Price range: £2.20 through £22.00
There is something rather lovely about buying cheese from the farm where it was actually made.
Gould’s Extra Tasty Cheddar comes from Batch Farm, perched on the Pennard ridge in Somerset with views towards Glastonbury Tor and the Mendip Hills. This is proper Cheddar country, and the Gould family have been making cheese here for nearly 50 years.
The farm and dairy are very much a family affair. The milk comes from the farm’s own herd of Friesian cows and the cheese is made in the dairy beside the old thatched farmhouse.
Around 100 tonnes of West Country Farmhouse Cheddar are produced here each year, traditionally made in those enormous 27kg cylinders that always remind you just how substantial a proper farmhouse Cheddar really is.
And this isn’t a cheese I simply order from a wholesaler.
Whenever I visit Batch Farm, I get to taste different wheels and choose the ones I want to bring back to the shop. There can be noticeable differences between them, and being able to select the ones I particularly like is one of the great pleasures of buying cheese directly from the cheesemaker.
Gould’s Extra Tasty is protected as a West Country Farmhouse Cheddar PDO, which means it has to follow strict rules about where and how it is made.
Production is limited to Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, and traditional Cheddar-making techniques must be used. That includes cheddaring, where slabs of curd are cut, stacked, turned and restacked to help remove whey and create the texture we associate with a proper Cheddar.
Gould’s is then clothbound and left to mature for around 18 months.
That traditional cloth allows the cheese to breathe as it matures, and the particular conditions inside Batch Farm’s maturing room help give Gould’s its distinctive character.
The name gives you a fairly good clue about what to expect here.
Gould’s Extra Tasty is one of the more full-flavoured Cheddars in our counter, but what I particularly like about it is the creaminess.
The texture is firm but beautifully smooth, and there’s a richness to it that sets it apart from some of the drier farmhouse Cheddars.
The flavour starts with that lovely creamy, milky richness before the more savoury notes begin to appear. There’s a good tang, plenty of depth and often a nuttiness that reminds me of roasted hazelnuts.
Then it lingers.
And that’s when you really notice the maturity of the cheese.
After around 18 months, there’s plenty going on: savoury, nutty, earthy and sometimes slightly fruity flavours, all wrapped up in that wonderfully creamy texture.
Some customers think it’s incredibly strong. Others taste it and immediately ask me whether I’ve got anything stronger.
That’s cheese for you.
Jen’s note: Whenever I go down to Batch Farm, I get to taste different wheels and choose the ones I want to bring back to the shop. It’s one of my favourite parts of buying cheese directly from the farm. I know exactly what I’ve chosen and, more importantly, I know what I’m putting in front of our customers.
Sizes and Prices
Storage Advice
Delivery and Collection
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, starter cultures, rennet, salt
Normal opening Monday – Saturday 9am – 4pm until:
Sunday 22nd 9am – 4pm
Monday 23rd 9am – 4pm
Christmas Eve 9am – 12pm
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
Friday 27th Closed
Saturday 28th 9am – 4pm
Sunday 29th Closed
Monday 30th 9am – 2pm
Tuesday 31st 9am – 2pm
New Year’s Day Closed
Thursday 2nd January Closed
Friday 3rd 9am – 4pm then open as normal
After Christmas our courier delivery slots start from 8th January.
