Everything about Cheshire Cheese totally explained
Cheshire cheese is a dense and crumbly cheese produced in the
English county of
Cheshire, and four neighbouring counties, two in
Wales (
Denbighshire and
Flintshire) and two in England (
Shropshire and
Staffordshire).
History
Cheshire cheese is the one of the oldest recorded
cheeses in
British history and is referred to in the
Domesday Book. This is no surprise given that even today the county is one of the main dairy regions of England, and has a long history of salt production.
Cheshire was the most popular cheese on the market in the late eighteenth century. In
1758 the
Royal Navy ordered that ships be stocked with Cheshire and
Gloucester cheeses. By
1823, Cheshire cheese production was estimated at 10,000 tonnes per year.
Until the late 19th century, the different varieties of Cheshire Cheeses were aged to a sufficient level of hardness to withstand the rigours of transport (by horse and cart, and later by boat) to London for trading purposes. Younger, fresher, crumbly cheese that required shorter storage – similar to the Cheshire cheese of today - began to develop in popularity towards the end of the 19th century particularly in the industrial areas in the North and the Midlands. It was a cheaper cheese to make as it required less storage.
Sales of Cheshire peaked at around 40,000 tonnes in
1960, subsequently declining as the range of cheeses available in the UK grew considerably. Cheshire Cheese remains the UK’s largest selling crumbly cheese, with sales of around 6,500 tonnes per year.
The county remains an important centre for cheese, with some excellent cheesemongers, and, in the
Nantwich International Cheese Show, it has the most important cheese event in the UK.
Form
Cheshire is a dense, semi-hard cheese that's defined by its moist, crumbly texture and mild, salty taste. Industrial versions tend to be drier and less crumbly, more like a mild
Cheddar, as this makes them easier to process than the traditional texture.
It comes in three varieties: red, white and blue. The original plain white version accounts for the majority of production. "Red" Cheshire, coloured with
annatto to a shade of deep orange, was developed in the hills of North Wales and sold to travellers on the road to
Holyhead. This trade was so successful that the travellers came to believe that all Cheshire cheese was orange, and producers in its home county were obliged to dye their cheese in order to match the expectations of the market!
Blue Cheshire has blue veins like
Stilton or
Shropshire blue, but is less creamy than Stilton and isn't dyed orange like Shropshire Blue. It has a long history but production ceased in the late 1980's. Recently it has been revived by the Bourne family of
Malpas.
Cheshire cheese is considered by some to be a variety of
Cheddar cheese, although Cheshire cheese isn't aged as long as most cheddars and has a very different texture. Others regard the 'Cheshire family' as a distinct group, which includes other crumbly cheeses from the North of England such as
Wensleydale and
Lancashire cheese.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cheshire Cheese'.
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