It's time to revisit my favorite food in the world yet again. I'm a bit anxious trying out certain foods and drinks, concerned that they might be terrible. But with cheese I'm clearly hedging my bets quite a lot. Anyway, today's offering was an aged red Leicester cheese from the Isle of Man Creamery, made, obviously, on that island in the Irish Sea.
The Isle of Man Creamery (from here on out abbreviated to IOMC) is a cooperative of either 28 or 30 (sources differ) dairy farms located on the Isle of Man. This venture dates back to 1934. And that's about it as far as the business's history goes, from both the official website and other online sites. I couldn't learn any of the founder's names, or really anything else. IOMC is really proud of, and really focused on their cow-feeding procedures. Evidently most cows in the U.K. are only outside grazing about 180 days out of every year, while those for the IOMC have a minimum of 200, and usually go a couple of weeks beyond that. Reportedly more days outside, and more days spent eating grass, leads to happier, healthier cows, and better milk, as the IOMC's cows produce milk with more omega 3 fatty acids in it. Other IOMC products include some creams (mostly used for dessert-making), various kinds of milk, a couple of kinds of butter, and a slew of cheeses. Most of the latter are types of mature cheddar with different inclusions, such as garlic and chives, crushed peppercorns, jalapenos, or oak smoke. The only two non-cheddar cheeses are the red Leicester I tried, and a double Gloucester.
But perhaps we should reveal some information about what sort of cheese red Leicester is. It's an English cheese that's similar to cheddar. The main distinction seems to be its characteristic red rind and more crumbly texture. Traditionally the red color was derived from the addition of carrot or beetroot juice, but for the past three centuries or so the color comes from annatto, which comes from the New World achiote tree seeds. As the name suggests, red Leicester was first made in the English city of the same name. The birthdate is a bit vague, but seems to be in the 17th century. It was originally made from surplus milk after all the desired Stilton cheese had been made. (I assume that Stilton was a major industry in Leicester at the time.) The cheese is usually aged between 6 to 12 months. As with most cheeses, longer aging makes for a stronger, sharper flavor. Younger red Leicester is thought to have a slightly sweet and mellow taste, while older ones have the mentioned sharper flavor. Both ages of this cheese are considered to have a nutty flavor, too.
Isle of Man Creamery, Islander Red, Red Leicester cheese: Had an orangish-color, and resembled cheddar cheese. No real odor to speak of. Texture was semisoft. I had some plain, and some on a cracker. The flavor of it was tangy, and slightly salty. I enjoyed this--it was a more than solid cheese. I didn't really detect the sweetness, and nutty taste that other have, but still, it was tasty. As usual, a cheese failed to disappoint me. A recommend for those that enjoy cheese, and probably cheddar cheese in general.
As this is the first edible or drinkable from the Isle of Man that I've had, I thought I'd do another shallow dive into Manx lore and famous folks. ("Manx" is the proper term for those from this isle.) First off, the Isle of Man is technically independent, and self-governing. It's a British crown dependency, but not actually part of the U.K. I guess it's similar to U.S. territories like Guam or Puerto Rico and such. Moving on, the Isle is arguably best known for its cats, which are noted for their short, or even absent tails. Manx cats are considered to be social, tame, and active. And their prowess in hunting makes them prized for vermin control on farms, or historically on ships. The Isle is also well known for its annual, 2 week-long series of motorcycle road races, called the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy for long, or "the TT" for short. It's held in late May and early June, so it's presumably happening right as I'm writing this. Staying on sports, the Isle of Man has its own unique one, called cammag, which is a team sport played with a stick and ball, with up to 200 players on a side. It's reportedly similar to the Irish sport hurling, and the Scottish sport called shinty.
As for famous Manxmen and Manxwomen, probably the best known folks are the singing Gibb brothers--Maurice, Robin, and Barry. Known mostly as the Bees Gees, they performed from 1958-2012, sold over 120,000,000 records, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. They were born on the Isle, although to British parents, and they spent large parts of their lives in other countries, such as Australia.
Switching to movies, Nigel Kneale (pen name Nigel Neale), was born in England but spent most of his childhood on the Isle. A writer, Nigel wrote such films as "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955), "Quatermass 2" (1957), "Look Back in Anger" (1959), "The Witches" (1966), "Quatermass and the Pit" (1967), and although he was ultimately uncredited, most of "Halloween III" (1982). Actress Geraldine Somerville was born in Ireland, but spent most of her childhood on the Isle. She's probably best known for films such as "Close My Eyes" (1991), "Haunted" (1995), "Gosford Park" (2001), the "Harry Potter" movies (2001-11), and "Fair Play" (2023).
The Isle of Man has also produced four Olympic medalists, competing for the U.K. Sidney Swann won a gold as part of the 1912 rowing team, and a silver in the same event in the 1920 Games. Frederick Agnew Gill won a bronze in the 1900 Games as a member of the polo team. Peter Kennaugh won a gold at the 2012 Games, in the cycling team pursuit event. And Mark Cavendish won a silver medal in the cycling omnium event at the 2016 Games.
Finally, Isle of Man-born Sarah Elizabeth Holloway (later Marston) was supposedly the inspiration for, or at least one of the inspirations for the character of Wonder Woman. Sarah was married to the guy who created Wonder Woman, and was part of a "throuple" with Olive Byrne. Sarah was also involved with the development of the systolic blood pressure test, which led to the eventual polygraph machine.
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