British ash coated goats’ cheeses: five studies in delicate terroir

The charcoal grey coating that catches the eye tells only part of the story. These five British ashed goats’ cheeses, curated by Paxton & Whitfield, conceal layers of flavour and technique beneath their sculptural rinds, each one shaped by the particular landscape and the hands that made it.

Ash has protected young cheeses for centuries, but today’s cheesemakers employ it with precision. The food grade vegetable ash serves an elegant purpose: goats’ cheese is naturally acidic, and the ash neutralises acidity at the surface, creating favourable conditions for the yeasts and moulds that develop those distinctive wrinkled rinds as they mature.

Dorstone, handmade by Charlie Westhead and his team in Herefordshire, arrives light and fluffy, its texture giving way to creamy, slightly salty lemon tang. The dairy generates much of its own energy through wind and solar power. Driftwood, from White Lake Cheese in Somerset, is bright and lemony with gentle peppery earthiness; its name derives from the bark like appearance of its wrinkled rind, made from the milk of their own herd.

Brightwell Ash from Norton & Yarrow in Carmarthenshire, Wales, offers silky creaminess with fresh citrus, yoghurt and delicate hazelnut notes, its rind becoming beautifully mottled as it develops. Dazel Ash, made by Chris and Clare Moody of Rosary Goats Cheese in the New Forest, is fresh and citrusy with creamy texture, delicate floral sweetness and earthy notes. It was crowned Supreme Champion at the British & Irish Cheese Awards 2026.

Elrick Log, crafted by Selina Cairns and the Errington family in South Lanarkshire using raw goats’ milk, is fresh and lemony with smooth, fudgy texture and a little spiciness as it matures. Its name comes from Elrick, the historic designation for nearby Elsrickle.

Imagery courtesy of Paxton & Whitfield (@paxtonscheese).