Cheshire Cheese: Red, White and Blue Types, Flavor and Uses

Most of what is made is white; red is the same cheese colored orange, and blue is the rare one.

The texture is the point. Cheshire is dense yet moist, and it breaks into loose flakes instead of slicing cleanly, so it suits a crumble over food or a quick melt better than a thin slice on a sandwich.

Cheshire cheese at a glance

Here is Cheshire cheese at a glance, with the figures taken from the sources listed at the end.

Is Cheshire cheese England's oldest cheese?

Cheshire cheese has a long record, but it is not in Domesday Book. Wikipedia's entry on the cheese says the story that Domesday Book (1086) mentions it is a myth, and food historian Andrew Dalby, quoted by CooksInfo, calls it nonsense. Some cheese-seller pages still repeat the claim.

The earliest documented mention is from the 1580s: Wikipedia credits Thomas Muffet, who named it with a Shropshire cheese in Health's Improvement (c. 1580), and CooksInfo gives 1586 from the Oxford English Dictionary. So Cheshire is one of the oldest recorded named English cheeses, and "oldest" is the part to treat carefully.

Cheshire was once a big business. Wikipedia gives production of about 10,000 tonnes in 1823, 12,000 tons in 1870 and a peak of 40,000 tonnes in 1960, against about 6,000 tonnes a year now. Blue Cheshire was a favorite in London clubs from the Georgian period, but making it stopped in the late 1980s, and several makers have revived it since.

How Cheshire cheese is made

Cheshire cheese is made by cutting and scalding the curd, then breaking it up rather than stacking it as Cheddar makers do. Culture magazine's profile of Appleby's Cheshire describes the sequence: the curds are stirred until the acidity is right, cut into blocks and broken, salted, milled, put into cloth-lined cylindrical molds, pressed overnight and pressed again the next day, then unmolded and bound in calico.

That loose, broken curd is why the cheese flakes. CooksInfo adds that evening milk stands overnight and is combined with morning milk, and that the cheese is pressed for one to two days. Most Cheshire is ripened for one to two months, though many farmhouse producers hold it for 4 to 9 months. Appleby's sells small wheels at a minimum of six weeks and its large 62 lb cheeses at two to ten months.

Red, white and blue Cheshire cheese

Red, white and blue Cheshire cheese are the three types, and only the blue is a genuinely different cheese. White is the original and makes up most of the production. Red is white Cheshire colored with annatto, a natural coloring from a South American shrub that has been used in Cheshire for centuries, to a deep orange. Culture magazine describes the paste of Appleby's as ranging from gentle orange when dyed to creamy off-white when not.

Blue Cheshire has its own history. Its veins form naturally, CooksInfo says, and it is milder than Stilton; it is locally called "Blue Fade" or "Green Fade." It is hard to find in the US, so treat it as a special order.

Some regions have a favorite: CooksInfo says white is preferred in southern England and red in the north. If you want to compare another orange English cheese, Red Leicester is the usual one on the shelf.

How Cheshire cheese tastes

Cheshire cheese tastes mild and mildly salty, with a moist, crumbly body. Wikipedia describes it as "dense and semi-hard, with a moist, crumbly texture and mild, salty taste," and CooksInfo says the flavor sharpens with age and becomes a bit more complex than cheddar.

Culture magazine describes Appleby's as firm yet moist and flaky, rich and minerally, with savory vegetable notes of grass, and mellow enough to be very accessible. A young wheel is the one to eat in thick crumbles; an older farmhouse one has more bite and is better with something sweet.

How to buy Cheshire cheese in the US

Buying Cheshire cheese in the US usually means a specialty shop or a cheese counter that imports British farmhouse cheeses, since few supermarkets carry it. Ask for it by color, and ask how old it is: a one- to two-month wheel is mild and soft, while a farmhouse wheel aged for months is sharper.

Look for a moist, flaky cut with an even color. A paste that looks dried out, chalky or cracked will taste flat. Whole cheeses can be cloth-bound, which is traditional, so a cut piece may still carry a bit of the rind. If you cannot find Cheshire, the substitutes below are easier to get.

How to cook with Cheshire cheese

Cheshire cheese works for crumbling over salads, for a board with apples, chutney and crusty bread, and for cheese on toast. CooksInfo calls it one of the best cheeses for a cheese sauce and says it melts well, so it is worth trying in a sauce for vegetables or in a gratin.

For a sauce, grate it and stir it in off the heat so it stays smooth. Do not over-age a white one: CooksInfo notes that white varieties need watching during aging so they do not turn bitter, which is also a reason to buy a mild young piece for cooking.

Traditional partners are fruit cake and apples, and a dark ale suits a Cheshire with some age, per Culture magazine. The pairing guide has wine and beer matches for other cheeses.

Cheshire cheese substitutes

Cheshire cheese substitutes should be mild, moist and crumbly, and CooksInfo lists Cheddar, Caerphilly and Lancashire. Caerphilly is the lightest of those and the best for crumbling over salad. Lancashire is the closest in how it melts, and it makes a good Cheshire-style cheese on toast. Wensleydale is another crumbly option from the north of England.

For a cheese sauce, a mild white cheddar works well, though it is firmer and sharper. For a red board cheese, Red Leicester gives the same orange color. The substitute finder covers more swaps, and the British and Irish cheeses page shows where else to look.

What most Cheshire cheese advice gets wrong

Most Cheshire cheese advice repeats three things that are worth correcting.

The Domesday claim is a myth

The Domesday claim about Cheshire cheese is a myth, even though it appears on some cheesemaker pages. The documented trail starts in the 1580s, which is still old, and it is the safer thing to say.

Red Cheshire cheese is a coloring, not a different recipe

Red Cheshire cheese is white Cheshire colored with annatto, so shade tells you little about quality. Choose by age, moisture and the look of the cut face instead, and expect red and white to behave the same way in the kitchen.

Cheshire cheese is not always young and bland

Cheshire cheese is not always a young, bland cheese: farmhouse producers age it for 4 to 9 months, according to CooksInfo, and the flavor sharpens as it does. If a mild Cheshire disappointed you, an older farmhouse wheel is a different experience.

Questions about Cheshire cheese

These are the questions about Cheshire cheese that come up most.

Is Cheshire cheese the oldest British cheese?

Cheshire cheese is one of the oldest recorded named English cheeses, first documented in the 1580s, but the Domesday Book story is a myth.

What is the difference between red and white Cheshire cheese?

The difference between red and white Cheshire cheese is color: red is white Cheshire colored orange with annatto.

What does Cheshire cheese taste like?

Cheshire cheese tastes mild and mildly salty, with a moist, crumbly texture that sharpens and gets more complex as it ages.

Is Cheshire cheese good for cheese sauce?

Cheshire cheese is good for cheese sauce: CooksInfo calls it one of the best for the job and says it melts well. Grate it and stir it in off the heat.

What is a good Cheshire cheese substitute?

A good Cheshire cheese substitute is Lancashire, Caerphilly or a mild white cheddar, which are the closest in texture and mildness.

Does blue Cheshire cheese exist?

Blue Cheshire cheese exists but is rare: making it stopped in the late 1980s and several English makers have revived it. It is milder than Stilton.

Your first Cheshire cheese

For your first Cheshire cheese, buy a small piece of white or red from a counter that can tell you its age, crumble some over a salad and melt the rest on toast. Keep what is left wrapped in parchment in the fridge and eat it within a week or two, using the guide to storing cheese for wraps. Then try an older farmhouse wheel beside it.