Lymeswold cheese

Infobox Cheese
name = Lymeswold cheese


othernames =
country = England
regiontown = Somerset
region =
town =
source = Cows
pasteurised = Yes
texture = Soft
fat =
protein =
dimensions =
weight =
aging = Unknown
certification = None

Lymeswold cheese was an English cheese variety. Many English cheeses are named after regions, however Lymeswold is not the name of a place, although it may have been derived from the place name Wymeswold. The cheese was a soft, mild blue cheese, much like Brie, and was inspired by French cheeses. It was similar to non-branded cheeses sold as Blue Brie. For the export market, the cheese was branded Westminster Blue, because people had difficulty pronouncing Lymeswold.

Origins

In 1979 the Milk Marketing Board initiated negotiations with the large dairy firm Unigate that led in 1981 to the restructuring of its processing and marketing activities under the Dairy Crest brand to use surplus milk production to make dairy products. The initiatives that followed included the launch in 1982 of Lymeswold cheese. The cheese was at first produced at Cannington creamery in Somerset where the manager at the time was Mr R.P. Savage. The cheese's creation was hailed by Peter Walker, then Agriculture Minister, who said it would improve the balance of payments by replacing imports and becoming "one of our most successful cheese exports."

Rise and Fall

Following heavy launch promotion and a very successful branding exercise, initial demand for Lymeswold outstripped supply. It has been suggested that the Board then released maturing stocks before they were ready, which gave the cheese a reputation for poor quality. Certainly the initial success of the cheese did not turn into steady long-term sales. It was later subjected to strong competition from Cambozola, a German cheese. In the end, the cheese ceased production in 1992. Dairy Crest said at the time that it "could not sustain demand." John Withley, then the restaurant critic of the Daily Telegraph, welcomed the news with "unfettered joy," saying it had always been "an artificial cheese."

Continued influence

The name Lymeswold has lived on as one of many running jokes in Private Eye. As it is well known that Lymeswold is not a real location, the word is also sometimes used for the name of a generic fictitious English place.

External links

* [http://www.iht.com/articles/1992/04/30/topi_12.php 1992 IHT article about the withdrawal of Lymeswold]