'farmhouse' cheeses has been a staple, offering longer shelf-life than softer cheeses or other milk products.
It's fitting, then, that the Isle of Mull Farmhouse cheese that customers still enjoy today was the first we ever produced on our cheesemaking adventure — one that continues as new generations of the family help shape the future of the Isle of Mull's only dairy farm.
OUR PRODUCE
Explore our range of award-winning Isle of Mull Cheeses
How to Enjoy Your
Isle of Mull Cheese
Follow these simple steps to get the very best from your Isle of Mull Cheese — this is how we do it at home.
1.
Bring to room temperature before serving
2.
Ensure you cut a big enough chunk
3.
Plonk on an oatcake
4.
Don't scrimp on the chutney
The Natural Goodness of Fresh Milk
We don't pasteurise the milk we use for cheesemaking, instead letting the incredible natural micro flora milk from our herd of dairy cows shape the texture and flavour of each Isle of Mull Cheese.
The character of the land and environment here is what forms the 'terroir' of our cheeses, and using natural milk also allows for a diverse flora of 'good bacteria' — which is key in producing the flavours for each cheese.
All in all, unpasteurised milk in cheesemaking is a kinder way of treating milk and produces fantastic variations in taste profiles for our customers to enjoy.
No two batches of Isle of Mull Cheese are exactly the same, and that's why we love doing it. It's a discovery, every time.
Curds & whey
Processing the curd
Affinage
OUR PROCESS
Fresh, natural milk from our dairy farm is warmed and curdled using the natural micro flora and a little extra starter culture — the process which begins the milk's journey to becoming Isle of Mull Cheese.
Cheese curd is separated from the whey and carefully placed into cylindrical rounds — where it is pressed, using our homemade cheese press. This drains away excess moisture and binds together the curd into the familiar shape we all recognise as a wheel of cheese.
From there, the cheese is wrapped in muslin and the 'affinage' begins in our maturation rooms — which are built into a hillside for perfect temperature and humidity conditions.
THE AFFINEUR
OUR CHEESE
Isle of Mull Cheese has received widespread acclaim from experts, chefs and customers alike — we're very proud to make it and we love to hear how far it's travelled.
