Raw milk from local herds of Friesian cattle is delivered to the creamery first thing in the morning, and transferred into a large vat. Remaining unpasteurised, it is heated fast to around 32ºC, and then a combination of four starter cultures is added to begin the fermentation, which is then left to take effect over 30 minutes to an hour. (In times gone by, some of the whey saved from the previous day’s production would have been used to start the milk fermenting.) After the milk itself, the starters have the greatest influence on the flavour and appearance of the finished product.

A vegetarian rennet is added. This is what helps the curds and whey to separate. Traditionally, rennet was an animal product made from the stomach lining of new-born female calves. The vegetarian version is derived from any of a number of various plant sources.

The milk is then left for an hour, until it has coagulated to a gently solid consistency, something like set yoghurt. At this point, the cutting process begins. The cheesemaker draws a wired instrument through the vat to cut up the curd as it separates from the whey. At this point, the curds are a knobbly mass that looks a little like cottage cheese. The bigger the curd pieces are at this stage, the softer the resulting cheese will be.

The vat is heated once more, and left for around 75 minutes before being stirred again. The final acidity of the cheese is being determined at this point. A finely judged quotient of lactic acid will give the finished cheese its characteristic tang. The liquid whey (about 90% of the original mass) is now drained out of the vat, leaving the creamy yellow curds in the bottom.

Cheddaring

What happens next is the process known as cheddaring, by which as much of the residual whey is expressed out of the curds as possible by a very specific procedure. Firstly, the curds are shovelled on to a long, slightly sloping cooling table. A channel is dug down the centre of the curd to allow first drainage. After this, the curd is cut up roughly into rectangular blocks, which are piled on to each other in two rows like bricks in a wall. By this means, the weight of the blocks on one another continues to squeeze out more moisture, while the underside of each block develops a smooth surface in contact with the cooling table.

Every ten minutes or so, the blocks are cut again and turned over, ensuring that moisture expulsion happens evenly throughout each block. The rate at which the blocks are turned is a critical decision, and one that comes from years of experience in cheesemaking. They eventually have a texture something like lightly cooked chicken breast, at which point the cheese is milled.

Salting

Milling breaks up the curd again, and is carried out in a machine fitted with a pegged spindle. It is at this point that the cheese is salted, the milling also ensuring that the salt is distributed evenly through the curd. Apart from its subtle seasoning influence on the cheese, the salt also has the effect of decelerating and then stopping the further production of lactic acid.

Pressing and maturing

After this, the curd is transferred into cloth-lined moulds for pressing. These moulds are then pressed against each other horizontally to encourage further drainage. They are initially left overnight, and then dipped in hot water and turned out. The cloth leaves the curd with a crazed surface, which will need to be smoothed, and so the curd then goes back into the mould and back on to the press. It is pressed once more until its surface has smoothed again, and then a coating of cheesecloth is put on before it returns to the press.

When the pressing stage is complete, the wrapped cheeses go into storage to begin their maturation. More moisture is lost, altering the texture of the cheese, and it begins to form a rind. The cheeses are turned after their first week in storage, but as they acquire firmer and firmer texture, the turning becomes less frequent. From weekly, it drops to three-weekly. This turning ensures even drying of the cheese, even rind formation and uniformity of flavour throughout.

At Cheddar Gorge, the maturation room is kept at a steady average temperature of 11ºC (most commercial Cheddar matures at about 8ºC), and at 85-90% humidity. Lower humidity would cause the cheeses to crack, whereas any higher would result in cheeses that would, in the evocative words of company director John Spencer, have a “Jimi Hendrix look”.

And tasting!

While maturing, the cheeses are regularly tasted using a cheese-iron, a rod-like implement that it is inserted into the cheeses and extracts a stick of cheese as a tasting sample. The firmer-textured cheeses will be those that have the greatest maturation potential. Legally, Cheddar must be lower than 39% moisture content to ensure its keeping qualities. Cheddar Gorge undercuts that maximum by some way, theirs typically being in the region of 34-35%.

Styles span the age range. The fine-textured, buttery Mild is five to six months old, the Medium with its strong aftertaste is eight to nine months, the more complex Mature is 10-12 months old, while the Vintage – aged for between 12 and 16 months – is intensely savoury, with a gently warming quality on the back palate, and an aftertaste that hints at mustard.

Flavoured Cheddars are also produced. Unlike many flavour-added Cheddars, the natural flavouring elements are added during the milling, in order to allow the flavours to permeate. These cheeses are typically matured as far as the Mild state.

The “Splosh of Port” Cheddar isn’t deep red, as some port-flavoured cheeses are, because the acidity of the cheese bleaches out the colour over time. The Smoked version is properly cold-smoked over oak chippings from broken-up Scotch whisky barrels, as opposed to being sprayed with smoke flavour, as is the case with mass-produced smoked Cheddars. Other flavours are: Red Onion and Tomato; Wild Garlic and Herbs; and Cider, Garlic and Chives. These last three are especially good for grating on to hot jacket potatoes.

Cheesemaking is carried on all year round, except at Christmas. One cheesemaker, Andy Paton, sees the process through single-handedly from the arrival of the milk to the start of maturation. When he takes a holiday, John Spencer leaves off his directorial duties to step into the breach.