Gloucester cheese


Gloucester is a traditional, 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.
Both types have a natural rind and a hard texture, but Single Gloucester is more crumbly, lighter in texture and lower in fat. Double Gloucester is allowed to age for longer periods than Single, and it has a stronger and more savoury flavour. It is also slightly firmer. The flower known as Lady’s Bedstraw, was responsible for the distinctively yellow colour of Double Gloucester Cheese. In the United Kingdom today, of these two types of cheese, it is the "Double Gloucester" which is more likely to be sold in supermarkets. Both types are produced in round shapes, but Double Gloucester rounds are larger. Traditionally whereas the Double Gloucester was a prized cheese comparable in quality to the best Cheddar or Cheshire, and was exported out of the County, Single Gloucester tended to be consumed within Gloucestershire.
Most Double Gloucester sold in UK supermarkets is slab cheese, made in large creameries operated by major dairy companies such as Dairy Crest. Supermarkets normally sell Double Gloucester under their own store brand. This version of the cheese is pasteurised, but not processed.

Variations

Double Gloucester is often blended with other ingredients. One variety made by blending with chives and spring onions has been marketed as Cotswold cheese, though this is not a traditional English cheese name. This cheese is supposedly coloured similarly to Cotswold stone.
Huntsman cheese, also known as Stilchester, is made with alternating layers of Double Gloucester and Stilton.

Origin of double and single names

The reason is not known for the two types of Gloucester cheese being called 'double' and 'single'. The main theories are:
Double Gloucester cheese is also used every spring for the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, a sport considered to be dangerous due to the lengthy, steep Gloucestershire hillside in which the event takes place.