Cotswold

What is Cotswold Cheese?

Cotswold starts as Double Gloucester, a semi-hard cheese made in Gloucestershire, England, since the 16th century. Gloucester comes in two varieties, Single and Double, both traditionally made from the milk of Gloucester cattle. Double Gloucester ages longer than Single and is the version sold more widely in the United Kingdom today.

The Cotswold version is made by blending Double Gloucester with chives and spring onions. It is not a traditional English cheese name. Most Double Gloucester on UK supermarket shelves is slab cheese from large creameries run by dairy companies such as Dairy Crest, pasteurised but not processed, and usually sold under a store brand.

Gloucester cheese has a natural rind and a hard texture, and the Double is slightly firmer than the Single with a stronger, more savoury flavour. Cotswold is said to take a colour close to Cotswold stone. The yellow of Double Gloucester once came from the wild flower Galium verum, known as lady's bedstraw.

Farmhouse production of Gloucester cheese died out in the 1950s along with most of the Gloucester cattle. Charles Martell gathered three Old Gloucester cows in 1973 and revived farmhouse Double Gloucester, then brought back Single Gloucester in 1978. Single Gloucester now holds Protected Designation of Origin status and can only be made in Gloucestershire on farms with Gloucester cows.