Lancashire is an English cow's-milk
cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
from the county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. There are three distinct varieties of Lancashire cheese. Young ''Creamy Lancashire'' and mature ''Tasty Lancashire'' are produced by a traditional method, whereas ''Crumbly Lancashire'' (more commonly known as ''Lancashire Crumbly'' within Lancashire) is a more recent creation suitable for
mass production.
It is traditionally paired with
Eccles cakes and
Chorley cakes.
Creamy Lancashire
For centuries, Lancashire dairy farmers' wives made cheese from surplus milk. On small farms there was insufficient milk from a single day to make a cheese, and so each day's milk was curdled and accumulated for several days until there was enough
curd to make a cheese. Uniquely amongst all British cheeses, two or three days' curd of varying maturity are blended together, giving Lancashire cheese a distinctive character. The traditional method was standardised in the 1890s by Joseph Gornall of
Garstang and
Pilling, a county council employee, who visited many Lancashire farms to establish a method and recipe that is still used today – the "Gornall method".
His "Gornall Patent Cheesemaker" was sold between 1892 and 1919.
Creamy Lancashire cheese is made by this traditional method and matured for a period of four to twelve weeks. It has a fluffy texture and creamy flavour, and is good for toasting,
[ as it does not become stringy when melted.
Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese is a Protected Designation of Origin name. The name can be used only for cheese made with milk from an area north of the River Ribble including the Fylde, Preston, and ]Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
and made in the same area by a designated method. The verbatim PDO-registered name is "Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese".
Tasty Lancashire
Tasty Lancashire cheese is made by the same traditional method as Creamy Lancashire, but is matured for longer, from 12 weeks to 24 months. It has a mature nutty taste.[
Leigh Cheese was a version of Lancashire Cheese that ceased production in the 19th century.]
Crumbly Lancashire
In the 1950s, Crumbly Lancashire cheese was created.Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
and Wensleydale. It is the only Lancashire cheese that is produced outside the county of Lancashire.[ It tends to be matured for only 6–8 weeks, resulting in a crumbly, fresh, high-acid cheese.
]
See also
* List of British cheeses
* List of cheeses
References
{{portalbar, Food, England, United Kingdom
English cheeses
Cow's-milk cheeses
Lancashire cuisine