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Fermentation Atlas

Cheddared cheeses

Curd slabs stacked and turned, then milled and dry-salted.

19 entries listed here.

How these cheeses are made

The shared make of cheddared cheese family (cheddar as template). Each cheese below says what it does differently.

  1. Warm the milk and set it with rennet30–40 min · 32 °C
  2. Cut the curd
  3. Scald and stir30–40 min · 38–41.1 °C
  4. Cheddar the curd in slabs1–2 h
  5. Mill the slabs
  6. Dry-salt the milled curd2–3 % salt
  7. Mould and pressup to 24 h · 18 °C
  8. Bandage or wrap
  9. Matureat least 2 months · 10 °C

Compare them

CheeseRegionMilkRipeningRind
Cheese curdsWisconsin and the US MidwestCow milkNone; sold the same day and kept about a day at room temperature
DunlopScotland, AyrshireWhole Ayrshire cow milk, raw or pasteurised6 to 18 months; most sold at 10–12 months
Lancashire (Beacon Fell PDO)Lancashire, EnglandFull-fat cow milk from LancashireAt least 3–4 weeks; sold from 1 month; fully mature at about 6 months
Queso adoberaMexico, western statesRaw cow milk in the artisanal make; industrial versions are pasteurisedNone; sold fresh
Queso ChihuahuaMexico, Chihuahua StateCow milk, raw in traditional Mennonite and farm dairies, pasteurised in othersAbout one month; usually eaten within 3–4 months
Staffordshire CheeseEngland, county of StaffordshireStaffordshire cow milk with Staffordshire cream, pasteurisedMild at 2–4 weeks; up to 12 monthsCloth-bound
West Country Farmhouse Cheddar PDOEngland, the historical counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and CornwallCow milk, raw or pasteurised, mostly from Dorset, Somerset, Devon and CornwallAt least 9 months; graded at 2–4 monthsCylinders bandaged in muslin dipped in lard or another natural fat; blocks are rindless in film
CheshireCheshire and neighbouring counties, EnglandCow milk; evening and morning milk mixedAbout 3 months for medium-ripening cheese in 1896; quick-ripening cheeses were also made
Derby / Sage DerbyDerbyshire, EnglandWhole cow milkAt least a month, usually 3–4 months (1953)
Double GloucesterEngland, GloucestershireFull-cream cow milkAt least six months (cheesemonger's account)
Isle of Mull CheddarScotland, Isle of MullRaw cow milk from the farm's own herdAbout nine months (made in September, sold in June); some sources say about 12 months
Lincolnshire PoacherEngland, LincolnshireRaw cow milk from the farm's own herd of about 230 cowsAbout 18 months before sale, by the producer's account
Montgomery's / Keen's / Westcombe CheddarSomersetcow milk, raw12–24 mo
Orkney Scottish Island CheddarScotland, Orkney Isles6–18 months
Queijo São Jorge PDOAzorescow milk, raw≥3 mo
Red LeicesterLeicestershirecow milk2–12 mo
Single Gloucester PDOGloucestershirecow milk, (Gloucester cattle in herd)~2 mo
Sparkenhoe Red LeicesterLeicestershirecow milk, raw~6 mo
Yorkshire Wensleydale PGIWensleydalecow milk3 wk – 6 mo

Bold names have a full page with the animated steps. Blank cells: no sourced value yet.

Short entries

What the sources record about each of these so far.

Isle of Mull CheddarScotland, Isle of Mull

Also called Isle of Mull, Isle of Mull Cheese, Mull cheddar, Tobermory cheddar.

Unpasteurised milk goes straight from the parlour, still warm, into the cheese vat, and is made into a cloth-wrapped farmhouse cheddar. The wheels mature for about nine months to a year into an ivory, sharp cheese that sometimes shows fine blue veins.

Milk
Raw cow milk from the farm's own herd
Ripening
About nine months (made in September, sold in June); some sources say about 12 months
  1. Milk into the vat while warm
  2. Make the cheddar curd
  3. Wrap in cloth and mature9 months

Safety: The sources give no safety data for this cheese. It is a raw-milk hard cheese matured for months; the NHS lists hard cheeses, pasteurised or not, as safe in pregnancy.

Lincolnshire PoacherEngland, Lincolnshire

A hard farmhouse cheese made from the farm's own raw cow milk. Evening and morning milk are set with starter and animal rennet, heated to about 41 °C, cut and stirred, then cheddared, milled, salted by hand and pressed for 36 hours. The wheels ripen on wooden shelves for well over a year.

Milk
Raw cow milk from the farm's own herd of about 230 cows
Ripening
About 18 months before sale, by the producer's account
  1. Combine the milkings and add starter and rennet
  2. Heat, cut and stir1 h · 41 °C
  3. Drain and cheddar
  4. Mill, salt and press36 h
  5. Ripen on wooden shelves18 months

Safety: Made from raw milk; long ripening before sale.

Montgomery's / Keen's / Westcombe CheddarSomerset

heritage pint starters; clothbound

Milk
cow milk, raw
Ripening
12–24 mo

Made like Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template).

Orkney Scottish Island CheddarScotland, Orkney Isles

Island cheddar made by the dry-stir method instead of slab cheddaring, giving a firm, dense body; cheese made on Orkney since 1946.

  1. Prepare the milk
  2. Cut and drain the curd
  3. Ripen6–18 months
Queijo São Jorge PDOAzores

spicy cheddar-like island cheese

Milk
cow milk, raw
Ripening
≥3 mo

Made like Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template).

Red LeicesterLeicestershire

annatto

Milk
cow milk
Ripening
2–12 mo

Made like Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template).

Single Gloucester PDOGloucestershire

part-skimmed

Milk
cow milk, (Gloucester cattle in herd)
Ripening
~2 mo

Made like Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template).

Sparkenhoe Red LeicesterLeicestershire

clothbound

Milk
cow milk, raw
Ripening
~6 mo

Made like Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template).

Yorkshire Wensleydale PGIWensleydale

crumbly, moist, light press; historically sheep and blue

Milk
cow milk
Ripening
3 wk – 6 mo

Made like Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template).

Numbers come from cited sources and carry a label that says how each is known. How this atlas is made