Lancashire cheese

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, It is named after Beacon Fell within the designated area. ==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. ==Crumbly Lancashire==

In the 1950s, Crumbly Lancashire cheese was created. Unlike the other Lancashire varieties, this is made from a single day's milk and resembles other crumbly cheeses such as Cheshire 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==