The first cheese made with Welsh sea salt has been launched in a unique partnership between iconic Anglesey brand Halen Môn and Wales’s oldest dairy co-operative South Caernarfon Creameries.

The new Sea Salt Cheddar made with 100 per cent milk from Welsh cows at South Caernarfon creameries’ factory in Chwilog near Pwllheli, uses pure Halen Môn sea salt made by pumping seawater from the Menai Strait of Anglesey each day.

The first sea salt cheese to be made in Wales, it will sit as part of the Dragon brand’s new Handcrafted range, which was launched at the Taste of Wales international trade conference in Newport.

The luxury range of speciality cheeses will also feature a cheddar aged in the Llechwedd slate caverns at Blaenau Ffestiniog, and a speciality version made with Penderyn whisky.

The new Sea Salt Cheddar was created thanks to a major £13.5m investment in the South Caernarfon Creamery (SCC) cheesemaking plant on the Llŷn Peninsula.

This has allowed SCC to take a flexible approach to developing bespoke new cheeses using traditional open table cheesemaking techniques, which can be produced on a large scale to meet modern retail and consumer demands.

The new Sea Salt Cheddar has been in development for two years thanks to Linda Lewis Williams, new product development manager at South Caernarfon Creameries, and Halen Môn’s owners, husband and wife team Alison and David Lea-Wilson.

It is a marriage made in heaven, said Linda: “We have taken two iconic brands, both rooted in high quality Welsh provenance and created a cheese for Wales to truly be proud of.

“Salt has always been used in cheese as it is the ultimate preservative, it also brings out the depth of flavour in the cheese.

“We’re really excited about this partnership between SCC and Halen Môn, and to be able to launch it as part of our new Handcrafted range at Taste of Wales is the icing on the cake.”

Linda added: “The sea salt gives it a really lovely flavour. It’s not too strong but the salt brings out the flavour of the cheese.

“It is best eaten at room temperature, not straight out of the fridge.”

Halen Môn sea salt is made 100 per cent from the clean, clear seawaters of the Menai Strait and has EU protected designation of origin status.