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Cheese from England, Leicestershire

Red Leicester

Evening and morning cow milk is coloured with annatto, given lactic starter and rennet at 80–84 °F in winter or 76–78 °F in summer, and the firm curd is cut, scalded to 92 °F and drained. The matted curd is cut into blocks, turned until it has the right acidity, milled, salted at about 2 lb per 100 lb of curd and pressed hard. It cures on shelves at about 60 °F for 2 months to a year, most often 6 to 8 months.

Fully documentedCheese2 months – 12 monthsFamily: Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template)

Recipe

Red Leicester, a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceAmounts as given in the 1953 USDA description; cheeses about 18 inches across and 40 lb.
Mixed evening and morning whole cow milk[usda-hb54][usda-608]
Annatto, to colour the milk[usda-hb54]
Lactic starter[usda-hb54]
Rennet[usda-hb54][usda-608]
Salt, milled into the curd, and dry salt on the outside after pressingabout 2 lb per 100 lb of curd[usda-hb54]
Starterlactic starter

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 12 months

Start
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24.4–28.9 °C

What changes: Annatto, starter and rennet go into the mixed milk

Step 1 of 6
Colour, seed and set the milk
Time
1.3–1.5 h
Reported
Temperature
24.4–28.9 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
milk coloured with annatto

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Evening and morning cow milk is coloured with annatto, given lactic starter and rennet at 80–84 °F in winter or 76–78 °F in summer, and the firm curd is cut, scalded to 92 °F and drained. The matted curd is cut into blocks, turned until it has the right acidity, milled, salted at about 2 lb per 100 lb of curd and pressed hard. It cures on shelves at about 60 °F for 2 months to a year, most often 6 to 8 months. Made in 6 steps over 2 months – 12 months. The longest step, cure on shelves, takes 2–12 months (Sanders G.P. 1953) and runs at 16 °C (Sanders G.P. 1953). Salt is 2 % (Sanders G.P. 1953).

Key numbers
Main step2–12 monthsReported[usda-hb54]Cure on shelves
Temperature16 °CReported[usda-hb54]Cure on shelves
Salt2 %Reported[usda-hb54]Mill and salt

What makes this one different

Coloured with annatto and resembling Cheddar, but with more moisture, so it ripens faster. The curd is matted, turned and milled before pressing.

Composition
Moisture 33 to 37 %, fat 29 to 30 %, salt 1.5 to 2 % (1953)
Size
About 18 inches across and 6 inches thick, about 40 lb (1953)

Related ferments

Safety

The 1953 USDA account says it may be sold after about 2 months of curing at about 60 °F. Slow Food UK says the traditional cheese is made from unpasteurised milk and sold at 3 to 12 months. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses while they age.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Leicester cheese was first made in Leicestershire in the English Midlands and was once said to rank among the finest English cheeses, second only perhaps to Stilton (USDA, 1953). Slow Food UK traces it back to the 17th century and says most of it was traded at Leicester, which gave it its name although little was made inside the city. The dyed colour set it apart from other county cheeses. As farm cheesemaking disappeared, production moved to other parts of the UK and some was made in block form by larger creameries.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [usda-hb54] Sanders G.P. 1953, Cheese varieties and descriptions, USDA Agriculture Handbook 54 (Leicester)archive
  2. [usda-608] Doane C.F., Lawson H.W., revised by Matheson K.J. 1928, Varieties of cheese, descriptions and analyses, USDA Bulletin 608 (Leicester)archive
  3. [slowfood-uk-rl] Slow Food in the UK, Ark of Taste product page 'Artisan Red Leicester Cheese'web
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov