Cover A competitor celebrates with a prized wheel of Double Gloucester at England's historic Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling event, where participants race down a steep slope in pursuit of the rolling prize. (Photo: Getty Images)
A competitor celebrates with a prized wheel of Double Gloucester at England's historic Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling event, where participants race down a steep slope in pursuit of the rolling prize. (Photo: Getty Images)
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Forget what you think you know about British food and check out these seven unmissable cheeses and pairing suggestions
Britain is not known for its cuisine—in fact, it’s an international joke that British food is limited, tasteless and beige. This is increasingly untrue, as evidenced by the number of global-award-winning British chefs there are in the world; but even if it were still the case, the same could not be said of British cheeses.
The French, famous for the likes of Camembert and Roquefort, like to boast that they have more than 360 cheeses—one for every day of the year. Well, the Brits can top that: the small island nation produces hundreds of varieties—some sources say upwards of 1,100—which is perhaps not surprising, given the first evidence of processing dairy products dates back to around 3800 BCE.
So, where do you begin? Here’s our guide to the British cheeses—four classics and three less familiar—you need to know.
Read more: The Italian cheese bible: how to pair and prep 8 iconic classics
Cheddar
Above Authentic Cheddar is a hard cheese originating from Somerset that offers a rich, crumbly and distinctively nutty flavour profile, far superior to standard factory varieties. (Photo: Getty Images)
Authentic Cheddar is a hard cheese originating from Somerset that offers a rich, crumbly and distinctively nutty flavour profile, far superior to standard factory varieties. (Photo: Getty Images)
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The OG British cheese—oft-copied, never equalled, this relatively hard cheese originated in the small village in Somerset, southwest England, that gives it its name; it was originally matured in the caves of Cheddar Gorge. It is thought to be the world’s most popular, most sold cheese, a statistic made possible by the number of producers around the world churning out a wide range of varieties.
Because it’s so ubiquitous, it has come to gain something of a reputation for blandness; I prefer to think of it as reliability: factory or supermarket Cheddar is the perfect addition to a sandwich or cheesy baked dish, it lends flavour without overwhelming other ingredients, and is brilliantly melty. But an authentic Cheddar is a different story: crumbly, nutty, crystalline; the ultimate element of a cheeseboard.
Stilton
Above Known for its sharp, tangy profile and pungent aroma, traditional blue Stilton holds a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status and pairs beautifully with sweet port wine. (Photo: Getty Images)
Known for its sharp, tangy profile and pungent aroma, traditional blue Stilton holds a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status and pairs beautifully with sweet port wine. (Photo: Getty Images)
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A traditional addition to dessert at Christmas lunch, Stilton is a sharp, tangy blue cheese (with a pungent aroma and after-taste) that can only be made in three central English counties, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, and that has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status for blue Stilton from the European Commission—even post-Brexit. (Ironically, the village from which it takes its name is in Cambridgeshire, so it can’t be made in its namesake location.)
A crumbly and melty cheese, when not appearing as a cheeseboard staple, Stilton can be added to soups and pastas or used as a pizza topping (similar to gorgonzola). It also melts evenly, so as a is traditionally paired with port—the saltiness of the cheese is beautifully countered by the wine’s sweetness, and so it works well with other sweet or dessert wines, such as sherry or Sauternes, while some swear by a full-bodied red.
Double Gloucester
Above Dating back to at least the 16th century, Double Gloucester is a semi-hard, buttery cheese traditionally crafted from the milk of Old Gloucester cows, making it as rich in heritage as it is in flavour. (Photo: Getty Images)
Dating back to at least the 16th century, Double Gloucester is a semi-hard, buttery cheese traditionally crafted from the milk of Old Gloucester cows, making it as rich in heritage as it is in flavour. (Photo: Getty Images)
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A semi-hard cheese that is believed to have been produced in the English county of Gloucestershire (say gloss-tuh-shuh) at least since the 16th century, double Gloucester is a buttery, slightly nutty variety traditionally made with the milk of the Old Gloucester breed of cow. The breed risked extinction until cheesemaker Charles Martell bought up many of the surviving cows and started making single Gloucester and Stinking Bishop—see below—from their milk.
A 3-4kg wheel of Double Gloucester—which can be made with milk from other breeds—is used in the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling event, which sees competitors race down a slope in pursuit of the rolling cheese.
For those who prefer their cheese to lie still on a plate, serve with sliced apples or pears, use it for cheese on toast or macaroni cheese, and serve with a full-bodied white wine, such as a chardonnay or light- to medium-bodied red like a pinot noir, while both a pale ale and a port can work well.
Read more: What is the ‘Rule of Threes’ when selecting cheeses for a charcuterie board?
Wensleydale
Above Hailing from Yorkshire, this crumbly, fresh-tasting cheese experienced a massive resurgence in popularity thanks to its fame as a stop-motion animation favorite. (Photo: Getty Images)
Hailing from Yorkshire, this crumbly, fresh-tasting cheese experienced a massive resurgence in popularity thanks to its fame as a stop-motion animation favorite. (Photo: Getty Images)
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Wensleydale has been made in England’s northern county of Yorkshire probably since the 12th century, most likely brought over by Cistercian monks who moved there to rebuild after William the Conqueror laid waste to area. While it is produced all over Britain, the variety known as Yorkshire Wensleydale can only be produced in the valley of that name. The cheese’s popularity waned in the 20th century, and it nearly vanished completely. Luckily, it just so happened to be the favourite cheese of the human lead in the stop-motion animation Wallace & Gromit, and interest was revived.
It is a crumbly, lightly acidic or citrussy, incredibly fresh-tasting cheese. Serve it with apples or grapes, and it tastes even tangier—you will often find a version with dried cranberries mixed; in while a drizzle of honey or a fruit jam will enhance its floral, sweet notes. It’s delicious with a light, zingy white such as sauvignon blanc, or a refreshing red like pinot noir, while a cider works wonderfully too.
Cornish Yarg
A relatively new cheese from the county of Cornwall, Cornish Yarg was first made in the 1980s, reportedly based on a 1600s recipe for the Welsh cheese Caerphilly. The crumbly, mushroomy semi-hard cheese is wrapped in stinging nettles while it matures, a method that attracts particular moulds and changing the acidity, thus creating the flavour. Far from a ye olde Englishe word with a fascinating meaning, the name comes from spelling the original cheesemaker’s surname backwards: Alan Gray.
Serve with a zingy white wine—a Grüner Veltliner or Albariño does the trick; a fruity rosé; or a cider, from Cornwall, of course, with toasted nuts and some sweeter fruit options—dried figs or ripe black grapes—to bring out the milky notes.
Stinking Bishop
Every cheese board needs at least one soft cheese and one smelly cheese; Stinking Bishop offers both in one scrumptious package. First produced in 1972 by Martell of Old Gloucester cattle fame, this is a rind-washed cheese that is immersed in perry, the name given to cider made from pears instead of apples. Like Wensleydale, the cheese gained wider attention after featuring in Wallace & Gromit, in the 2005 film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Despite the pungent smell, this is generally a relatively mild-tasting, slightly sweet cheese that pairs well with a perry or cider, a dark ale, or a dessert wine, depending whether you want to enhance or balance the natural sweetness.
Blue Murder
Eagle-eyed readers will note that this list so far only mentions English cheeses; there are, of course, dozens of British cheeses from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well. For just a taste of what’s on offer in Britain’s second largest country, Scotland (not to mention the name is just great), try Blue Murder.
Handmade in the Scottish Highlands, this is a velvety, slightly sweet cheese that serves as an entry-level blue for those who generally find the variety too overpowering. It works well in a salad of punchy greens, or with a drizzle of honey, paired with a hard-hitting red wine or even port.
