Parmesan
Parmesan - or to be more precise Parmigiano-Reggiano -is an Italian protected food name cheese that can now only be made in specific areas of Northern Italy. Until the mid 1990s a farm in Sussex - Twineham Grange - was making Parmesan quite legally. Its Italian owners brought in Italian cheesemaking equipment and an Italian cheesemaker and even sent the cheeses back to Italy to mature.
With the advent of the EU Protected Food Name Scheme in 1992 they had to phase out the use of the name Parmesan and re-named their cheese "Farmers Hand". Subsequently, the Italian owners sold the dairy site but the cheeses continued to be made by a partnership between local dairy farmer Jim Harrison and Dairy Manager Rob Bookham. That partnership - Bookham Harrison Farms - has developed a recipe for a new cheese called Sussex Charmer which is a cross between Cheddar and Parmesan. With a subtle nutty flavour and a firm but slightly flinty texture it grates well to give an Italian style finish to many cooked dishes. The cheese is available at selected retailers throughout the South East of England and has already won many prizes at various international cheese events.