What makes it double
The name is not about size, though Double Gloucester is indeed a larger, thicker wheel than its counterpart. Historically, double distinguished this cheese from Single Gloucester — the two have always been made differently, and both now hold their own Protected Designation of Origin status. Where Single Gloucester is made with a mixture of skimmed and whole milk and tends to be eaten young, Double Gloucester uses whole milk throughout, giving it a richer fat content, a firmer paste, and a considerably longer shelf life. We have covered Single Gloucester separately; the two cheeses reward comparison but should not be conflated.
The other immediate visual difference is colour. Double Gloucester is tinted a warm amber-orange with annatto, a natural dye from the seeds of the achiote tree. The practice may have helped disguise seasonal variation in the milk's natural colour, or simply became the expected look in the marketplace. Either way, that distinctive hue is now inseparable from the cheese's identity.
The milk and the cattle
Gloucestershire has its own cattle breed, and for much of this cheese's history the two were bound together. The Old Gloucester is a dark animal with a white back-stripe, and its milk has a particular character — rich enough to produce a cheese that ages well without turning sharp or crumbly. The breed remains rare, but some cheesemakers still source milk specifically from Old Gloucester herds. A Double Gloucester made this way often tastes noticeably different from one made with standard commercial milk: broader, softer on the palate, with a creaminess that lingers.
Most Double Gloucester sold today uses milk from other breeds, which is entirely within the PDO rules and can still be excellent. If you come across one labelled as made with Old Gloucester milk, it is worth trying on its own terms.
How it is made and how it tastes
The cheesemaking process involves heating and cutting the curd, pressing it into moulds, then cloth-binding the resulting wheel before leaving it to mature. That cloth-binding matters: it lets the rind breathe and develop naturally, adding complexity to the finished cheese. Factory-produced versions wrapped in wax exist and serve their purpose, but they are a different product.
At its best, Double Gloucester is mellow rather than assertive. Young, the flavour is buttery and mild; with age it develops a gentle, slightly oniony depth. The paste is smooth and close-textured — it slices cleanly without crumbling, which makes it one of the more practical hard cheeses for the table. Well-made examples often carry a faintly grassy, almost sweet quality, which makes sense given the county's lush pastureland.
The cheese-rolling at Cooper's Hill
Each spring, at a grassland slope near Brockworth called Cooper's Hill, a whole Double Gloucester wheel is sent rolling down a gradient steep enough to send it airborne. Competitors hurl themselves after it. The cheese almost always wins. The event is ancient in origin, informal by nature, and draws visitors from across the world — injuries included. There is no prize beyond the cheese itself and the bragging rights. The race is usually held in late spring; check the official site for this year's dates.
It would be easy to treat this as mere eccentricity. It is not. The tradition points to something genuine: Double Gloucester is a local cheese in a way that many famous British cheeses are not, tied to a specific county, a specific breed, specific grass. The cheese-rolling is the most visible expression of that attachment, but the roots run much deeper.
Finding and eating it
A good independent cheesemonger will usually stock at least one traditionally made Double Gloucester. Farmers' markets across the South West and Midlands are reliable places to find cloth-bound examples, often sold by the makers themselves. The cheese suits a ploughman's well — its firm texture and moderate flavour hold their own against pickles and bread without overwhelming them. It melts reasonably well, though its qualities are better appreciated at room temperature, given time to soften slightly before serving.
Pair it with something with a little acidity: a crisp apple, a chutney with good vinegar backbone, or a glass of dry cider from the same county. The apple orchards and dairy farms of Gloucestershire have been neighbours for a very long time, and the combination shows it.
