WESTCOMBE CHEDDAR
• UNPASTEURISED COW’S MILK
• AGED 12 - 18 MONTHS
One of only three cheeses classed as ‘Artisan Somerset Cheddar’ by Slow Food UK, Westcombe Cheddar is our flagship cheese: a handcrafted, traditional clothbound cheddar made from unpasteurised milk right here in the hills of East Somerset.
Expressing the full character of Westcombe’s terroir, our Cheddar has a deep brothy flavour and mellow lactic tang. Notes of hazelnut, caramel and citrus come through on the long, smooth breakdown. It’s known locally as a 'five mile cheddar', as you’re still tasting it five miles down the road!
Rob and Tom checking the development of the curds.
Rob and Tom gathering the drained curds.
We make Westcombe Cheddar using fresh, unpasteurised cow’s milk. Our milking parlour is so close to the dairy, the milk goes into the vat still warm from the cows. We add rennet and traditional starter culture to separate the fresh milk into curds and whey.
Once deemed ready, the curds are drained, gathered, cut and stacked, forming slabs which are turned repeatedly. All of this is done solely by hand.
We use an old peg mill to break the slabs up, adding salt as we go. The salted curds are pressed into traditional cheddar moulds, then covered in lard and muslin before being moved to our dedicated ageing cellar.
We built a cellar into the thick clay hillside here at the dairy to give our cheeses the perfect environment to mature. Westcombe Cheddar is aged from between 12 to 18 months – basically until it tells us it’s ready.
Once the gathered curds have been cut, the slabs are repeatedly turned.
Jan wrapping the freshly pressed cheddars with lard and muslin cloth.