Producers of one of the very finest cheddars, the Keens have been making cheese at Moorhayes Farm near Wincanton in Somerset since 1899. George Keen says: "Cheese has been made by the Keens at Moorhayes Farm since our Great Aunt Jane pressed her first truckle in 1899. Our mother Dorothy learnt cheesemaking at the Somerset Farm Institute in Cannington. Nowadays, me and my brother Stephen, assisted by our sons Nick and James, continue to make un-pasteurised Cheddar – we’re one of only a few farms left who do."
Matured in cloth for over 12 months, the cheese uses only milk from their own dairy herd, with the untreated milk being used within a day of milking. Only about 130 cheeses are made per week.
Keens, Montgomery's and Westcombe created one of the first UK Slow Food Presidia – for 'Artisan Somerset Cheddar'. Part of the Slow Food movement, its aim is to raise awareness of the special quality of traditional cheddar made using local raw milk and crafted by hand.
The special place held by this cheese is indicated by the numerous awards it has won, the latest being Champion Cheddar at the 2006 Royal Bath and West Show, and best cheddar at the World Cheese Awards in both 2005 and 2006.
Unpasteurized £8.85 / 500g (for amounts under 3.5kg)
Note: from time to time you may find a bit of blue in these ultra-traditional cheddars. This is quite normal, and in fact the cheese may even be tastier because of it. The makers believe that full development of flavour means creating a cheese that can breathe as it matures - this means that a few of the bacteria which create blue cheese sometimes get in. A greater authority than I, Sarah Freeman, had this to say in The Real Cheese Companion: "at this stage [i.e when very mature] may have developed a few knots of blue, probably near the rind, which is a recommendation rather than otherwise".
