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.
Gjetost Hard Cheese – Mini
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 and is made from whey rather than curds. This cheese has a distinctively sweet caramel flavour with a slightly firm texture. It is the staple cheese of Norway and works well melted or not!
Gruyère AOC Extra Mature Cheese
If you’re a Gruyère person, this is the cheese for you. It’s sweet, floral and fruity with a brilliant silky texture and crunchy crystals within the cheese that is packed full of immense flavour - setting apart this Gruyère from others. In its early stages it is creamy and nutty, then becomes harder, more earthy and a little saltier. It’s a fantastic cheese with great characteristics that won’t disappoint.
Keens Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese
A tangy and intense farmhouse cheddar, with a distinct fresh citrus bite. The truckles are clothbound and matured for 12 months, giving a rich creamy flavour with a hint of citrus on the finish. This batch of Keens has been matured an extra 6 months to impart an even saltier tang! Ultimately, expect a tangy and intense farmhouse cheddar, with a distinct fresh citrus bite. Tangy and rich, this extra-matured, unpasteurised Cheddar wakes up even the most drab of cheese boards.
Lancashire Bomb Cheese
Luxuriously creamy, strong and sharp with a slight sweetness and a touch of acid. The bombs have a full flavoured taste that leaves you wanting more. The Lancashire Bomb is presented in a traditional black wax.
Mahon Cheese
This dense, crumbly cheese comes straight from Menorca. It is a DOP cheese meaning it can only be made there. This cheese is particularly special as it's made in square rounds and is washed in olive oil and paprika, giving it a soft, fruity flavour.
Manchego Curado Cheese 6 Months
The Manchego has a balanced and intense flavour and aroma with a slightly flakey texture; it has an ivory hue and a creamy taste. This particular Manchgeo has been aged for 6 months giving it an incredibly deep and wonderfully rich flavour. A hard, brittle cheese with a surprising moistness. The flavour yields a grassy, tangy after-note.
Murcia al Vino (Drunken Goat)
Murcia al Vino is a goats cheese from the Murcia region of Spain. It's name literally translates to "drunken goat" and this is due to the red-wine bath the cheese receives, giving it a distinct purple rind. Murcia al Vino is a hard yet creamy goats’ cheese that is slightly milder compared to others.
Ossau Iraty Cheese
A cheese with a whole lot of history. Ossau-Iraty is thought to be one of the oldest cheeses in the world. The story goes that the Greek God Apollo had a son who was a shepherd and made this cheese from his sheep's milks. Ossau-Iraty is still followed by a traditional recipe that can be traced back 3000 years, this means that this cheese predates the English Alphabet! You’ll be getting a creamy, earthy and beautifully smooth cheese.
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
Parmigiano Reggiano is Italy’s most famous cheese, if not the World’s most famous. All wheels are inspected at 12 months. The cheeses of the highest quality are then selected to further mature to 30 months. This process ensures we get the best possible product, with the distinctive saltiness being the hallmark of Parmigiano. This cheese has been aged for 30 months, meaning it is rich in flavour, incredibly crumbly and grainy in texture and just done to perfection.
Pecorino Dolce Cheese
Here at Love Cheese we love a good sheep's cheese and Pecorino is always a winner. This sheeps cheese comes from the mountains of Tuscany, using long-trusted family methods and is the perfect balance of sweet and floral.
Pecorino Romano PDO Cheese
This is one big flavoured cheese with loads to get excited about. Due to its long ageing process you can expect a whole different taste from most variations of pecorino. Its maturation process allows for a more caramel and rich palette not dissimilar to a parmesan. It is a sheep's cheese with a nutty, full-bodied flavour with playful touches of sweetness and grass.
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 →