(7) One of the purest English Territorial cheese, BEACON FELL TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE

I thought that it would be good to talk about a cheese closer to home for once. The BEACON FELL TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE is certainly the cheese resembling more its original. By this I mean that with only minor adjustments due to modern regulations and requirements, as well as the inherent changes brought by the milk quality, this cheese has been constant. The refusal of some rare and traditional producers to ease their life and make an easy product created a gem that needs more than the European Union protection.

Please find below some information about the BEACON FELL TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE, and I hope that this will help its spread, there is no need to worry about quality!

Quintessentially English

History

There has been cheesemaking in this area of England for a few centuries and it was in 1179 that Preston was awarded its first Royal Charter for fairs and markets. Traditional Lancashire was first made on the farms of the Fylde, north of the river Ribble. This was a farm produce and as such was not made in a consistent way throughout the area and in 1892 Joseph Gornall was commissioned by Lancashire County Council to unite farmers and firm the production method. It is still done today the same way, although there have been some minor improvements facilitated by modern technology. However, because of the two world wars, the cheese almost died out and this was followed by imitation Lancashire cheese created by industrial dairies for profit with a crumbly texture and an acidic flavour; this created a bastion mentality and reinforced the fact that it is made in only a few farms or local dairies with a relatively low output, this requires high labour but it is worth it.

Area of Production

The area of production of Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire is composed of the Fylde area and of the districts of Blackpool and Preston, in the middle of the County of Lancashire north of the River Ribble. It is a flat area with a slight elevation in the north-east corner, where the Beacon Fell Country Park is located, otherwise it is mainly lush grazing pastures, agricultural fields, and soft water. It has high rainfall and reasonably mild climate due to the Gulf Stream.

About its production method

The milk is brought to body temperature and slowly stirred with the starter. Once the acidity level is reached, rennet is added, and coagulation achieved. Then cutting is done to the size of a broad bean, drainage is done depending on the acidity level. The curd grains are then lightly pressed and broken again and again four to five times until dry enough, with increasing pressure. Some curd will be kept for one or two days at around 20oc; in all, three days of curds are mixed equally at the milling and salting stage. The cheese is moulded by pressing, lasting 2 days, and it is finished with the help of cheese cloth and waxed or buttered. Maturation is done for a minimum of 4 weeks and is fully mature after 6 months.

This cheese is usually of medium size and covered with fat on a cloth, used to create a rind and protect the precious paste. This is uniform and cream coloured, it looks like a typical hard cheese but it is smooth and buttery, once really matured it is almost spreadable with a touch of tanginess and a feel of onion with a soupcon of herbaceous character.

Safe keeping: keep in the refrigerator and consume within a few days, wrap the cheese well.

Statistics: 5 farms, 6 dairies, 1650 tonnes (2007)