Original: $9.47
-70%$9.47
$2.84The Story
Montgomery Cheddar — one of the last traditional cloth-bound farmhouse cheddars made in Somerset. Jamie Montgomery makes this cheese at Manor Farm, North Cadbury, using unpasteurised milk from his own herd of Holstein-Friesians, traditional animal rennet, and a pint starter culture that has been maintained on the farm for decades. There are only three remaining producers making cheddar this way in Somerset — Montgomery, Keen's and Westcombe — and Montgomery's is widely regarded as the benchmark.
The cheese is made by hand using the traditional cheddaring process: the curd is cut, stacked, turned and restacked in blocks to expel whey and develop the close, dense texture that defines real cheddar. Each wheel is then bound in cloth, lard-coated and aged for 12 to 24 months in stores on the farm. The cloth binding allows the cheese to breathe and develop a natural rind — the thick, grey-brown crust that industrial cheddar, sealed in plastic, never develops. This rind is not edible but it is the sign of a cheese that has matured properly.
The result is a cheddar with real depth. The paste is firm, slightly crumbly and golden, with calcium lactate crystals that give a pleasant crunch. The flavour is sharp and tangy with a long, nutty, savoury finish — bright and clean at the front, building into something deeper and more complex as it opens up on the palate. This is not a mild cheese and it is not trying to be. It is what cheddar was before industrialisation removed the character.
Origin: North Cadbury, Somerset, England
Ingredients: Unpasteurised cow's milk, salt, animal rennet, starter cultures.
Storage: Wrap in wax paper or cling film and refrigerate. Use within two to three weeks of cutting. Bring to room temperature before eating — at least 30 minutes.
Allergens: Milk (unpasteurised).
Description
Montgomery Cheddar — one of the last traditional cloth-bound farmhouse cheddars made in Somerset. Jamie Montgomery makes this cheese at Manor Farm, North Cadbury, using unpasteurised milk from his own herd of Holstein-Friesians, traditional animal rennet, and a pint starter culture that has been maintained on the farm for decades. There are only three remaining producers making cheddar this way in Somerset — Montgomery, Keen's and Westcombe — and Montgomery's is widely regarded as the benchmark.
The cheese is made by hand using the traditional cheddaring process: the curd is cut, stacked, turned and restacked in blocks to expel whey and develop the close, dense texture that defines real cheddar. Each wheel is then bound in cloth, lard-coated and aged for 12 to 24 months in stores on the farm. The cloth binding allows the cheese to breathe and develop a natural rind — the thick, grey-brown crust that industrial cheddar, sealed in plastic, never develops. This rind is not edible but it is the sign of a cheese that has matured properly.
The result is a cheddar with real depth. The paste is firm, slightly crumbly and golden, with calcium lactate crystals that give a pleasant crunch. The flavour is sharp and tangy with a long, nutty, savoury finish — bright and clean at the front, building into something deeper and more complex as it opens up on the palate. This is not a mild cheese and it is not trying to be. It is what cheddar was before industrialisation removed the character.
Origin: North Cadbury, Somerset, England
Ingredients: Unpasteurised cow's milk, salt, animal rennet, starter cultures.
Storage: Wrap in wax paper or cling film and refrigerate. Use within two to three weeks of cutting. Bring to room temperature before eating — at least 30 minutes.
Allergens: Milk (unpasteurised).
