Lancashire cheese

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Lancashire

Country of origin	England
Region, town	Lancashire
Source of milk	Cows
Pasteurised	Yes
Texture	Hard, creamy to crumbly
Aging time	2 – 8 months
Certification	none

Lancashire cheese, a crumbly English cow's-milk cheese, is considered one of the premier products of the county. Centred approximately 30 miles north of Manchester, many local farms produce this famous cheese, and it is associated with the town of Leigh. With a texture similar to Caerphilly cheese, Lancashire cheese can be classified as either "crumbly" or "creamy". Well matured Lancashire Cheese is referred to locally as Tasty. It is reputed to be the best toasting cheese in the world^[1] (because it does not go stringy when melted) and as such is a favourite for Welsh rarebit. The marooned pirate Ben Gunn, a character in the Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island, craved Leigh Toaster during his three-year exile.

Lancashire cheese is often featured on supermarket cheese counters although, like many other cheeses, this product tastes substantially different from those varieties made on the many farms that produce it. The commercially widespread Lancashire cheeses tend to be matured for only 6 – 8 weeks, resulting in a crumbly, fresh, high-acid cheese. Longer aging, approximately 5 months for "toaster" and 6 – 8 months for "tasty", results in a creamier texture, and a deeper, nuttier, smoother flavour. Examples of farmhouse Lancashire cheeses consistently win British cheese awards.