Westcombe Cheddar
milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw or Pasteurised Cow's MILK, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Animal Rennet, Clothbound with Lard
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw or Pasteurised
location
Evercreech, Somerset
milk source
Own herd
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milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw or Pasteurised Cow's MILK, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Animal Rennet, Clothbound with Lard
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw or Pasteurised
location
Evercreech, Somerset
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein; Dairy Shorthorn
season
All year
average age
12-14 Months
cheesemakers
Rob Howard; The Calver Family
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Westcombe Dairy's maturing cave is equipped with Cheddar-turning robot, nicknamed Tina the Turner.
Background
Cheddar has been made at Westcombe Farm since the late 19th century. After dabbling briefly in the manufacture of block Cheddar in the 1970s, Richard Calver decided in 1999 to return to producin...
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Cheddar has been made at Westcombe Farm since the late 19th century. After dabbling briefly in the manufacture of block Cheddar in the 1970s, Richard Calver decided in 1999 to return to producing clothbound cheese. When Richard's son Tom joined the business, he brought with him a chef's training and experience of working in Neal's Yard Dairy. Tom set about examining every aspect of its process, from the quality of the milk to building a new maturing cave. This project commenced in 2014 and uses technology from France and includes the UK's first cheese-turning robot named Tina. There was no precedent for using cheese-turning robots on clothbound cheese, so the Calvers took a leap of faith to commission the project.
At the same time, Richard, together with herdsman Nicholas Millard, continue to work on improving the herd and diversifying the output of the farm. They have started an agroforestry project, and are home to a new grain mill that will supply Landrace Bakery and hosts a charcuterie business led by Paul Burton.
Read Less
Our Work
We visit Westcombe Dairy six times per year to select our batches of cheese.
Accompaniments
Dijon Mustard
£2.90
Rosebud Piccalilli Chutney
£7.00
Serving Suggestions
Grate Westcombe Cheddar into scrambled eggs towards the end of cooking for deeper savoury flavour.
Recipes
Spring Galette Recipe
Our colleague Lydia shares this galette recipe as a quick and easy way to use Westcombe Cheddar. Serve with a green salad to create a more substantial lunch.The perfect leisurely meal to enjoy with...
Asparagus and Westcombe Cheddar Tart
This simple tart is a wonderful way to celebrate the short spring season of British asparagus. https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/asparagus-and-cheddar-tart/FAQs
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.
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.
Westcombe Cheddar
A smooth, well rounded farmhouse Cheddar from Somerset, selected for its warm, lingering flavours and happy balance of creaminess and acidity
Westcombe Dairy's maturing cave is equipped with Cheddar-turning robot, nicknamed Tina the Turner.
milk type
Cow
ingredients
Raw or Pasteurised Cow's MILK, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Animal Rennet, Clothbound with Lard
coagulant
Animal Rennet
milk treatment
Raw or Pasteurised
location
Evercreech, Somerset
milk source
Own herd
breed
Holstein; Dairy Shorthorn
season
All year
average age
12-14 Months
cheesemakers
Rob Howard; The Calver Family
background
Cheddar has been made at Westcombe Farm since the late 19th century. After dabbling briefly in the manufacture of block Cheddar in the 1970s, Richard Calver decided in 1999 to return to producing clothbound cheese. When Richard's son Tom joined the business, he brought with him a chef's training and experience of working in Neal's Yard Dairy. Tom set about examining every aspect of its process, from the quality of the milk to building a new maturing cave. This project commenced in 2014 and uses technology from France and includes the UK's first cheese-turning robot named Tina. There was no precedent for using cheese-turning robots on clothbound cheese, so the Calvers took a leap of faith to commission the project.
At the same time, Richard, together with herdsman Nicholas Millard, continue to work on improving the herd and diversifying the output of the farm. They have started an agroforestry project, and are home to a new grain mill that will supply Landrace Bakery and hosts a charcuterie business led by Paul Burton.
our work with this cheese
We visit Westcombe Dairy six times per year to select our batches of cheese.
pairing suggestion
Grate Westcombe Cheddar into scrambled eggs towards the end of cooking for deeper savoury flavour.
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