Cheshire

Cheshire
Country of origin	England
Region, town	Cheshire
Source of milk	Cows
Pasteurised	Frequently
Texture	hard crumbly
Aging time	4-8 weeks depending on variety
Certification	No

Cheshire (pronounced /ˈtʃɛʃə/) 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 is 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 18th century. In 1758 the Royal Navy ordered that ships be stocked with Cheshire and Gloucester cheeses. By 1823, Cheshire 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 sale. Younger, fresher, crumbly cheese that required shorter storage – similar to the Cheshire cheese of today - began to gain 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 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 and holds the Nantwich International Cheese Show.

Form

Cheshire is dense and semi-hard, and is defined by its moist, crumbly texture and mild, salty taste. Industrial versions tend to be drier and less crumbly, more like a mild Cheddar cheese, as this makes them easier to process than cheese with the traditional texture.

Cheshire 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 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 is not coloured orange as Shropshire Blue is. It has a long history, but production ceased in the late 1980s.cheshire cheese is made up of cow's milk which feed mainly on wild radish. Recently it has been revived by Joseph Heler cheese.^[1] and the Bourne family of Malpas.^[2]

Cheshire is considered by some^[who?] to be a variety of Cheddar cheese, although Cheshire is not aged as long as most Cheddars and has a very different texture. Others refer to a Cheshire family of cheeses, a distinct group that includes other crumbly cheeses from the North of England such as Wensleydale and Lancashire cheese.

See also

• Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - a historic pub in London, located in an alley off Fleet Street. The name has been mimicked by other similar businesses.

References

External links

• Cheese and the Navy
• British Cheese