Staffordshire Cheese is a unique and wonderful traditionally made cheese by The Staffordshire Cheese Company under the watchful eye of Mary Button and her small team of dedicated Cheesemakers.
The origins of Staffordshire Cheese dates back to Cistercian monks who settled in Leek, Staffordshire in the early 13th century bringing their self-sufficient lifestyle and cheese-making skills to the area.
The Staffordshire Cheese Company are delighted to have revived this traditional recipe lost, as so many cheese recipes were in the post-war years, and it’s their hope to rekindle the interest in not only local food heritage but also in artisan made cheeses.
The county of Staffordshire has a warm, wet, climate and a carboniferous limestone terrain substructure with a high rock salt content producing lush grazing pasture. Only the milk and cream from the cows grazing on this pasture is used to produce Staffordshire Cheese, creating a distinctive texture and flavour.
Staffordshire Cheese curds are gently pressed in a muslin cloth-lined mould to give a crumbly, semi-hard cheese. These cheeses are then gently removed from the moulds before being allowed to mature for up to two to three months it’s turning taking place every day for the first couple of weeks and then twice weekly then on.
Staffordshire Cheese has a fresh, creamy character with gentle hints of citrus giving it a distinctive flavour all of its own. It stands apart from its neighbouring counties – Cheshire Cheeses tend to be sharper and more acidic, while Derbyshire styles are generally richer and creamier.
