Speciality Magazine – “How We Make”

 Ever wanted to know what makes Traditional Lancashire Cheese so creamy?

Ian Coggin, Sales Director at Dewlay comments on the methods needed to create the North West’s favourite cheese.

Despite many regional cheeses falling out of favour with British consumers, Traditional creamy Lancashire has managed to buck the trend with its distinct methods and taste. Although many consumers are selecting Cheddar as their first choice, Lancashire shoppers have decided to stay close to their roots and still buy local. “Historically, Lancastrians have always understood this cheese and they would often go to market stalls and independent shops week- in week-out to buy this variety. They didn’t, and still don’t see Cheddar as a staple. Despite Territorials having  a hard time right now, Lancashire has always maintained its popularity”.

Dewlay is one of only eight producers that still make the cheese in the Traditional way within the classic Preston postcode. Dewlay has been making its own variety at Garstang since 1957 to the exact technique that was discovered over 100 years ago. Ian describes this one-of-a-kind formula. “The Recipe and method of Lancashire cheese is absolutely unique within the UK. Traditionally, it takes about a gallon of milk to make a pound of cheese, but in the 19th Century, small Lancashire farms couldn’t produce enough milk to make what the traders were looking for; a 40 pound Farmhouse Trad. Therefore milk supplies were kept for two/three days to store enough for a single cheese. These storage conditions were not always perfect and the milk would deteriorate, resulting in variable quality of cheese”

To combat this problem, Joseph Gornall, the “Hero” of Lancashire cheese travelled to America to discover how they were able to produce cheeses of a consistent quality. As a result of his travels, he developed the “Gornall” method where from day one you turn whatever milk you’ve got into curd, blend the old and new curd together, then add some salt to create the finished cheese. “The process is very tricky and you only use a small amount of starter culture to ripen it. Having the curd open slowly means the characteristics gradually develop in harmony. You’ve got to nurse it to get the result you’re looking for” comments Ian. The storage temperature is between 4 and 8 degrees Celcius. The storage time for mild cheese is six-twelve weeks approximately, whereas the mature cheese storage time is 12-52 weeks depending on a customer’s flavour profile.

In keeping with retail trends, Dewlay now offers Traditional Creamy Lancashire grated, sliced and in 200g and 400g prepacks