Three Artisan Cheeses Worth Seeking Out: Curds, Blue Brain, and Belper Knolle

Introduction

Some cheeses are designed to be easy, and some are designed to be memorable. This roundup covers three that lean firmly into the second category: fresh cheddar curds from Somerset, an accidental blue-mould cream cheese from Switzerland, and a small, intense, peppery cheese knob that behaves more like a seasoning than a slice. Each one is distinctive, each one has a clear best use, and each one rewards a slightly adventurous palate.

Evaluation Criteria

We looked at each cheese on the same three points: how distinctive the flavour is, how easy it is to actually use in the kitchen, and who it genuinely suits. A cheese can be delicious and still be hard to recommend if it only works in one narrow situation, so versatility counted for a lot.

Westcombe Cheddar Curds

These are the curds behind a renowned artisanal cloth-bound cheddar, made by Tom Carver and his team in Somerset. They arrive less than three days old, freshly milled and salted, and are not pressed into moulds, so you get loose, uneven chunks with a genuinely fresh character.

The texture is the headline: firm, squeaky, and rubbery in the best sense, a step firmer than halloumi. The flavour is mild, like an incredibly mild cheddar broken into little pieces, with a noticeable saltiness that makes them moreish. If you have ever wondered what cheese tastes like before it becomes cheese, this is a very friendly place to start.

They are also genuinely versatile. Eaten on their own as a snack they are excellent, but the classic move is melting them into something hot: piled over roast potatoes with gravy, they soften into something almost mozzarella-like while keeping a hint of squeak and bite. If poutine is on your mind, these curds are exactly what you want.

Blue Brain from Jumi

This one should not exist, and that is part of its charm. It began life as a fresh cream cheese with rosemary, but blue mould grew on top, and the result became Blue Brain, a cheese with a wrinkled, brain-like blue rind. Each one looks different, developing a darker or lighter blue, so every wheel is unique.

The character changes sharply with maturation. When young it is creamy with a slight roasted note that melts on the palate. As it develops, the flavour grows stronger and more savoury, taking on an ashy quality that keeps building after you swallow. The texture is a real highlight: very creamy, almost melty, and without the hard veined structure of a typical blue cheese, because the blue lives mostly in the rind rather than running all the way through.

That structure gives you a genuine choice. Eat the goo on its own and you get a soft creamy cheese with just the slightest hint of blue, a plausible gateway to blue cheese for sceptics. Eat the brain too, and you get the full experience: a proper, full-on blue cheese with real funk. It is the perfect accompaniment to a flute of Prosecco, whose sweetness and bubbles cut through the heavy, savoury flavour nicely.

Belper Knolle

At first glance this looks like a truffle: a small, dark, crusty knob coated in pepper, hailing from Belp, a town near Bern in Switzerland. The name Knolle refers to its knob-like shape, and it is traditionally crafted from cow’s milk, though variations with goat’s or sheep’s milk exist.

Inside, it is a crumbly white cheese blended with garlic, salt, and pepper, then formed into small rounds and left to dry and mature. The outside delivers an enormous hit of both white and black pepper, while the interior is dry, creamy, salty, and deliciously acidic, almost like a very dry goat’s cheese. It is intense in the best way: a bold, savoury flavour bomb.

The key to using it well is that it is typically grated or shaved into dishes rather than eaten in large portions. Grated over romaine lettuce, it adds the dryness and saltiness you would expect from Parmesan, plus a peppery lift and a tangy edge reminiscent of Caesar dressing, without the funk. In practice, you can replace any use of Italian hard cheese with it and get something extra in return. If you can get hold of it, it comes highly recommended.

Which One Should You Try First?

If you want the safest and most versatile pick, the Westcombe cheddar curds are the easy answer: mild, squeaky, and happy in a snack bowl or a gravy-covered dish. If you already like blue cheese, Blue Brain offers something genuinely unusual, and if you do not, the young goo-only version is a surprisingly gentle way in. Belper Knolle is the wildcard, but for anyone who cooks, it may be the most useful of the three, since a single knob can upgrade salads, pasta, and anything else that would normally get a shower of hard cheese.

A practical note for anyone tempted by the extremes: strongly moulded cheeses divide rooms fast. Start with the curds, work up to Blue Brain with Prosecco in hand, and save the most intense experiences for company that appreciates them.

Conclusion

Three cheeses, three very different jobs: fresh and squeaky curds for everyday eating and cooking, a creamy accidental blue for adventurous palates and sparkling wine, and a peppery Swiss knob that earns a permanent place on the grater. None of them are boring, and that is exactly the point.