Hard Cheese
Our biggest range: farmhouse Cheddars like Montgomery's and Keen's, Alpine cheeses like Comté and Gruyère, Manchego and Mahón from Spain, Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino from Italy, and Yorkshire cheeses from Swaledale and Yoredale. Everything is cut to order at our shop on Gillygate in York and sent chilled, with free UK mainland delivery on orders over £55. New to it? Our guide to 10 hard cheeses everyone should know is a good place to start.
24 Month Comté Cheese
Aged 18 months with a seriously nutty and earthy flavour, stemming from the rich mountain pastures of the Franche-Comte region. This hard mountain cheese is matured to perfection in the silence and darkness of special caves, which is where the cheese gets its unique taste, texture and colour. It is dense, open and smooth - basically everything you want in a hard cheese, coming with beautiful fruity, nutty, salty, savoury, smokey and sweet flavours. The aftertaste is slightly more bitter, insanely moreish and really well rounded.
Admiral Collingwood Cheese
Named after the heroic Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood. This semi-soft cheese is washed in Newcastle Brown Ale to impart a similar strength of flavour, as the Admiral was strong in courage. On tasting, it’s buttery savoury undertones give way to an effusively complex aftertaste. It melts in the mouth leaving a tangy succulent flavour on the tongue.
Affineur Walo Red Wine Farmer Cheese
A full-flavoured, mountain-style cheese, Affineur Walo Red Wine Farmer packs a serious punch. The local red wine-washed rind gives it a distinctive appearance and classic aroma, but washing methods means it does have an overtly pungent smell and sticky texture. Thanks to careful production, it keeps its creamy and typically Swiss flavours. Affineur Walo Red Wine Farmer was a gold medallist in the 2014 Nantwich Cheese Awards.
Botton Summerfields Alpine Cheese
This is a Gruyere style cheese that is sweet, with a supple nuttiness that comes with most Gruyere's and shows similarities to Comte, as it comes with a slight tang. A hard and full flavoured cheese. The flavour base is nutty with cheddar-like notes.
Charcoal Cheddar Mini Cheese
Have you ever tried black cheese? Well, now you can! This mature cheddar is a creamy delicacy with the added intrigue of being completely black. Charcoal Cheese was the winner of the ‘Best New Idea’ at the Farm shop and Deli show in 2014. This truly unique cheese is made with charcoal from the Featherstone mines in Yorkshire, mixed with a wonderfully creamy mature Cheddar. Watch out; This cheese has an inedible black wax-coating!
Charcoal Cheese
The only all black cheddar cheese... Deliciously creamy mature cheddar, blended with Yorkshire charcoal. A great talking point for any dinner party. We only sell these in Minis, so fear not - you can still buy this fantastic cheese, just give it a search in the search bar!
Colston Bassett Stilton Blue Cheese
A decadently rich and creamy blue cheese, with a smooth, lingering complexity. This is a classic stilton. Strong in flavour while remaining smooth and creamy, Colston Bassett is a blue cheese whose veins become more strongly defined as the cheese matures. A cool fact - this is the only cheese to be recognised by HSE to be safe to be had by pregnant women! So if you're pregnant and like blue cheese.. this is your go to. If you are not pregnant and like blue cheese, we still recommend it!
Cornish Kern Cheese
Meet the aged version of the phenomenal Cornish Yarg. The makers of Cornish Yarg have been working on this Gouda style recipe for quite some time and they have succeeded in creating something quite magical. It's flavour is enhanced by alpine cultures giving it a taste similar to that of a Comté or Gruyère and yet it is from right here in the UK! Fun fact: Kern quite literally means "round" in Cornish!
Cornish Yarg with Wild Garlic Cheese
Cornish Yarg is a semi hard, wild garlic wrapped cheese made from grass rich Cornish milk. It is loosely based on a Caerphilly recipe and is tangy under its natural rind and slightly crumbly in the centre.
Dale End Cheddar Hard Cheese
A traditional cloth bound cheddar which is aged for a minimum of six months. It has a tangy and citrus like taste with a long lasting flavour. This is a wonderful cheddar that gets the taste buds at the back of your mouth tingling.
Doddington Cheese
A namesake cheese from Doddington Dairy. It is an incredibly accessible cheese that lies somewhere between a Leicester and a cheddar - and let us tell you, its perfection. It has notably sweet, caramel undertones that are accompanied with nutty characteristics and the classic cheddar texture. This is for cheese lovers and cheese nibblers! What's not to love?
Gjetost Hard Cheese
A Norweigan delicacy, that's as sweet as caramel, with a sticky, fudge-like texture. Gjetost is a concentrated, sweet block that tastes more like butterscotch than like actual cheese. Made from the whey, rather than the curds.
About Hard Cheese
Choosing a hard cheese
Cheddar: Montgomery's and Keen's for traditional farmhouse Cheddar, Snowdonia Black Bomber for something smooth and creamy.
Nutty and sweet: 24 Month Comté, Gruyère AOC Extra Mature, Botton Summerfields Alpine and Raypenaer.
From Yorkshire: Swaledale Traditional, Yoredale and Yorkshire Pecorino Fresco.
Something different: Gjetost, the sweet, caramel-coloured Norwegian cheese, or Murcia al Vino, a goat's cheese bathed in red wine.
Hard cheese FAQs
How should I store hard cheese?
In the fridge, wrapped in wax paper or cheese paper, then loosely in a bag or box. Cling film makes it sweat. Take it out about an hour before eating.
How long does hard cheese keep?
Two to three weeks once cut, if it's wrapped well. Very mature cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano keep longer.
Can I freeze hard cheese?
You can, but it turns crumbly, so frozen cheese is best grated into cooking.
Which hard cheese is best for melting?
Gruyère, Comté and a mature Cheddar. For burgers and toasties, see our best cheese for burgers guide.
Are your hard cheeses vegetarian?
Some are. Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Comté and Gruyère are always made with animal rennet. Our vegetarian cheese page has the ones that aren't.
10 Hard Cheeses Everyone Should Know
Ten hard cheeses worth knowing, from Comté and Gruyère to Cornish Kern and a proper Somerset Cheddar, with what makes each one tick and what to drink with it.
Read The Guide →