A starter culture is a secret mixture of bacteria that gets added to the milk at the very early stages of the cheddar-making process. All Cheddar is made using a starter culture – without it the Cheddar wouldn’t taste like the cheese we all know and love.
We still prepare our cheese starters in the traditional way, using the same mix of bacteria that Grandmother Ivy used to use, over 150 years ago.
These ‘traditional bulk’ starters are grown up over a period of days to give us a unique complexity of flavour that you should find only in the very best vintage cheddar.
Only Wyke Farms Cheddar tastes like Wyke Farms Cheddar, a completely unique flavour and texture created by a beautiful blend of bacteria and a method unchanged and unmatched for generations.
As Grandmother Ivy used to say: “It’s not the written recipe that makes the difference, it’s the notes in the margin” And it’s those notes in the margin that give our Cheddar its personality and inimitable flavour.
Want to learn more about our cheddar-making?
October 2016