The Dark Arts of Affinage

There are many ways to age a cheese so how best to refine its flavours over time? Welcome to the art of affinage - a French term that translates as "refining" a cheese - and a practice that is starting to take off in the UK. Sheila Dillon attends a competition to find the Affineur of the Year and discovers that the way you age a cheese can dramatically change its taste and texture. A cheddar can become more like a comté by changing the temperature, humidity and length of the ripening process. She hears from practitioners who regularly wash and turn their cheeses. Some have buried cheeses in coal holes, covered them in hay or even played them music to find new way of making old cheeses taste differently. Experimentation with these techniques have led to new cheeses entering the market. In this programme the dark arts of affinage will be revealed.

Produced in Bristol for BBC Audio by Robin Markwell