THE ONLY CHEDDAR MADE IN CHEDDAR
How We Make Our Cheddar Cheese
How It All Begins
There is no secret to the fact, all cheese is made in a similar way, a process transforming milk into curds and whey. The whey is drained and the curd remains; the curd already being ‘fresh’ cheese. It can be strained, pressed, salted or brine washed. Eaten young or old, clean or with mould (there’s no cheese without mould)! Producing cheese is both science and art, with each cheesemaker practicing their craft in their own unique way.
Whether this was all the result of a happy accident, or by design, no one can really be sure! The one thing we do know, is that the production of cheese started off as an excellent way to preserve milk. The first cheesemakers learnt that, transforming milk into cheese ensured ‘the perfect food’ was available all year round. Our ancestors got through lean seasons by preserving meat, vegetables and milk in many inventive ways.
More About Cheddar Cheese
Today, the variations in shape, texture, strength and colour of cheese are endless. Cheddar cheese– the most widely eaten cheese in the world – is no exception. Sadly, industrialised ‘plastic-matured’ cheddar has taken the traditional process and torn its heart out. Mass production cheddar cheese is made using machinery, matured for as little as two weeks, all without the care and attention we give. Whereas, ours is made by hand, checked every step of the way by touch and an expert eye. Each truckle hand-turned every two weeks, rubbed down and vacuumed to get rid of loose mould. From farm to shelf, we care. We are the only, and very proud to say, cheesemakers of authentic cheddar cheese in Cheddar; and this, is how we do it:
Raw Milk Is The Key
Unpasteurised milk is freshly delivered to our dairy each morning, in the village of Cheddar, Somerset. We source our milk from one local farmer, monitoring the quality, composition and temperature of the milk as it arrives. If it isn’t to our high standards, we do not accept it.
Once our traditional open vat has been filled with this milk (it can hold a maximum of 2040 litres), we gently warm it. When ready, we add starter cultures – additional (friendly) bacteria and allow the milk to ‘ripen’ for a while. These selected bacteria play a vital role in determining the quality, flavour, body and safety of our cheese.
No pasteurising our milk, ensures we preserve the naturally occurring bacteria within it. Resulting in our cheese having a more complex flavour than that made from pasteurised milk.
Additionally, unpasteurised milk cheese can arguably boost one’s health and immune system, containing more probiotic bacteria, nutrients, vitamins and enzymes which would otherwise be denatured during pasteurisation. This is one of our cornerstones, and we are determined to preserve the heritage of this truly authentic cheddar.
Curds And Whey
The next stage involves coagulating the ripened milk. For this we stir in vegetarian ‘rennet’, which changes the structure of proteins, resulting in the liquid milk changing to a soft but solid mass – rather like blancmange.
Once set, we cut the coagulum, using traditional handheld frames (some with vertical ‘blades’ and some with horizontal ‘blades’), gently drawing them through the mass, producing small chip like pieces of curd. This releases whey, which holds the floating curds.
The curds and whey are then scalded and stirred before being drained. The cheesemaker’s expert judgement is vital at this stage. They will repeatedly feel and test the curd, making sure it reaches the exact consistency. No industrialised process can ever replicate the art of an experienced cheesemaker.
Once ready, the vats plug is pulled and drained of the whey. The nutritionally rich whey is pumped to our storage silos and eventually collected by pig farmers to feed their livestock. Nothing is wasted!
Cheddaring By Hand
Cheddaring is a critical developmental stage, involving a series of cutting, turning and stacking of blocks of curd, allowing it to cool, further drain the whey and ‘knit’ together the curds over a period of time. The cheesemaker will monitor the acidity and temperature of the curd closely at this stage. Cheddaring contributes enormously to the final taste and texture of our award-winning cheese.
Finally, the curd is milled into small chips before being salted by hand, and filled into our large traditional cheese moulds.
Once in their traditional cheese moulds and stacked on the cheese press, a pneumatic pressure is applied to them to further push out more whey. End of day one.
What happens next
The next day starts with yesterdays truckles being dipped in hot water, for exactly one minute. This helps seal them and facilitate the rind to form. Then back into the moulds they go.
Day three our young cheeses are dressed in a traditional cotton/muslin cloth and put back on the press. The use of cheesecloth is a vital and historical way of allowing the cheese to gradually dry and develop a rind. Traditional cheese cloth allows the cheese to interact with its atmosphere, ‘breathing’ and allowing vital bacteria to develop. Industrialised, mass-produced cheddar is sealed and matured in plastic wrapped blocks.
Oh yes, there’s more to come…
Day four is the final day before they head off to their first maturing room. This is the day when we hand-coat our beautiful truckles of cheddar cheese in the veggiecoat before they are weighed and labelled.
Time To Mature
Our whole cheeses weigh around 26Kg and are matured for up to 24 months, in our closely monitored maturing stores. Generally, the older the cheese, the stronger the flavour. Our youngest ‘mellow’ cheddars are around six months old. Our oldest, ‘vintage’ cheddar is usually around two years old.
This image illustrates beautifully the significance the environment makes to the maturing cheddar cheese. The one on the left was matured in the natural environment of Gough’s cave; the one on the right within one of our own stores. Each has its own advantages and we’re excited by the science!
You don’t get that with the everyday cheddar available in the supermarkets today.
Maturing In Gough’s Cave
In December 2006, we started maturing some of our cheese in Gough’s cave, just up the gorge from us. The environmental conditions were perfect for cheese maturing; constant temperature and high humidity.
The environment in which the cheese is matured, has a remarkably significant influence on it’s flavour, texture and moisture. In fact, Gough’s Cave ,is the original historical Cheddar Cheese larder and all those natural minerals floating around in the atmosphere adds to the unique flavour of our cave-aged.
Our Natural Cave Matured cheddar has been an outstanding success due to its complex flavour, aroma, texture and uniqueness. Truly keeping the history alive!
