I have discovered that this Ford Farm, who I believe has the original recipe for Coastal Cheddar, trades their cheese with another farm in England for the other farm’s Stilton. Then both farms market a Coastal and a Stilton separably. I have also found a Coastal Cheddar at a chain of stores called Trader Joes. So far all the Coastal Cheddarss I have tried have tasted identical. You can also buy the Coastal on line but I have not done this yet. It has a sweet taste and a sharp cheddar taste with a little crunch that you would swear was salt if you didn’t know that it was calcium. No where can I find a recipe for it. Be careful though I think I gained about 3 pounds since I discovered this cheese…it needs a warning label !!! Shamefully, late last night when my wife was asleep, I sneaked down to the refrigerator and ate the last of ours.
when I found the review (see higher up in this thread) it says that Ford Farms uses “Swiss Cultures” to inoculate the cheese. Since a view of their ageing cave and a look at their products reveals that a Farmhouse Cheddar is their big mainstay, aged with a bandaging and not a wax coating. I sent off for the swiss cultures which arrived last week and I made 2 two pound FarmhouseCheddars and bandaged them in cheese cloth and lard. The commercial ones are aged 14 months but since I ate the last of our Ford Farm’s last night I find myself circling the new cheeses with a sharp knife in my hand. Not a chance that I can wait 14 months.
