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Gloucester Cheese has been made in Gloucestershire since the 1500s. There are two versions: Single Gloucester and Double Gloucester.
Both cheeses are round. Double Gloucester was called "double" because, at 5 inches (13 cm) thick, it was double the width of the Single Gloucester.
Both Single and Double Gloucester were originally made with tough rinds, and made with milk from the "Old Gloucester" breed of cows. In 1972, only 68 of these cows remained in the world, but the breed was revived when Charles Martell formed the Gloucester Cattle Society. There are now (2004) 730 breeding females.
Double Gloucester used to be the more desirable version. It was made with full-fat milk, whereas Single Gloucester was made from the milk run-off from making butter. Now, owing to the EU regulations which have restricted the production of Single Gloucester, the situation is reversed, and Single Gloucester has become rare and expensive with only 2 producers.
Single Gloucester
Starter culture and rennet are added to skim milk from Old Gloucester cows. The milk is allowed to curdle. The curds are then cut, and heated for about half an hour to 95 F (35 C). The whey is then drained, the curd is mixed and salted, then put into moulds and pressed for 5 days. Then the cheese is removed from the moulds and aged for two months.
It ends up as a semi-firm cheese with a sticky orangey-coloured rind.
Single Gloucester was granted EU PDO ("Protected Designation of Origin") in 1997. Before that, Single Gloucester made with milk from the Old Gloucester cows was quite rare -- because there were hardly any of that breed left, it was made with skim milk from any cows. Now, the PDO rules state that Single Gloucester must be made only with milk from Old Gloucester cows, and that the milk must also come from a herd owned by that cheesemaker. With that stipulation, and given the number of actual Old Gloucester cattle that there are, Single Gloucester is as rare as hen's teeth and very expensive. Some wags have dubbed this nother EU success story.
Double Gloucester
Double Gloucester is made from whole milk from any cow and aged for six months. Because whole milk is used, Double Gloucester is creamier than Single Gloucester. The cheese is hard and pale orange.
Half-Fat Double Gloucester
Half Fat Double Gloucester has half the fat (16%) of Double Gloucester. The taste is a bit milder, and the cheese is harder.
It is made from pasteurized milk. It can be grated or served as a table cheese.
Substitutes
Cheddar, Cheshire,
See Also
Protected Designation of Origin, Stinking Bishop Cheese
Other entries for Firm Cheeses
Battelmatt Cheese, Beaufort Cheese, Bergkäse, Bitto Cheese, Brick Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Emmenthal Cheese, Etorki Cheese, Gloucester Cheese, Gouda Cheese, Halloumi Cheese, Havarti Cheese, Hoop Cheese, Isle of Mull Cheese, Kambera Cheese, Lamb Chopper Cheese, Longhorn Cheese, Muenster Cheese, Murcia al Vino Cheese, Pinconning Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Raclette Cheese, Red Leicester Cheese, Royal Windsor Red, Salers Cheese, Sussex Yeoman Cheese, Tomme d'Abondance, Washed-Rind Cheeses, Windsor Red Cheese
Other entries for Cheese
Affinage, American Cheeses, Casu Marzu, Cheese Rinds, Creamery, Double/Triple-Cream Cheese, Extra-Hard Cheeses, Goat's Milk Cheeses, Mexican Cheeses, Pate (of a Cheese), Processed Cheese, Queso Fundido, Rennet, Semi-Firm Cheeses, Sheep's Milk Cheeses, Skim-Milk Cheeses, Smear-Ripened Cheeses, Soft Cheeses, Surface-Ripened Cheeses, Sweet Curd Cheeses, The Crumblies, Truckle, Washed-Curd Cheeses, Yak Cheese, Yeel Cheese
Other entries for Dairy
Butterfat, Butter, Milk, Nondairy Topping
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