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The transformation from milk to cheese starts when traditional varieties of bacteria are added. Next animal rennet goes in, which contains enzymes that go to work on the milk proteins. By this stage the vat is being heated and stirred by mechanical arms, mixing and cutting the solid curds that separate out from the vast bulk of liquid whey. Acidity and temperature are carefully monitored, and after a couple of hours the curds are moved into a new vat where they will be turned into cheddar. (The liquid whey is kept for other uses, like making ricotta). I taste a piece of curd. It's small and knobbly, but smooth, like chewing a pencil rubber. I quite like it.

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Curds and whey

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These tiny lumps of curd are then put through a process of called cheddaring. This involves several hours of skilled blocking, cutting, turning and stacking, all done by hand, allowing the cheese makers to adjust to the particular condition of the milk each day. The cheddaring sticks the curd lumps together into bricks, which eventually flatten into what look like melted hot water bottles.

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Curds after cheddaring

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The curds now have layered protein structures, similar in texture to chicken breast, and these give the cheddar its distinctive quality. These beautiful rubbery mats are shredded, then salted. Now we have short ragged lengths of squeaky cheese, similar to halloumi, but very mild.

The shredded curds are pressed into cylindrical moulds to create the rounded forms of whole cheddars, about 13 inches in diameter and 11 inches tall. Then they’re wrapped in muslin, covered with lard and transferred to the store room, where they stay for at least eleven months to mature. Occasionally the skin of the cheddar will crack and create blue veins of mould inside the cheese. Although technically considered rejectsÌýthey are in fact highly sought after by customers. Even more rare are black-veined cheddars, and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for one of those.

So far then I've only seen two machines used – the one to stir the vat and the one to shred the hot water bottles. If they could have a third machine I expect it would be to turn the cheeses on the shelves in the store room. Each cheddar needs to be flipped once a week, and that’s 72 hours work per week.

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In the store Tom brings out the cheese iron (or cheese corer) to do some tasting. We try one made last May, the best time of year when the new grass is at its fresh, juicy prime. This gives the cheese a distinctive taste with a longer finish. I'm still tasting it ten minutes later when we’re walking back into the dairy. Once again I’m aware that this level of attention to detail is only possible for a dairy that controls its own milk production.

Although, when I ask Tom how he controls the flavour his response surprises me. He laughs, andÌý says the interesting thing about cheese making is that he has no control over flavour whatsoever. IÌý probably looked confused, so he explains that all he can do is create the best conditions for flavour to happen. The character and flavour come from the grass, the environment, and the particular bacteria in the milk. The skill in cheese making is allowing the really beautiful flavours in the milk to develop in the cheese.

The acidic, tangy smell of the storeroom soaks into my jacket, and lasts a whole day after my brief visit,Ìý but I could grow to love it. It's not unpleasant, after all. Quite sophisticated maybe, if a little organic. OrÌý'mouldy' as they called it when I got home.

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