WHY SOMERSET IS THE HOME OF CHEDDAR

The origins of Cheddar cheese are surrounded by myths and legends – no surprise, since it’s been made in this area since at least the 12th Century. One of the stories goes that the reason the area became renowned for its production was because Cheddar Gorge, the natural canyon in the Mendip Hills just a few miles from our dairy, was the perfect place for maturing cheese, with a constant temperature and humidity level that promoted the development of complex flavours.

Another tale dates back to the 14th Century, when local cheesemakers invented the process of scalding – heating the milk curd to reduce the liquid – which meant their cheese lasted longer. Then there are the stories of Londoners who travelled to the region to admire its natural beauty and went home with a taste for our outstanding local cheese. This led to a surge in demand that meant that by the 17th Century only the court of King Charles I was allowed to have Cheddar cheese, which was transported to the capital in giant circular “wheels”.

Some or all of these stories may well be true, but there’s also a few other reasons that Somerset and the area around Cheddar is the perfect place to make cheese. First of these is that the west of England receives much more rain than the rest of the country, blowing in from the Atlantic over Ireland; when it reaches the hills around us, it falls on the fields, producing uniquely rich grass. At the same time, the Gulf Stream brings warmth up the nearby Bristol Channel, producing ideal growing conditions.

As a family of farmers, we like to think of the wet weather travelling up Cheddar Gorge, giving us the richest grass in the country. The soil, too, is naturally rich in nutrients – our grandparents would say it was the calcium coming up from the Mendip Hills, through the grass and into the cheese, and there’s truth in that too, since limestone is known to make sweeter crops.

For us, this blessing is never taken for granted. A century or so ago, there were around 6,000 dairy farms producing Cheddar cheese here, and one of the reasons we’re one of the few still going is that we have focused on giving back to the land at least as much as we take. Previous generations have been pioneers in crop rotation and soil aeration, and we have continued their work, making Wyke a world leader in sustainable cheesemaking. It’s part of our inheritance, just like the beautiful grazing grounds around us, and one we do all we can to preserve for the generations to come.