Real Food
The Three Fishes - Length of Lancashire
"Sourcing food from our doorstep and supporting our local artisan producers – is much a way of life at The Three Fishes. But there can be few better examples of local embarrassment of riches than Lancashire Cheese. I have developed the Length of Lancashire Cheese Board to showcase the best.
In my opinion no other region offers so many different tastes and distinctive characters, all made within 10 miles of each other in the Beacon Fell area using the traditional Lancashire style but the end result of each cheese is so different.
Enjoy a unique cheese experience"
Nigel Haworth
History of Lancashire Cheese
Cheese has been made in Lancashire for well over 700 years, but “Lancashire Cheese” as we know and love it today is a much more recent development. The county’s unique variations in weather and luscious green pastures provide the nutrients our local herds need to produce such distinctive milk.
But, in the mid 19th century, farmers with smallholdings rarely collected enough milk in a single day to make a whole cheese. Without refrigeration, the best way to keep it was to turn it into curd and store overnight. This would then be mixed with the next day’s curd… and often the curd from a third day’s milking too.
The creamy Lancashire cheese this produced is the taste known the world over…and the technique is used to this day. It can be eaten, young and mild, after as little as 4-8 weeks, or left for as long as 2 years, allowing the flavour to become stronger and fully mature.
Types of Lancashire Cheese
Typically Lancashire Cheese has a full-bodied, slightly salty flavour. It also has a creamy texture. However, Lancashire Cheeses made from a single curd tend to be much crumblier when young, only becoming creamy as they mellow and age.
In general Lancashire Cheese can be divided into three varieties:
CREAMY – the classic Lancashire cheese, matured for around 5 months to create a rich, creamy flavour and a deep yellow colour
TASTY – the same cheese, but matured for over 5 months in order to develop a real bite to the flavour and a much stronger taste.
CRUMBLY – a relatively new recipe, this cheese from a single curd is eaten much younger. As well as a different texture, it has a tangy, milk flavour.
The Lancashire Cheese Makers
 |
1. Leagram
Organic Dairy Bob Kitchen renovated the old cow sheds at Leagram Hall to create a dairy where he could indulge his passion for using Bowland organic milk to make cheese with traditional vats and presses. |
 |
 |
2. Butlers Farmhouse Cheese From sourcing the finest local milk to turning the maturing process into an art, Butlers have been making wonderful cheeses for over 70 years... a family tradition now continued by Colin & Gillian Hill. |
 |
 |
3. JJ Sandham Ltd Chris Sandham exclusively produces award winning hand-made cheeses from the same dairy and house his grandfather built... and still stays faithful to traditional methods and the finest ingredients. |
 |
 |
4. Dew-Lay This family run creamery has been producing hand-made cheeses since 1957. Owned and run by brothers, Neil & John Kenyon, it’s proud of its role as producer of Lancashire’s Garstang Blue cheese. |
 |
 |
5. Mrs Kirkhams Using their own milk from Friesian Holstein cows, the Kirkhams produce a Lancashire speciality... cheese from a 3-day curd, clothbound, buttered and allowed to breathe to develop the flavour. |
 |
 |
7. Shorrocks Since 1923 the Shorrocks have produced un-pasteurised Farmhouse Lancashire Cheese and Andrew & Pauline Shorrock continue the tradition with methods and recipes handed down by the family. |
 |
