Price range: £3.55 through £21.30
Appleby’s Cheshire is the last traditional raw milk, clothbound farmhouse Cheshire still being made. Wonderfully crumbly with a fresh, salty tang and gentle lemony notes, it’s a little piece of British cheesemaking history — and a very tasty one at that.
Appleby’s Cheshire is one of those cheeses that reminds us just how easily we could have lost some of Britain’s great cheesemaking traditions.
Cheshire itself is one of our oldest territorial cheeses. You’ll sometimes hear people say that it’s mentioned in the Domesday Book, and I’ve heard plenty of cheesemongers repeat that one over the years. Unfortunately, it isn’t true! There are very early references to cheese being made in the area, though, and we know Cheshire was well established by the 16th century.
At one time, Cheshire was one of the most important cheeses in Britain. As recently as 1914, around 2,000 farms were making it.
Today, Appleby’s is the last remaining producer making traditional raw milk, clothbound farmhouse Cheshire.
That makes every piece feel rather special.
The Appleby’s story really begins with Lucy Appleby.
Lucy started making Cheshire in 1952, converting the old stables at Hawkstone Abbey Farm into a dairy and setting about making the cheese in the traditional way.
And she was determined to keep it that way.
At the time, cheesemakers were increasingly moving away from traditional calico cloth and towards wax coatings. Wax helped cheeses retain more moisture, which meant more weight and therefore a better yield.
Lucy wasn’t interested.
She believed that wrapping Cheshire in cloth allowed it to breathe as it matured and, more importantly, helped it develop the flavour she wanted. She was so convinced that she encouraged other cheesemakers who had moved to wax to go back to cloth.
I’m rather glad she stuck to her guns.
Appleby’s Cheshire is still made with raw cow’s milk in small batches and wrapped in cloth before being left to mature. It’s a lovely example of a cheese that hasn’t survived because somebody reinvented it, but because one family decided that the old way was worth preserving.
If you’re expecting something a bit like Cheddar, think again.
Appleby’s Cheshire has a completely different texture. It’s wonderfully crumbly and almost flaky, but when you eat it there’s still a lovely creaminess that stops it ever feeling dry.
The flavour is fresh and bright. There’s a gentle milkiness to begin with, followed by that characteristic Cheshire tang and a lovely salty, mineral note.
I often find a little citrus in there too, almost lemony, particularly in a younger piece. As it matures, those fresh flavours become deeper and more savoury, with a gentle earthiness coming through from the clothbound rind.
It’s not a cheese that needs to shout.
There’s something beautifully straightforward about Appleby’s Cheshire: good raw milk, traditional cheesemaking and a flavour that’s completely its own.
Jen’s note: We always stock the red version of Appleby’s Cheshire. There’s an old story that the white Cheshire stayed ‘up North’, while canny cheesemakers coloured the cheeses they sent south so they’d stand out on the market stall against all that Cheddar. Is it completely true? Who knows. But I rather like the idea of cheesemakers understanding the importance of good marketing hundreds of years ago!
Sizes and Prices
Storage Advice
Delivery and Collection
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, salt, starter cultures, rennet, annatto (E160b)
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.
