Hafod Cheese
Hafod Cheese begins with the relationship between land and herd. With around seventy-five cows in milk at any one time, the size of the herd is shaped by what the land itself can sustain.
Ours is an organic farm, managed without chemical fertilisers or pesticides for over fifty years. Fertility is built through crop rotations and grazing, encouraging a biodiverse and balanced ecology. From this living system comes a rich, flavoursome milk - the starting point of Hafod.
The role of the cheesemaker is to produce a cheese that – through texture, body, and flavour – tells the story of the farm. A job that is both an honour and a huge responsibility.
Inspired by the long forgotten cheddar making techniques of the early 20th century, we have developed a gentle, slower, cooler recipe for Hafod. Under the guidance of Dora Saker’s 1917 book, ‘Practical Cheddar Cheese-making’ and other books from that time, we have been piecing together how cheddar used to be made before the industrialisation of cheese production.
We use a yogurt starter culture, favouring less aggressive strains of bacteria, and adding less than the amount conventionally used, which allows the milk to acidify very slowly. This slow pace gives the curd time to expel moisture through the ‘cheddaring’ process, negating the need to cook the curds at a higher temperature. And with this slow, controlled transformation of the curd, we are able to wait until we have the desired texture before milling, without the risk of over acidification.
At the milling stage, often after the afternoon milking has started, the sheets of curd have a wonderful, silky smooth and slightly elastic quality similar to chamois leather. When salted, the curds are dry and leafy, with a deep, buttery aroma.
We make Hafod every other day using all the farm’s milk – about 2000 litres. This gives us between eighteen and twenty 10kg cheeses per make.
Maturing
On removal from the press, each cheese is covered with lard that gives them protection during the long maturation period, whilst allowing them to breathe and develop the characteristic natural mould rind. Interestingly, we no longer wrap Hafod in cloth at the larding stage. This seems to give the cheese even more opportunity to self regulate - a ‘live’ food responding to its environment. Matured for about a year in our store’s unique environment, each cheese is regularly turned and rubbed. During this time, Hafod develops its complexity and depth of flavour. Each batch is ironed to taste the subtle variations and graded before being selected and sent to customers.
An Evolving Craft
Over Hafod’s history, each cheesemaker has contributed to a growing understanding of the milk and the process. From the early adoption of traditional techniques to more recent changes, such as moving away from cloth binding, there is an ongoing culture of observation, experimentation and refinement.
In recent years, our focus has been on texture and body. Our milk is naturally rich in butterfat, which is often seen as a challenge in cheddar-making. Rather than working against this, we now see it as essential: a means of carrying the flavour of the farm.
By strengthening the curd structure, we aim to retain that butterfat while still allowing the whey to drain freely. The result is a cheese with a slightly brighter acidity, balanced by a full, rounded richness. The texture is firmer yet more succulent, allowing the underlying flavours of the land, herd and milk to come through more clearly.