Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Now I know there might be the odd cheese connoisseur (snob) who frequents BE and there have been numerous threads hijacked or not where many have complained or been outraged at the price of good quality cheeses in Canada. Now granted there are the odd Canadian cheeses that are palatable but as most of us are ex Brits we miss out on UK or European cheeses.

We know Canada signed a deal with the EU when the UK was still part of it but now as the UK got a divorce they are no longer considered part of that deal. Now that the UK is now in negotiations with Canada to get their own cheese deal but Canada is telling the UK that cheese is not on the table.

Some extracts from this CBC article

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/che...pute-1.6467057

During the first round of negotiations of the U.K.-Canada trade deal, Canada told Britain that a larger quota for British cheese is not on the negotiating table.Britain wants greater access to Canadian markets for more than 700 varieties of cheese, including Stilton, Cheshire and Wensleydale, a crumbly variety originating from Yorkshire.

Until at least the end of next year, Britain will be able to keep exporting its cheese to Canada under the trade continuity agreement, the U.K.'s trade department said.
But she was also firm about the need to protect Canada's dairy producers — and that means keeping more British cheese out.

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Isn't this just going to come down to money? English cheese will still be available but more expensive so, unless it's something unique, people will buy the local equivalent. There's good "cheddar" made in Canada just not soft or semi-soft cheeses.

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

700 varieties of British cheese ? I don't think so. Unless you count each maker as a "variety", and even then, 700 is probably pushing it. Off the top of my head:

Cheddar
Stilton
Wesleydale
Cheshire
Double Gloucester

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Caerphilly
Stinking Bishop
Lancashire
Red Leicester

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Shropshire Blue
Cornish Yarg
Sage Derby

There are dozens of new ones but I'm stumped to come up with any older more traditional ones. I'd read that each valley in Yorkshire had it's own cheese so in addition to Wensleydale there would be Swaledale etc. Actually I don't think Yarg and Shropshire Blue are old cheese types. Delicious though

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

If you believe the Wiki then here they all are

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_cheeses

https://cheese.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_British_cheeses

Well all 700 aren't listed but it says there are and so does the link below

https://milk.co.uk/dairy-faqs/cheese-faqs/

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

More of a dispute than a war with NZ...
https://www.lexology.com/library/det...8-73c25d332500

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

The US has the gun lobby, Canada has the dairy lobby.

Personally I don’t have a problem with cheese in Canada. The president’s choice cheeses aren’t bad at all. One of my favourites is the PC Swiss Cheese, only $5-$6 for a block, and the PC Halloumi Cheese. The President Brie at Costco isn’t bad either

I tried the UK Coastal Cheddar you can get in some Canadian supermarkets but it tasted really oily and fatty, not pleasant at all. Nothing like the Cheddar I got at Tesco.

Another option is European supermarkets, Bosa Foods has a great Italian deli counter that isn’t too expensive for many things.

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

I'm partial to Snowdonia Black Bomber aged cheddar but it costs $10 for 200g so it's an occasional treat.

When I moved to the UK I was surprised by the lower price, quality and selection of cheeses in the supermarket.

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

I usually stock up on Canadian cheddar when I go back to the UK..... its a bargain. :confused:

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Agree, the prices aren't too bad. I think a lot of people go to the deli cheese area when the good deals are the prepacked cheeses in the dairy section. That happened to my parents when they came and visited, they went to Save-on-Foods by themselves and were shocked how expensive it was for some basic cheddar because they thought all the cheese was at the deli counter.

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

Yes, I couldnt believe it when I paid Sainsburys a visit last time I was in the UK for a few food items.... i picked up some "Sainsburys Canadian mature cheddar" on the back I read "Packaged for Sainsburys PLC by Empire Cheese, Campbellford Ontario Canada" or something like that... and it was just over half the price of what it costs for the same cheese from the Empire cheese factory in Campbellford!! I showed it to by Canadian buddies who were with me at the time.... they were understandably shocked and dismayed.. and also stocked up on the short lived bargain! lol

Re: Shall we start a cheese war?
 

I was interested to see if there are any cheese imports/exports between Canada and Australia, and went down the longest rabbit hole :frown:

No cheesy exchanges were found but I'm buggered if I'm going to waste all that time without some sort of conclusion, so I can reliably inform you that Canada's top export to Oz in 2020 was industrial machinery ($417 million), while Australia's to Canada was radioactive chemicals ($387 million) - sorry about that :unsure: