This is a list of cheeses from the United Kingdom. The British Cheese Board (now part of Dairy UK) states that "there are over 700 named British cheeses produced in the UK."[1][better source needed] British cheese has become an important export.[2]
Blue cheeses
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mouldPenicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-grey or blue-green mould, and carries a distinct savour, either from the mould or various specially cultivated bacteria.
Devon Blue – a creamy blue cheese made by the Ticklemore Cheese Company using pasteurised cows milk, it is aged for four months.[10]
Dorset Blue Vinney (Protected Geographical Indication)[11] – a traditional blue cheese made near Sturminster Newton in Dorset, England, from skimmed cows' milk. It is a hard, crumbly cheese.
Dovedale (Protected Designation of Origin) – a full-fat semi-soft blue-veined cheese made from cow's milk, produced in the Peak District.
Exmoor Blue (Protected Geographical Indication)[6]
Harbourne Blue – has a crumby, dense and firm texture with 48% fat content.[12] It is a goat's cheese produced by Robin Congdon at Ticklemore Cheese Company in Devon,[13] near Totnes. It is made by hand using local milk.
Lymeswold was an English cheese variety that is no longer produced. The cheese was a soft, mild blue cheese with an edible white rind,[16] much like Brie, and was inspired by French cheeses. Production ceased in 1992.
Renegade Monk – an English, ale-washed, soft blue cheese made by Feltham's Farm from organic cow's milk. Winner of the Best British Cheese award at the 2020 Virtual Cheese Awards[18]
Shropshire Blue – blue cheese made from pasteurised cows' milk that is prepared using vegetable rennet.
Stichelton – English blue cheese similar to Blue Stilton cheese, except that it does not use pasteurised milk or factory-produced rennet.[19]
Stilton (Protected Designation of Origin) – English cheese, produced in two varieties: the blue variety is known for its characteristic strong smell and taste. The lesser-known white Stilton cheese is a milder, semi-soft cheese.
Granular cheese, or hard cheese, refers to a wide variety of cheeses produced by repeatedly stirring and draining a mixture of curd and whey. Some hard cheeses are aged for years.
Ashdown Foresters – cow's milk hard cheese made in England with a sweet, nutty flavour.
Caerphilly – light-coloured (almost white), crumbly cheese made from cow's milk, with a fat content around 48%. It has a mild taste, accented with slightly sour tang.
Cheddar – relatively hard, pale yellow to off-white (unless coloured with additives), and sometimes sharp-tasting. Originating in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset,[21] cheeses of this style are produced in many countries around the world.
Lancashire – cow's-milk cheese from the county of Lancashire, in three distinct varieties: young 'Creamy Lancashire' and mature 'Tasty Lancashire' are produced by a traditional method, whereas 'Crumbly Lancashire' (locally known as 'Lancashire Crumbly' ) is a more recent creation suitable for mass production.
Red Leicester – English cheese made in a similar manner to Cheddar cheese, although it is crumblier. Since the 18th century, it has been coloured orange by adding annatto extract during manufacture.
Staffordshire (Protected Designation of Origin) – crumbly white cheese from the county of Staffordshire.
Teviotdale (Protected Geographical Indication) – produced from the milk of Jersey cattle, although there are no known current producers of this cheese. It is a full fat, hard cheese produced in the area of Teviotdale on the border lands between Scotland and England, within 90 km from the summit of Peel Fell in the Cheviot Hills.[26]
Y Fenni – variety of Welsh cheese, consisting of Cheddar cheese blended with mustard seed and ale. It has a firm texture.
Cheeses that are classified as semi-hard to hard include Cheddar. Cheddar is one of a family of semi-hard or hard cheeses (including Cheshire and Gloucester), whose curd is cut, gently heated, piled, and stirred before being pressed into forms.
Coquetdale – full-fat semi-hard cheese, made from pasteurised cow's milk and vegetarian rennet.
Cornish Yarg – semi-hard cow's milk cheese made in Cornwall from the milk of Friesian cows. Before being left to mature, this cheese is wrapped in nettle leaves to form an edible, though mouldy, rind.
Derby – mild, semi-firm British cow's milk cheese made in Derbyshire with a smooth, mellow texture and a buttery flavour.
Little Derby – Derby-style cheese made outside Derbyshire, similar in flavour and texture to Cheddar, but without the annatto colouring used in Derby cheese.
Sage Derby – variety of Derby cheese that is mild, mottled green and semi-hard, and has a sage flavour. The colour is from sage and sometimes other colouring added to the curds, producing a marbling effect and a subtle herb flavour.
Gloucester cheese – traditional unpasteurised, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire, England, since the 16th century, at one time made only with the milk of the once nearly extinct Gloucester cattle. There are two types of Gloucester cheese: Single and Double; both are traditionally made from milk from Gloucestershire breed cows farmed within the English county of Gloucestershire.
Red Windsor – pale cream English cheddar cheese, made using pasteurised cow's milk marbled with a wine, often a Bordeaux wine or a blend of port wine and brandy.
Wensleydale – also produced as a blue cheese, and with many variants that include additions such as cranberries or ginger.
Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire (Protected Designation of Origin) – semi-soft cheese prepared with cow's milk that is produced in the region of Lancashire.[28]
Brie – soft cow's milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated.
Cornish Brie – type of brie-style, soft, white rinded cheese from Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
Caboc – Scottish cream cheese, made with double cream or cream-enriched milk. This rennet-free cheese is formed into a log shape and rolled in toasted pinhead oatmeal, to be served with oatcakes or dry toast.
Chevington – cow's milk cheese, made in Northumberland, England, by the Northumberland Cheese Company. It is semi-soft and mould-ripened.
Crowdie – low-fat Scottish cream cheese. The cheese is often eaten with oatcakes, and recommended before a ceilidh as it is said to alleviate the effects of whisky-drinking. The texture is soft and crumbly, the taste slightly sour.
Oxford Isis – full fat soft cheese with honey-mead washed rind.[29]
Parlick Fell – white cheese made from ewe's milk with a semi-soft, crumbly texture and a tangy, nutty flavour.[30]
Renegade Monk – an English, ale-washed, soft blue cheese made by Feltham's Farm from organic cow's milk. Winner of the Best British Cheese award at the 2020 Virtual Cheese Awards[18]
Stinking Bishop – award-winning, washed-rind cheese produced since 1994 by Charles Martell and Son at Hunts Court Farm, Dymock, Gloucestershire, in the south west of England.
MacIntosh, John (1894). Ayrshire Nights Entertainments: A Descriptive Guide to the History, Traditions, Antiquities, etc. of the County of Ayr. Kilmarnock. ISBN978-1348065241.
