A West Yorkshire based halloumi producer are expanding their award winning range in an effort to support other local businesses.
Yorkshire Dama, who produce a range of halloumi style cheeses and yoghurts have added products made using milk from local sheep and goat farms to their range.
Founded by Razan Alsous, the family run company based in Sowerby Bridge source all their cows milk from dairy farms in the surrounding area but decided to branch out into using other types of milk in an effort to support smaller farms who were struggling to sell their products during the pandemic.
Razan said: “It’s always been really important for us at Yorkshire Dama Cheese to support other small businesses and we’ve always strived to source our ingredients locally. The pandemic has been particularly hard on small local businesses who have lost customers with cafes and restaurants closing so we decided to expand our range and source milk from Yellison Goats at Sire Bank Farm, who like many other local farms have been struggling with low sales and overproduction of milk.
“By enjoying our goat’s milk squeaky cheese, customers are contributing to helping a local business stay on their feet during a tough time. As well as our new Goats Milk Squeeky Cheese, we’ve also launched a sheep’s milk version along with a sheep’s milk yogurt which are already proving very popular.”
Highly nutritious, goat’s milk contains key vitamins, minerals and fatty acids and is blood pressure friendly due to its lower cholesterol compared to whole cow’s milk. It also contains properties that can help as a home remedy for ailments such as anaemia and eczema and some studies have found goat’s milk may also enhance the absorption of minerals from other foods.
Yorkshire Dama was started in 2012 after Razan and her family settled in Yorkshire after leaving their home in Syria because of the war. Despite having a pharmacy degree and a science background, finding work in this field in the UK proved difficult so instead she set about creating a range of halloumi style cheeses and has since seen her products stocked throughout the region and collect a number of prestigious industry awards along the way.
For more information and to buy online visit www.yorkshiredamacheese.co.uk