Cornish Quartz – a gleaming cheddary gem
Written by Isabel Fay
 I don’t know what’s in the grass down in Devon and Cornwall, maybe it’s nourished by the sea air or made lush by those legendary fairies, hell maybe the farmer’s fertilising with clotted cream, but this cheese from the verdant green hillsides of the west country is absolutely divine and I’d like to shake those cows by the hoof.
Real cheddar, the kind that crumbles invitingly as you slice it, crunches as you chew it and leaves your mouth tingling with flavour is a true British gem, but sadly not often championed. Frequently cheddar will be overlooked on a cheeseboard, for being such an every-day item that to put it on the board would seem a humdrum choice. This is partly down to the evil, dubiously titled “mild cheddar”, pedalled by supermarket own brands. This simply is not cheddar, it’s yellow rubber and has given glorious British cheddar a very bad name.
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But I have discovered a real treasure here: Cornish Quartz. It took two long years to perfect this gorgeous cheese, developed exclusively for Waitrose by experts at the Davidstow Creamery in Cornwall, and the care and attention that has gone into this cheddar really shows. The white “bloom” that covers this deep yellow cheese hints at what is to come – the real crunch of a truly mature cheddar: hence the name “Cornish Quartz”.
Crumbly and slightly flakey it gives a massive shot of flavour on the tongue, with the crunch that comes from fully matured lactate crystals. But unlike eye-wateringly strong cheddars this becomes rich and creamy after the first crunch and leaves a lingering full-bodied aftertaste and a deliciously tingling sensation on the tongue. I tested this cheese several times - not because I had to, you understand, the first bite said it all - but simply because I couldn’t stop. “Oh dear, that looks messy, I’d better just tidy up that side… oh well now it’s crumbled again, I’d best neaten it up with another slice….” If you’re a cheese-oholoic like me, you’ll understand. Best served with crusty bread and tart pickled onions, or crunchy celery, or a robust red wine… Or just nibbled from the fridge when nobody’s looking, beware this cheddar is seriously addictive.
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