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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Cheshire and neighbouring counties, England

Cheshire

In the 1896 farmhouse method, evening and morning milk are renneted at 86–88 °F and the curd is scalded only gently, to 92–94 °F. The drained curd is turned and broken, then ground finer than Cheddar curd, salted and kept warm in a cheese oven before light pressing. This gives Cheshire its loose, crumbly body. Made in 8 steps over 3.1 months – 10 months. The longest step, cure, takes 3–10 months (Long J 1896) and runs at 16–18 °C (Long J 1896).

Key numbers
Main step3–10 monthsReported[long-benson1896][usda1928]Cure
Temperature16–18 °CReported[long-benson1896][usda1928]Cure

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceAmounts from John Benson's 1896 description of a medium-ripening farmhouse Cheshire. Modern creameries use pasteurised milk and other recipes.
Evening and morning cow milk · The cream skimmed off in the morning is heated and returned[long-benson1896]
1 oz per 20 gallons of milkRennet extract · Or enough to give a curd ready to cut in 45–60 minutes[long-benson1896]
Sour whey · Added to ripen the milk when its acidity is too low[long-benson1896]
Annatto colouring · For red Cheshire; added ten minutes before the rennet[long-benson1896][usda1928]
7 to 8 oz per 20 lb of curdSalt · More if the curd is wet, less if it is dry[long-benson1896]
Starterhistorically sour whey from the previous day's make

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.1 months – 10 months

Start
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20 °C

What changes: Evening and morning milk are mixed in the vat and left to ripen

Step 1 of 8
Ripen the mixed milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
20 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: ripened milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

the milk sours; sour whey is added if it is not ripe enough

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

Cheshire curd is scalded much less than Cheddar curd and is not stacked as cheddared slabs. It is broken, ground finer and kept warm in a cheese oven, which gives a crumbly, open body instead of Cheddar's close texture.

Milk
Cow milk; evening and morning milk mixed
Ripening
About 3 months for medium-ripening cheese in 1896; quick-ripening cheeses were also made
Size
14 to 16 inches across and 50 to 70 pounds in 1928

Related ferments

Variants

  • Red CheshireColoured with annatto.
  • White CheshireUncoloured; recommended in 1896 because colouring could discolour the cheese.
  • Cheshire-StiltonDescribed in 1928 as a combination of the Cheshire and Stilton varieties.

Safety

The historical method used raw milk. The sources give no pH or safety limits.

History and sources

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

Benson's 1896 chapter notes that quick-ripening Cheshire was then widely made. A 1928 USDA bulletin calls Cheshire one of the oldest English varieties.

  1. [long-benson1896] Long J., Benson J. 1896, Cheese and cheese-making, butter and milk, chapter VIII "On the best methods of manufacturing Cheshire cheese" by John Benson, Chapman and Hall, Londonarchive
  2. [usda1928] Doane C.F., Lawson H.W., revised by Matheson K.J. 1928, Varieties of cheese, descriptions and analyses, USDA Bulletin 608archive