Treats from Lincoln
We didn't wait long to enjoy the treats that we just brought from Lincoln. We made sandwiches with three kinds of Lincolnshire Poacher Cheeses that we bought at the Farmers' Market in Lincoln's historic Castle Quarter. The cheeses were made by a daily farm whose name is also Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese, that has been a family-based cheesemaker since 1917.
The three were Vintage Lincolnshire Poacher (matured for 18 to 22 months), Smoked Lincolnshire Poacher (cold smoked over untreated dampened oak chips for 24 hours), and Lincolnshire Red (matured for about 6 months). They were hard, unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. Each had a distinctive taste but all were smooth with lovely sweet aftertaste. They were so delicious! According to the farm, "the recipe for Lincolnshire Poacher cheese is a cross between a traditional West Country cheddar and a continental alpine cheese such as Comte." I found it in the taste.
We also bought Lincolnshire Plum Breads from the farm. Lincolnshire Plum Bread is a kind of English tea loaves, traditionally baked for Christmas in Lincolnshire. Served buttered with a slice of Poacher cheese is how people in Lincolnshire enjoy the special fruit cake. We bought two different breads so that we could compare one with the other.
Modens was a brand that a lady at a tea room that we stopped by to take a couple of tea away told us as the best Plum Bread. I was happy to find it along with the cheeses. Modens Lincolnshire Plum Bread, made according to their 1936 recipe, contains sultanas, raisins, butter, milk and yeast, spiced with a hint of nutmeg.
The other bread, Slater Eyre Lincolnshire Plum Bread was actually also made by Modens, which I found out after we came back home. As a new addition to its product line, Modens recently started making Slater Eyre Lincolnshire Plum Bread by using an original recipe from a masterbaker Mr. Slater Eyre and his bakery in Louth dating from 1834. Slater Eyre version contains not only sultanas and raisins but also currants and mixed peel; no milk but rapeseed oil; yes, yeast as the same; and spiced with cinnamon and ginger. Clearly they have their own characters. The shape was also different each other. Moderns original is in a "typical loaf pan" shape while Slater Eyre is wide and flat. By the way, Neither or any Lincolnshire Plum Bread doesn't contain plum just like that any traditional English plum puddings (Christmas puddings) doesn't contain plum. It is said that in the 17th century, plums referred to raisins or other fruits, which has still seen in the name of Plum Breads or Plum Puddings.
We tried Modens original first. The bread was super moist and heavily packed with plump fruits. While I didn't detect nutmeg, the bread had a lovely flavor. The bread was definitely sweet but not overly sweet. It was a beautiful fruit cake indeed. I usually avoid mixing sweet and savory, but according to the tradition, I paired the bread with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese. The saltiness of cheese complemented the sweet bread while I would be happy with simple butter spread or just as is when it's nicely toasted.
Before and after the savory cheese sampling, we enjoyed Vine's Bakery's blueberry custard danish, an apricot custard danish and a plum (nectarine?) almond tart. As I expected, they were delightful! We saved their Babka later. I am looking forward to try it. Are we eating too much?!
