The Taste of Britain. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

      The name is taken from the village of Cheddar on the southern edge of the Mendips. Points to note are a long history, the apparently consistent excellence of the cheese, a cooperative system for its production, and the way in which the techniques associated with it have spread around the world, though often abused. The name may mislead, however. Although first-class in the parish of Cheddar itself, this cheese was from the outset made throughout the county and the wider region. The name, it is suggested, was attached to the cheese because the fame of Cheddar Gorge defined the district of origin.

      Medieval records demonstrate that cheese-making was already undertaken in the region, but more precise information is not forthcoming until the modern period. In the seventeenth century, the communal pooling of milk to make very large truckles was a matter of remark although few of them can have been as large as the cheese made for Lord Weymouth that ‘was big enough to hold a girl of 13’. All the milk was contributed to a common dairy, or ‘cheddar club’ which meant each cheese could be much larger than those from small, individual herds, so making them fit for long maturing, which accounts for their excellent flavour. This set Cheddar cheese apart from much of the competition. Already, by 1662, they were ‘so few and so dear [that they are] hardly to be met with, save at some great man’s table’ (Rance, 1982). The system was also sufficiently scouted to be hinted at in a play by Aphra Behn in the late seventeenth century. Its high reputation continued. Rance notes that in the early eighteenth century, Cheddar was described as ‘the most noted place in England for making large, fine, rich and pleasant cheese’ and that milk was brought into the common dairy and the quantities noted down in a book kept for the purpose. Profit from selling cheese was given back in proportion to the amount of milk each person contributed. Cooperative cheese-making continued until the First World War. Cheeses were indeed very large, weighing 90-120 pounds (45-60kg); cheeses of up to one and a half hundredweight (about 90kg) were noted in Law’s Grocer’s Manual in the late nineteenth century.

      Detailed accounts of the Cheddar method date from an agricultural report of the late eighteenth century, but an exact recipe was not written down (or has not survived) for another 50 years. None the less, the routines associated with the cheese may have spread beyond the region earlier than this implies. Improvements in agriculture in the late nineteenth century benefited the cheese-makers, who made advances in both techniques and equipment, including the invention of the cheese mill and careful work on time, temperature and hygiene. Once perfected, the method became so identified with the cheese that it was known as ‘cheddaring’. This was generously exported around the world by the British, who left a trail of upstart ‘Cheddars’ whenever they colonized an area deemed suitable for production.

      The centralization of cheese-making during 1939-45 had significant effects on Cheddar. Firstly, official requirements for cheese to be of a specified moisture content (to enhance keeping qualities) led to the elimination of moister types. Secondly, the number of farms who resumed production after the war was greatly reduced. The introduction of rindless, block cheeses and frequent use of pasteurized milk further reduced the unique characteristics of Cheddar made in South Western England. Proliferation of soi-disant Cheddars blurred the popular concept of the real thing.

      Farmhouse cheese-making survives in the area, although some of the operations are semi-industrial in scale. Some makers still use unpasteurized milk to make truckle cheeses. A recent development is the introduction of rennet of vegetable origin, to cope with the increased demand for vegetarian foods.

      The designation Cheddar is unprotected, and much inferior cheese is made elsewhere under this name. ‘West Country Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese’ has been awarded Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

      TECHNIQUE:

      Cheddar cheese is produced by many manufacturers, large and small, using the basic recipe with slight individual variations. Both pasteurized and unpasteurized milk are used, according to the maker’s preference. The milk is heated to about 21°C and inoculated with starter culture (1-2 per cent, 5-15 minutes ripening); rennet is added and stirred in. After 30-40 minutes, cutting is begun, gently, to give curd pieces the size of wheat grains; once cut, stirring begins as the heat is raised. The curds and whey are thoroughly heated in the vat, and the temperature increased to 40°C over 40-50 minutes; the curd is continuously stirred until the correct firmness is achieved (judging this can only be achieved by experience). Acidity at this point is crucial; once the correct level is achieved, stirring ceases; the curd starts to mat, and the whey is run off. Cutting and turning, or cheddaring, is carried out either in the vat, or on a shallow tray or cooler. The object is to expel as much whey as possible. Firstly a centre portion of curd is removed to create a drainage channel; then the remainder is cut into large blocks which are turned; after 5-10 minutes the blocks are cut into smaller strips which are turned and piled higher; this process of cutting and turning continues for up to 90 minutes until the curd is judged sufficiently cool, well drained and acid. The curd is put through a curd mill to break it up. The curd is turned with a fork to keep it friable and allow salt to be mixed evenly (1kg salt to 45kg curd). The curd is broken into small pieces and put into cloth-lined moulds. The moulds are piled on top of each other to commence pressing, then placed in horizontal gang presses (in which several cheeses are pressed at once); when the whey starts to be expelled, the pressure is increased for 24-48 hours; the cheese is turned out 2-4 hours after the first pressing; the cloth wrung out in warm water and replaced and the cheese returned to the press; the next day the cheese is bathed for 5-10 seconds in warm water and returned to the press with light pressure; later the same day, the cheese is changed into a dry cloth and greased with melted lard which is rubbed thoroughly into the surface of the cheese; then the cheese is pressed for another 24 hours; after removal from the press, another bandage is applied. Ripening is at 8-9°C and a relative humidity of 86°; the cheeses are turned every day and cleaned to remove mould.

      The production of block cheddar is similar until the moulding stage is reached. Then it is pressed into blocks. On removal from the press, it is wrapped in film to exclude air, and the cheeses are then strapped under pressure and transferred to the ripening room.

      Cheddars sell at various degrees of maturity: mild (6 months after making); mature (9-12 months); extra-mature (over 12 months).

      REGION OF PRODUCTION:

      SOUTH WEST ENGLAND.

      Clotted Cream and Clotted-Cream Butter

      DESCRIPTION:

      CLOTTED CREAM IS THICK, WITH A SOLID, PALE GOLDEN CRUST. IT CONTAINS 55-60 PER CENT BUTTERFAT.

      HISTORY:

      Clotting cream is really a means of lightly preserving it; when ordinary cream has been transformed into clotted cream it will keep in a cool place for about 2 weeks, as opposed to a few days. The method is probably very ancient and similar products are known in western Asia. Early references to clotted, or clouted, cream can be found in English texts from the sixteenth century onwards. The first mention cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is Boorde’s Dyetary of Helth (1542). A multitude of descriptions and references exist from the seventeenth century and later. Even the earliest references make clear that it was a regional product. Recipes show that the method for making it has remained essentially unchanged for 400 years.

      This is a region with a mild climate, rich pasture lands, and a traditional cattle breed yielding milk with a high butterfat content, all factors conducive to the development of specialist dairy produce. Law’s Grocer’s Manual (c. 1895) remarks on ‘the increasing fancy for this delicacy’; that a regular sale for it was springing up in all large towns, and that the best was thought to come from Devon, notably the area around Ilfracombe. The cream was packed in small glazed pots for export to other parts of the country. Although the presumption is that clotted cream comes from Devon, it is equally known and long-established in Cornwall. The Devon connection probably took first place simply because it was the larger county, with wider connections to the country at large.

      Once clotted, it was claimed the crust was