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Cheddar Cheese

The Basics

The most well-known cheese in the world has achieved global recognition because versions of it are made all over the world. There is Irish, Canadian and New Zealand Cheddar, but it all stems from one small village, where the technique for making it first developed. Cheddar may not quite be England’s oldest known cheese (that honour belongs to Cheshire), but it was certainly known as far back as the 13th century, and is the style that the world took to its heart.

cheddar cheese silhouette
Today, there is only one cheese producer left in the village of Cheddar itself, still making the cheese to time-honoured methods from unpasteurised milk, and maturing it for anything up to 18 months to achieve the rich, powerful intensity of flavour that makes Cheddar one of the stars of a good cheeseboard.

Cheddar is also noted for its network of caves, put on the map by explorer Richard Gough in the late 19th century. These became the centre of a tourist industry that thrives to this day, when a trip through the cathedral-like Gough’s Cave should sharpen your appetite for a nibble of that iconic cheese.