If you’ve never had an English cheddar, Montgomery’s is an excellent place to start. Jamie Montgomery learned cheesemaking from his mother, Elizabeth, who learned it from her father, Sir Archibald Langman (a most excellent British name!). Sir Archibald bought the family farm in 1911, and kept raw milk cheesemaking alive, even with the pressure of the World Wars that forced many small producers to sell their creameries to large manufacturers. As Elizabeth then Jamie followed each faced their own challenges, but they stuck close to the recipe and procedures preserving Montgomery’s Cheddar for us to enjoy today.

Each day, Jamie and his small team milk 200 Friesian cows. The milk is poured into a 1000-gallon vat where it is turned into curds, cut, cheddared – a process of draining and turning the curds essential to cheddar’s texture – milled, and molded. Then, after it is pressed, the cheese is wrapped in cloth which lets the cheddar breathe throughout the months it is aged, but still maintain enough moisture for a chewy texture.

Monty’s changes from batch to batch, depending on the cows and the season, and at times, it can have fissures in the smooth paste where a vein of blue appears. We celebrate these variations because they add more complexity to the cheddar. Although wheels do differ, we tend to taste salty brown butter, beef stew, grass and tangy fruits. We like a thick slab of Monty’s on a piece of bread slathered in butter with a cup of black tea. Or, if it’s past noon, crack open a malty beer or fruity cider to add a bit of sweetness to this savory cheddar.