- Great British food - Festive feast – Miranda Gore Browne has some great recipes to inspire you this Christmas.
- A cheesemonger’s guide - Top tips on how to buy, store and taste cheese.
- Say cheese - Looking for some festive cheeses? Tracey Colley has a dozen great recommendations.
- It’s a blue, blue Christmas - Lorna Maybery goes behind the scenes at Nottinghamshire’s Colston Bassett Dairy to find out more about all things Stilton.
What’s in this issue?
We always like to do something a little different with our festive cover, and this year we've gone all out. Our spectacular Christmas tree charcuterie board, piled high with seasonal cheeses and cured meats, was crafted entirely by hand, proving that human creativity still has the edge. Turn to page 54 for a behind-the-scenes look at how the cover came together.
Cheese is at the heart of this issue, and few producers embody British cheesemaking excellence better than Colston Bassett Dairy. On pages 33-38, we visit the Nottinghamshire dairy, where milk from neighbouring farms is transformed into award-winning Stilton and Shropshire Blue cheese. Renowned for its hand-ladled curds and traditional craftsmanship, Colston Bassett has earned a place among the country's finest blue cheesemakers.
Elsewhere, our friends at the Academy of Cheese share a dozen standout picks for your festive cheeseboard, while cheesemonger Jen Grimstone-Jones of Cheese Etc in Pangbourne offers expert advice on buying, storing and tasting cheese. If your usual approach involves taking it straight from the fridge and piling it onto a cracker, prepare to discover a better way.
Also
in this edition…
- Droving Christmas geese to market - Clare Hunt looks at how festive birds were walked hundreds of miles to be sold.
- The good old days - The joy of carol singing and how to revive this heart-warming festive tradition.
- 12 festive fun and games - Clare Hunt reflects on the traditional festive games played long before TV and computers.
- Dog behaviour – why all your dog wants for Christmas is you!
- Sustainability at its core - Meet the Kent apple grower using new technology to increase production while working in tandem with nature.
- Raise a glass to nature - How Ben Branson has brought the taste of the forest to a new style of non-alcoholic drink.
- What’s cooking in your kitchen? We put the spotlight on Joe Walker, from The George in Graveley, Hertfordshire.
- A practical and fun garden project - Follow our step-by-step guide to making a garden shelf unit.
- The Countryside puzzler - Crosswords, quizzes and word searches to test your grey matter.
- Win a turkey bundle - Enter our competition to win a Copas 5kg turkey.
- Buyer’s Guide – James Andrews puts the spotlight on animal essentials.
- Weathering the winter - Dozens of practical tips to help you prepare for the cold months ahead.
