🧀 Double Gloucester

Double Gloucester is an English hard cow's milk cheese from Gloucestershire, orange, firm and smooth, with a mellow, buttery and nutty taste. It belongs to the hard cheeses and has been known in this part of England since at least the 18th century.

The cheese is made from whole milk: it is soured with a starter culture, coagulated with rennet, and the curd is finely cut, warmed, salted and firmly pressed into large wheels. The orange colour comes from annatto, a natural colouring. Ripening lasts from a few months to a year; with age the cheese becomes firmer and fuller in flavour, yet it stays softer than Cheddar.

Its close relative is Single Gloucester, a lighter, younger cheese. It is Single Gloucester that holds PDO status: it is made in Gloucestershire on farms that keep Gloucester cattle. The name Double Gloucester is not protected, so it is also made outside the county. General requirements for cheese are set by Codex standard CXS 283. A wheel of Double Gloucester is traditionally rolled down the hill in the local cheese-rolling race at Cooper's Hill.

Double Gloucester melts well, so it suits cheese on toast, bakes and sauces. On a board serve it with bread, pickled onions and apples; ale, cider and a soft red wine go well with it (see Wine and cheese).

Double Gloucester or Cheddar? Both are English hard cow’s milk cheeses, but Double Gloucester is its own cheese from Gloucestershire: made from whole milk, pressed in large wheels and ripened from a few months to a year. With age it becomes firmer and fuller in flavour, yet it stays softer than Cheddar. It is also not the same as Single Gloucester, a lighter, younger cheese that alone holds PDO status, while the name Double Gloucester is not protected. The orange colour comes from annatto.

Look for the name “Double Gloucester” on the pack. It is not protected, so the cheese may be made outside Gloucestershire. The orange colour is annatto, a natural colouring, and says nothing about age. If you want protected origin, look for “Single Gloucester” with the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin) instead. Double Gloucester is sold as wedges or whole wheels at a supermarket cheese counter or a delicatessen.

Why it matters to you. The orange colour is a natural colouring, not a sign of age. If you want a cheese with protected origin, look for Single Gloucester (PDO). Keep Double Gloucester in the fridge wrapped in waxed paper.