Tower of whole and smaller cut pieces of cloth-bound Keen’s Cheddar cheese with a soft, pale golden-coloured paste

Close up of a cut Keen’s Cheddar cheese showing the dense, pale golden-coloured paste

Neal's Yard Dairy Selection Box packaging

Keen's Cheddar

A traditional farmhouse Cheddar characterised by a densely rich and creamy texture, and layers of flavour that can range from savoury and mustardy to juicy and bright, with a pleasing tang of acidity.

Clothbound with lard.

PORTION

250g

MINIMUM 250 g

500g

MINIMUM 500 g

1kg

MINIMUM 1000 g

2kg

MINIMUM 2000 g

Cake Layer 6cm x 34cm

MINIMUM 7100 g

Regular price £6.00 Sale

Quantity

- +

Spend over £29.50 to receive free delivery (England, Wales & Central Scotland)

Delivery Information

Standard delivery is free to most postcodes in the UK for orders over £29.50. Click here for a list of postcodes where additional delivery charges apply.

For orders under £29.50, standard delivery is £6.00.

Collection from our London shops is free - choose Shop Collection at checkout.

Choose your preferred delivery date at checkout. As we use third party couriers (typically DPD) we cannot guarantee the arrival day of your order but we will do our best to ensure that it arrives as close as possible to your chosen date. To be sure it arrives in time, we recommend choosing a date a couple of days ahead of when you would like to eat your cheese.

Download Crib Sheet

milk type
Cow

coagulant
Animal Rennet

milk treatment
Raw

location
Wincanton, Somerset

milk source
Own herd; Bought-in

breed
Crossbred

season
All year

average age
16-24 Months

cheesemakers
The Keen Family

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The Keen family has been making Cheddar cheese at Moorhayes Farm in Somerset since 1898, when George and Stephen's great-grandfather purchased the farm. George's son James Keen is the fifth generation to take up the cheesemaking mantle.

background

James Keen is the latest in a long line of Keens to be making traditional farmhouse Cheddar – once commonplace in Somerset, now something of a rare breed thanks to the centralisation of cheese-making in the years following World War II. Today the number of cheesemakers hand making traditional West Country Cheddar has dwindled to just four. The practice is in safe hands with the Keens, however: though George and Stephen remain very much involved, they are proud to be handing the reins over to James and to Stephen's son Nick, who manages the farm side of the business. In accordance with tradition, the cheese is made using a 'pint' starter (as opposed to the powders favoured by industrial cheesemakers) and the time-consuming process of 'cheddaring', the cutting, stacking and turning of the curds by hand to drain the whey away. Each wheel is wrapped in muslin cloth and rubbed with lard before being stowed on the wooden shelves of the cellar for a minimum of 11 months, during which time they are carefully tended and turned.

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our work with this cheese

We have worked closely with the Keens for decades and the 'midis' (half-sized Cheddars) we sell are made exclusively for Neal's Yard Dairy by the family. We typically sell Keen's Cheddar when it has been matured for 16 to 18 months, but we visit the farm on a monthly basis to taste the cheese and provide feedback.

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George Keen in the cheese store

Our Buyer, Bronwen, selecting cheese with George Keen.

Accompaniments

Biscuit Selection
£7.50

Rosebud Old Yorkshire Chutney
£4.95

Rosebud Piccalilli Chutney
£5.15

Serving Suggestions

Grate Keen's Cheddar over pan-fried mushrooms on toast.

Recipes

Mussels, cheddar, cider, cream, mustard & thyme

A quick one-pot dish from Scottish chef and Slow Food champion Neil Forbes.

FAQs

How much cheese to buy?

As a general rule of thumb, we would recommend roughly between 100 and 150 grams per person for after dinner, and a bit more if cheese is the focus of the meal. If you are buying cheese to serve over a couple of days or as part of a buffet, it is advisable to buy a few larger pieces. This will both look better and keep better than many small bits. To help visualise weights, a good tip is to consider that a regular supermarket pat of butter weighs between 200 and 250 grams. If you are at all unsure please give us a call for some advice.

How should I store my cheese?

The best option is to keep your cheese wrapped in its paper within a box in the fridge. This will prevent the cheese from drying out and absorbing other flavours. Your cheese will arrive wrapped in waxed cheese paper, which achieves the best possible balance between maintaining humidity around the cheese and allowing it to breathe. We are happy to provide some free extra cheese paper, just search for "cheese paper" and add it to your basket. We don't recommend cling film or foil as it can cause the cheese to sweat which will negatively affect the flavour.