A winner at the World Cheese Awards
Along with Keen’s and Montgomery’s, Westcombe Cheddar is one of only three Artisan Somerset Cheddar cheeses. It is also one of a small and exclusive list of British foods to be awarded Protection of Designated Origin (PDO) status.
The traditional rounds are aged to develop a strong slightly peppery character and produce another gold medal winner at the World Cheese Awards.
Cheese has been made at Westcombe since the 1890s. Following a change of direction in the 1990s, the Calvers returned to making traditional unpasteurised rounds with the emphasis firmly on quality. The final product is a fine cheese that varies subtly with the seasons, capturing something of the flavour of the farm and surrounding fields.
To be called West Country Farmhouse Cheddar the cheeses must:
- Be made using milk from local herds reared and milked in the counties of Somerset; Dorset; Devon or Cornwall. This ensures that the cheese has a particular texture and flavour.
- Contain no colouring; no flavouring and no preservatives.
- Be made in these four counties to traditional methods. These methods include the cheese being made by hand and the unique process known as cheddaring.
Allergens: Milk.
