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Cheese from Scotland, Orkney Islands

Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar

Pasteurised, standardised Orkney cow milk is ripened 60 minutes at 31 °C with a Lactococcus and Streptococcus thermophilus culture, then set with rennet in about 25 minutes. The curd is cut, cooked to 40 °C and pitched onto a finishing table, where it is stirred without stopping (dry stirring) until it is salted 3 h 15 min to 3 h 25 min after renneting. The salted curd forms 20 kg blocks that are vacuum-bagged and matured 6–18 months at 8–10 °C.

Fully documentedCheese6 months – 18 monthsPGI (EU application UK-PGI-0005-0908, published OJ C 239, 9.8.2012; registered by Reg. (EU) No 1186/2013); UK PGIFamily: Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives times and temperatures, not doses. Cheese is made in 20 kg blocks.
Fresh pasteurised cow milk from Orkney farms, standardised for butterfat to protein[ork-spec][ork-2012]
Lactic acid culture (Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris/lactis and Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus)[ork-spec]
Rennet[ork-spec]
Salt, broadcast by hand onto the curd[ork-spec][ork-2012]
Annatto (coloured type only)[ork-spec][ork-2012]
StarterLactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris/lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 months – 18 months

Start
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What changes: The milk is pasteurised and skimmed to a set fat level

Step 1 of 8
Pasteurise and standardise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Streptococcus salivarius

The milk is pasteurised and cream is removed with a centrifugal separator to hold a set butterfat to protein ratio all year.

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

At a glance

Pasteurised, standardised Orkney cow milk is ripened 60 minutes at 31 °C with a Lactococcus and Streptococcus thermophilus culture, then set with rennet in about 25 minutes. The curd is cut, cooked to 40 °C and pitched onto a finishing table, where it is stirred without stopping (dry stirring) until it is salted 3 h 15 min to 3 h 25 min after renneting. The salted curd forms 20 kg blocks that are vacuum-bagged and matured 6–18 months at 8–10 °C. Made in 8 steps over 6 months – 18 months. The longest step, bag and mature, takes 6–18 months (UK Department for Environment 2006) and runs at 8–10 °C (UK Department for Environment 2006). Salt is 1.6–2.1 % (European Commission 2012). Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and subsp. lactis and Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6–18 monthsSet[ork-spec][ork-2012]Bag and mature
Temperature8–10 °CSet[ork-spec]Bag and mature
Salt1.6–2.1 %Set[ork-2012][ork-spec]Salt by hand
AciditypH 5.1–5.4Set[ork-2012][ork-spec]Dry-stir on the finishing table

What makes this one different

It uses a dry-stir method developed in 1984 instead of slab cheddaring; the curd is stirred continuously on the table until salting, so it never forms slabs, and only knits together in the block towers.

Ages
Medium 6–12 months, Mature 12–15 months, Extra Mature 15–18 months
Composition
Moisture 33–36%, fat 33–36%, fat in dry matter 50–52%, salt 1.6–2.1%
Size
Made in 20 kg blocks, cut to size after maturing

Related ferments

Variants

  • White and colouredColoured cheese has annatto added to the milk

Safety

Made from pasteurised milk; the specification sets Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and staphylococcal enterotoxins as absent in 25 g.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and staphylococcal enterotoxins, each set as absent in 25 g.

History and sources

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

The first creamery opened in Kirkwall in 1946 after wartime milk supply rose to feed some 60 000 service personnel; a new creamery switched to a cheddar recipe in 1958, and dry stirring was adopted in 1984.

  1. [ork-spec] UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, product specification 'Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar' PGI (Regulation (EC) No 510/2006), published on GOV.UKspec
  2. [ork-2012] European Commission 2012, publication of an application, 'Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar' PGI, single document UK-PGI-0005-0908-03.11.2011, OJ C 239, 9.8.2012, p. 5 (EU Publications Office copy)spec
  3. [gov-news] Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (Alistair Carmichael), 'Legendairy news for Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar', GOV.UK news story, 22 November 2013gov
  4. [reg-1186-2013] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1186/2013 of 21 November 2013 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar (PGI)), legislation.gov.uk copyspec