What Are the Best British Cheeses? Cheddar, Stilton, and Regional Styles

This part of the regional shelf covers Cheddar, the crumbly Caerphilly, Cheshire, Wensleydale and Lancashire, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester, and blue Stilton.

What Does a Protected Name Tell You About a British Cheese?

It tells you where the cheese was made, because each protected food name in the table below fixes one area of Wales or England. The milk rule differs: Traditional Welsh Caerphilly and Yorkshire Wensleydale may be made from raw or pasteurised milk, while Blue Stilton must be made from pasteurised milk.

Much Caerphilly comes from England, including Gorwydd from Somerset, which is sold as Caerphilly under its own name and not as Traditional Welsh Caerphilly.

Plain Wensleydale is made across the United Kingdom, and Crumbly Lancashire is made outside the county. On all three, the words Traditional Welsh, Yorkshire or Beacon Fell are the part of the label that places the make.

How Do Caerphilly, Cheshire, Wensleydale and Lancashire Differ?

Caerphilly is the Welsh one: its PGI specification calls Traditional Welsh Caerphilly the only native cheese of Wales. Cheshire is the oldest named British cheese in the Academy of Cheese's heritage project, Wensleydale does not melt like other cheese by its creamery's account, and Lancashire comes in three styles named Creamy, Tasty and Crumbly.

Lancashire's styles differ in the make: Creamy and Tasty blend curd from different days, while Crumbly is made from a single day's milk.

The Academy of Cheese points Wensleydale buyers to Cheshire, Caerphilly and Lancashire among other cheeses, but it says Wensleydale's citrusy sharpness and freshness set it apart from those three.

On Caerphilly, Lancashire and Cheshire, factory versions are described as drier than farmhouse ones, but not always as more crumbly. The Welsh Cheese Company calls industrial Caerphilly young, bland, dry and crumbly beside a moister handmade cheese, and The Courtyard Dairy calls modern Crumbly Lancashire a drier, more crumbly, tart cheese.

For Cheshire, Wikipedia says industrial versions tend to be drier and less crumbly, more like a mild cheddar. The Academy of Cheese adds that factory Cheshire tastes very similar to other mass-produced sharp, crumbly territorial cheeses such as Wensleydale.

For any of the three, ask whether your piece is farmhouse or factory before you judge its texture by the name.

How Do Cheddar, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester Differ?

The Dairy UK code of practice for named British cheeses sets them apart by water, texture and colour. Cheddar may hold up to 39% water, Red Leicester up to 42% and Double Gloucester up to 44%, and in the UK a cheese may carry one of these names only when its water and fat stay inside the code's limits and its character matches the description.

Red Leicester began on Leicestershire farms as a use for milk left over from Stilton making, and its orange colour has come from annatto since the 18th century.

The name no longer places the cheese. The Dairy UK code treats Leicester as a customary name with no place where it must be made, and Neal's Yard Dairy says more Red Leicester is now made outside Leicestershire than inside it.

Which British Cheeses Come in Blue Besides Stilton?

Besides Stilton, Cheshire and Wensleydale both have blue cheese versions. Wikipedia describes Blue Cheshire as having blue veins like Stilton while being less creamy, and says its production stopped in the late 1980s and has recently been revived.

Blue is the older style of Wensleydale and is rarely seen today. Wikipedia says the early cheese, made with a little ewes' milk in the mix, was almost always blue.

What Do British Makers and Shops Serve with These Cheeses?

For a British cheese board, ale is named for Lancashire, Cheshire, Wensleydale and Red Leicester, and sweet bakes come up for three of them: Eccles and Chorley cakes with Lancashire, Christmas cake with Wensleydale and apple pie with Cheshire.

For a rich fruit cake, Andy Swinscoe of The Courtyard Dairy picks a crumbly cheese about 2 to 3 months old, and he names Cheshire, Lancashire and Caerphilly alongside Wensleydale.

How Do British Makers and Shops Say to Keep These Cheeses?

Belton Farm, Cheese Etc. and The Cheese Society all say to keep the cheese in the fridge. The time limits start from different points: 10 to 14 days from opening for Cheese Etc., two weeks from delivery for The Courtyard Dairy, and a normal guarantee of 4 weeks for a Wensleydale Creamery pack.

The shops differ on pre-cut wedge wrapping. The Cheese Society says to avoid plastic wrap because cheese needs to breathe, while Cheese Etc. allows cling film for opened Wensleydale.

Which British Cheeses Have Their Own Profile Here?

The list below links British cheeses that have their own profile here. Type a name, or pick a country, milk or style, to narrow it.

The British Cheese Directory lists Acorn under Little Acorn in Bethania and classes it as a hard cheese made from unpasteurised sheep milk.

What Else Do People Ask About British Cheese?