Gorwydd Caerphilly

Todd Trethowan worked at Neal’s Yard Dairy to pay his way through University and then learned how to make cheese from Chris Duckett, the last farmhouse Caerphilly maker in the UK. He began making Gorwydd Caerphilly at the family farm in Ceredigion, Wales, in 1996 and was soon joined by his brother Maugan. After outgrowing the original site, the Trethowan Brothers moved to Puxton Court Farm in Somerset in 2014, just five miles from the village of Cheddar, where they continued to make Gorwydd, but also developed a traditional cloth-bound cheddar called Pitchfork.

The cheese is made with raw milk from the farm’s own herd of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cows, using pint starter cultures and animal rennet. The curd is cut into runner-bean shaped pieces, scalded at between 30-35ºC and is gently pumped to a draining table. Here it is drained and textured – a process that involves cutting channels into the knitted-together curd to aid drainage. Salt is sprinkled on the curd, which is then packed into moulds and pressed. The formed cheeses are also brined and dry salted, before being matured for six to 12 weeks, during which time a variety of natural moulds and yeasts grow on the rind

The edible grey and white rind on Gorwydd Caerphilly has a mushroomy flavour, while the breakdown just beneath is creamy and savoury. The core of the cheese is pale and crumbly with a lactic and lemony flavour.

Traditional IPAs and medium dry ciders work well with Gorwydd, as do rich white wines – try Viognier or White Rioja.