Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire cheese 
Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese is a PDO cow's milk cheese made north of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. It is built from two or three days' curd blended together, which gives it a loose, buttery texture and a flavour that runs from mellow to sharp.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | England, United Kingdom |
| Specific Origin | Lancashire, England |
| Protection | PDO (1996) |
| Milk Type | Cow |
| Fat Content | Minimum 48% butterfat in moisture-free substance |
| Moisture Content | Maximum 48% |
| Rind | Bandaged, waxed, buttered, or vacuum-packed |
| Texture | Semi-hard, loose, and open with a buttery feel |
| Flavor | Clean and mellow when young, sharp and tangy when mature |
| Colors | Uniform cream throughout |
| Forms | Cylindrical or block |
| Age | Minimum 3-4 weeks, fully mature at 6 months |
What is Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire cheese?
Lancashire dairy farmers' wives made cheese from surplus milk for centuries. A small farm did not get enough milk in one day for a whole cheese, so each day's curd was curdled and kept until there was enough. Two or three days' curd of differing maturity go into one cheese, which no other British cheese does.
Joseph Gornall, a county council employee from Garstang and Pilling, standardised the method in the 1890s after visiting farms across the county. Cheesemakers still work to that recipe, known as the Gornall method. His Gornall Patent Cheesemaker was sold between 1892 and 1919.
The Beacon Fell name is protected. Only cheese made with milk from the area north of the River Ribble, covering the Fylde, Preston and Blackpool, and made in that same area by the designated method, may carry it. The name comes from Beacon Fell, which sits inside that area.
Made as Creamy Lancashire, it matures for four to twelve weeks and comes out fluffy with a creamy flavour. Held longer, from twelve weeks up to twenty four months, it turns into Tasty Lancashire and picks up a mature, nutty taste.
It toasts well, since it melts without going stringy. In Lancashire it is eaten with Eccles cakes and Chorley cakes.
How Does Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire cheese Compare?
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