Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Scotland and England, the Border lands within 90 km of Peel Fell in the Cheviot Hills

Bonchester Cheese PDOBonchester

Unpasteurised Jersey milk from the evening and morning milkings is warmed, cultured for an hour and a half and set with rennet in pails. The curd is ladled into moulds without pressing, turned, briefly brined at 13 °C and ripened cool until a white coat forms. It was developed on the Camembert method in 1980–81 and, when ripe, flows when cut. Made in 7 steps over 10 days – 16 days. The longest step, mature until the white coat forms, takes 6–12 days (Ministry of Agriculture 2081) and runs at 11 °C (Defra 2007). Starter lactic bacteria and White surface mould coat do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6–12 daysSet[bonchester-sum1994]Mature until the white coat forms
Temperature11 °CSet[bonchester-spec2007]Mature until the white coat forms
Fully documentedCheese10 days – 16 daysPDO (EU, 1996; UK protected name since 2021)Family: Bloomy-rind soft cheese family (Camembert de Normandie as template)More bloomy-rind cheesesMore from United Kingdom

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification describes one farm's fixed method with no amounts. Small cheeses weigh at least 100 g and medium ones at least 280 g.
Unpasteurised whole Jersey cow milk · Evening milk chilled overnight, mixed with the morning milk; not heat-treated in any way[bonchester-spec2007]
Starter cultures[bonchester-spec2007]
Rennet[bonchester-spec2007]
Brine[bonchester-spec2007]
Starter: starter cultures; the white coat follows the Camembert method

Total time across the recorded steps: 10 days – 16 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
32 °C

What changes: Chilled evening milk is warmed to 32 °C and mixed with the fresh morning milk

Step 1 of 7
Warm and mix the two milkings
Time
Not documented
Temperature
32 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Moulds

The chilled evening milk is mixed with the morning milk right after milking.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Bonchester follows the Camembert method but uses only raw milk from Jersey cows, and its paste is yellow to deep yellow. It is a single-farm cheese created in 1980–81, not an old regional tradition.

Milk
Unpasteurised whole milk of Jersey cows grazing the Border lands
Paste
Soft, unpressed; at least 20 % milk fat and at most 60 % water
Size
Small cylinder at least 100 g and 78 mm across; medium at least 280 g and 130 mm across
Season
Available April to December; little or none made in January and February

Related ferments

Variants

  • Small BonchesterAt least 100 g and 78 mm across; brined for 20 minutes.
  • Medium BonchesterAt least 280 g and 130 mm across; brined for 40 minutes.

Safety

This is a raw-milk soft cheese. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than cooked pressed ones such as Comté. Cooking the cheese removes the risk.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (risks ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Easter Weens Farm developed the cheese in 1980–81 with help from the West of Scotland Agricultural College, using the Camembert method as a guide. Production began in 1982 in converted buildings, and a purpose-built dairy followed in 1987. The name was registered as an EU PDO in 1996 and moved to the UK register at the start of 2021.

  1. [bonchester-spec2007] Defra, Product specification "Bonchester Cheese" PDO (August 2007), UK protected food names registerspec
  2. [bonchester-sum1994] Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Application for registration under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, Bonchester Cheese, summary sheet UK/0284 (eAmbrosia)spec
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov