Sage Derby cheese

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Sage Derby, pronounced "darby", is a green veined, semi-hard cheese with a mild sage flavour. The first Sage Derby production began in the seventeenth century in England. The green color comes from sage (an herb valued at the time for its supposed medicinal value) and colouring added to the curds, producing a marbling effect and subtle herb flavour. The color is obtained either by mixing sage leaves in the curd before pressing, or by the addition to the main curd of "green curd" obtained by the aid of the juice of green corn. In the latter case, the sage flavor is obtained by the use of sage extract. Parsley, spinach and marigold leaves, bruised and steeped before use, are sometimes employed in place of sage leaves.

Originally, Sage Derby was only made for festive occasions such as harvest and Christmas, but today it is available all year round.

[edit] Trivia

In Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch, one of the cheeses requested is "Japanese" Sage Derby. Of course no Japanese version of this cheese is produced.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 edition of The Grocer's Encyclopedia.