The statesman of the farm, Montgomery’s Cheddar is the epitome of traditional, handmade, unpasteurised Somerset cheddar. Its deep, rich, nut flavours have won worldwide acclaim.
The cheese is made 7 days a week to ensure the freshness of the milk and Jamie uses the same strains of starter culture as his grandfather did 100 years ago. He is one of the few cheesemakers who still uses calf rennet to set the curds, and he is almost unique in using a peg mill to break up the cheddared curd which gives the cheese its brittle, broken texture.
About 120 cheeses are made each week with the milk produced by the Montgomery’s 200 Friesian cows. Most are matured for 12 months wrapped in muslin cloth on wooden shelves. Some are matured for 18 months for an extra special cheddar.
Sometimes you may find a bit of blue in these ultra traditional cheddars. This is quite normal, and the cheese may even be tastier because of it