World's oldest cheese

Is it possible to fall in love after one taste? With a cheese? Cheese-lovers will answer yes, and they have no difficulty in understanding why, after just a few seconds, Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar had won my tastebuds' heart.

The Barber family have been farming and making cheese at Maryland Farm in Somerset since 1833 and is always matured for a minimum of 24 months to provide cheddar that is powerfully intense and complex with an exceptional depth of flavour. It has a slightly brittle and crunchy texture that results from its long and slow ageing.

Farmhouse cheesemakers for six generations

In 1833 Daniel Barber moved to Maryland Farm, Ditcheat, and began what has become the longest surviving cheddar making business in the world. Six generations of the Barber family have continued Daniel's traditions and continue to farm the land and make cheese at the same site today.

In the early days milk from their tenant farm used to be sold locally and cheese was made to feed the family and farm workers. As time passed and the reputation grew, more of the milk was used to make cheese and soon the family were buying milk from nearby farms as well as using their own.

Although time has moved on, the focus is still on producing cheddar in keeping with traditional methods that are in strict accordance with the Protected Designation of Origin for West Country Farmhouse Cheddar. Whilst much of the tradition has been preserved Barber's have embraced the use of modern technology, where possible, to make improvements to the cheesemaking process and the quality of the final product.

Besides its farming and cheesemaking activities Barber's also remain the only guardians and producers of a traditional starter culture collection left in the UK. These cultures are the friendly bacteria, added to the milk, to start the cheesemaking process. Aside from the milk they are the single most important ingredient in determining the flavour and character of the finished cheese. It is these cultures that hold the secret to the unique character of Barber's cheddar.

Cheese only leaves when itï¿½s ready

Whilst it takes less than a day to turn the milk into cheese it is at least two years before Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar is released from the farm's stores. At any given time there are thousands of individual cheeses stored in wooden boxes at precise temperatures in specially designed stores. Only as it reaches two years of age can it be determined whether a batch of cheese has reached the peak of perfection that will allow it to carry the Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar name.

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