Double Gloucester

Every spring in Gloucestershire, they hold a competition. It involves rolling foot-wide wheels of Double Gloucester down a steep hill, then chasing after them.

The winner is the first person to retrieve a cheese at the bottom, and run it across a finish line. That lucky fellow gets to keep the cheese as a prize.

It can be dangerous. One year, falling runners collapsed in an 18-person pileup, an avalanche of bruised and bloodied cheese lovers. Even before the ambulances arrived on the scene, news of the goofy disaster was making its way into the tabloids.

I’m not sure what it all says about cheese, but it was proof once more that there will always be an England.

This year's event took place a few weeks ago. As always, great fun was had by all. And if you're really interested, check out the action by clicking here.

As for the cheese itself, Gloucester comes in two types, single and double. The latter is more famous and far more common. It is made from whole milk (generally pasteurized) that’s been taken from a cow herd’s morning and evening milkings. The single uses half skim and half whole milk.

Double Gloucester is the richer of the two. Like a good Cheddar, it has a full, if mellow, flavor. It is never as sharp as a Cheddar, though. Stylistically, Double Gloucester is intended to be more tame. Generally, it is dyed to produce a dull orange paste.

Even in its best farmhouse versions, this is an everyday cheese, a comforting, familiar variety you’d eat when you’re not in the mood for anything overwhelming.

PAIRINGS: Double Gloucester is a classic component to a ploughman’s lunch, and it also melts well enough. I’ve made an ale-based fondue with it which was quite nice, dunking apples and bread into it.