The Joy of Cheese Grading

Everyone who makes Ivy’s Reserve loves Grading Day the best. This is when we take out our Cheese Irons, almost unchanged from the one pictured above, and dig them into the new Ivy’s Reserve. It’s when we see what special, individual qualities the newly made batch of Cheddar brings. Cheddar making is as much a science as an art, centred around controlling the variables that affect the subtle differences in flavour and texture to ensure that Ivy's Reserve is the same every time its tasted. This flavour profile and the standards, were set by our Grandmother Ivy almost a century ago. For us, it’s the creaminess, complexity of flavour and nutty, rounded finish that we’re looking for. To achieve that, we start by selecting only the very best Cheddar which is suited to ageing for an extended period. We then put this aside in wooden maturing boxes and place it in a store that’s set to the same temperature as Ivy’s barn, where she began her cheese-making.

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We then wait – for up to 18 months. At the end of this process, our Master Cheese Grader, Diane Cox, takes charge, though there are always several others eager to help. Diane is the one who decides if there’s that delicious contrast of sharpness and creaminess that marks out a really great vintage Cheddar, represented by the slight crunch of calcium lactate crystals you’ll know from your Ivy’s Reserve. Each Grading Day is a thrill for us, obsessed as we are with the process of Cheddar-making. It’s also a moment of pride, at a job well done and a grand tradition preserved. We’re sure it was just the same for our grandmother Ivy.

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