How Traditional Red Leicester Cheese Is Made In the UK | Regional Eats

Red Leicester is a raw-milk, nutty, sweet cheese with a citrus finish. But no doubt what makes it stand out is its bright orangey-red color. The cheese is deliberately turned this vibrant hue with a natural coloring called annatto. It doesn’t contribute to the flavor of the cheese, so why is it added? We visited Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. to find out.
For more, visit: leicestershirecheese.co.uk/
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[@miikop]

“Eyes in the cheese” Claudia’s done enough of these cheese videos that she can bring new information to the cheesemakers. Another great video from her

[@TocsTheWanderer]

Blessed are the cheesemakers.

[@johnr797]

@@TocsTheWanderer they're not cheesemakers, they're very naughty boys

[@bonzkid]

@@TocsTheWanderer not just the cheese makers but all manufacturers of dairy products.

[@lt530]

I never tire of people and their preferences lol. Dude didn't want his cheese to fall through the cracks, so he dyed it... and it worked! People eat the "new" cheese with no complaints, and a classic is born. I genuinely love stories like this one.

[@kevinlee6983]

P. I

[@paulf7567]

american cheddarz

[@jdturnier8539]

Same here.

[@elainejohnson796]

Interestingly tho' - annato is linked to behavioural problems and intolerances I think. You can also be allergic to it. It's not completely harmless.

[@frogstamper]

I've eaten red leicester for over thirty years and never realized that the red colour was just there for show, I always thought it was part of the cheese making process that it was this colour. Great video.

[@johnr797]

Same with cheddar

[@amitkumaramitkumar6076]

Ll MLM

[@ExoticS_TM]

@@johnr797 in Australia we use white cheddar and its wonderful the melting temperature is lower perfect for burgers and grilled cheese

[@johnr797]

@@ExoticS_TM sounds good but not sure what that has to do with annatto? In Canada we use white cheddar too

[@aaroncutting]

It's very similar to the coloring added to Wisconsin cheddar to give it the vibrant orange coloring

[@EsteffersonTorres]

I'm from the northeast of Brazil and that food coloring is widely used here, especially on stews. The plant has many names and here in my region is called "Urucumzeiro" and its fruit is the "Urucum". The seeds of the fruit are ground, originating a powder of vibrant red color. There's a type of cheese made in Brazil called "Queijo do Reino" or "Kingodm's Cheese", which, if I'm not mistaken, also uses anatto.

[@joannawillett3885]

Thank you for that information. I love learning more when individual ingredients are from and what the other uses are. Awesome 👌

[@tdb7992]

Red Leicester is easily one of my favourite cheeses. It's really popular here in Australia, but most British foods are.

[@spudgun4286]

Only thing I could get when I live there was ‘tasty’ cheese. It was not tasty at all 😢

[@kampradooka5024]

@@spudgun4286 gotta go to the farms and factorys and such, supermarket cheeses are pretty generic over here but as someone who lived in bega i can say the farm has a much bigger variety than the shop. Also i agree, spuermarket tasty cheese is just rubber haha

[@scottwhitley3392]

Wensleydale with cranberries and Shropshire blue cheese are my favourite. Can take the piss out a lot of British foods but cheese is certainly not one of them

[@cptntwinkletoes]

Red Lester isn't popular in Australia at all

[@Seddius]

@@cptntwinkletoesagree. If they are we would have red tasty in the supermarket.

[@WightKnight]

Rationing really killed a lot of what was great about British food, I'm glad these methods are coming back in a big way.

[@BigWaders]

Almost makes you wonder what may have been lost to time forever.

[@user-ps2sg8qr2k]

@@BigWaders Damaskus, the original Damaskus from Damsyik, native pre colonalization country architecture, etc, maybe there's even extinct race that we don't know existed, because they die from plague or invasion, or really just have a very bad luck and time to existed

[@Dr.Quarex]

I studied abroad in Leicester for a year once, and Red Leicester was one of many things I took away from that experience to appreciate for the rest of my life. Really different cheeses are a good 50% of those experiences but I had lots of fun too

[@raynmaker]

i studied in leicester for a term too! and as a cheese lover, that was truly a wonderful experience for me lol.

[@GoldenFrizbee]

Fun fact: MSG occurs naturally in cheese :) Calcium lactate crystals also offer a fun mouthfeel. I prefer my cheese aged and this is quite common in aged Gouda.

[@gorillachilla]

Let uncle Roger know

[@shukshinite]

Uncle Roger would be proud

[@xSCHEF]

Gouda is underrated because it’s so freaking common nowadays. But aged Gouda is still one of the best cheeses available!

[@GoldenFrizbee]

@@xSCHEF When I'm not looking for an aged cheese I usually go for Muenster, Havarti or Gloucester. I'm not a big fan of smoked gouda either I much prefer it aged 😍

[@ryankiesow8440]

@@GoldenFrizbee Muenster cheese is the bombbb best grilled cheese sandwich ever. Amish cheeses are legit

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

"Let's call this cheese RED Leicester for its bright *yellow* color".

[@Raiden_N7]

The word for "orange" came into the English language relatively late. Before then anything that colour was simply referred to under the umbrella of "red." It's why ginger people, with their bright coppery hair, are still referred to as "red-heads."

[@scottwhitley3392]

Red was used for anything yellow orange red and purple on English up until quite recently

[@skyworm8006]

​@@Raiden_N7 Yeah basic colour words and their ranges vary quite a lot between languages and different time periods. It can be hard to understand what colour a historical text actually means. Globalisation means the colour ranges are increasingly much the same so it can be confusing when this doesn't hold.

[@valentyn.kostiuk]

As a redhead should I from now on be named "brightyellowhead"?

[@weiweiwang2638]

@@valentyn.kostiuknah

[@beverlyandsebaiyaman9787]

The cheese master's accent was heart warming, my grandmother was from Leicester...

[@HarekaTysiri]

Claudia is getting better and better in each episode! I love her! And i love cheese! So i hope one day i could meet her and talk about cheese 😂

[@thecheesescientist]

Love a good Red Leicester. Unfortunately, most commercial versions have got no flavour. Seek out this Sparkenhoe Red Leicester for a traditional cheese made with raw milk.

[@VideoNOLA]

Do you know if it's sold in the U.S.?

[@thecheesescientist]

@@VideoNOLA it is seasonally available at some speciality cheese shops. Worth asking the question from your local monger.

[@videofudge]

Name checks out

[@GraceLJW]

"Our American friends will know about this." I grew up near Tillamook and yes, squeaky cheese is fantastic! And very funny the first time you eat it.

[@NaomiVirshbo]

YEEEEEEEEEAH I LOVE THE TILLAMOOK FACTORY

[@warriormaiden9829]

Hallelujah, someone else knows that name!! Growing up, we always knew it as squeaky cheese. I moved to a different state, walked into the closest grocery store with a decent cheese section, asked if they kept squeaky cheese in stock....and got looked at like I had a second head. 😭 My husband had no idea what I was talking about when I told him, and it wasn't until we visited family back in my home state that he got to try some. He almost cried when we had to go back home. 😆 It was sheer luck that he found a place that sells it down here. He's a local trucker, and was assigned to a run that he has yet to do again. It was to a local cheese factory, and he and his boss stopped in for a snack at the shop. Lo and behold, there's an entire *rack* of the stuff. He walked out the door with about 8 pounds of the stuff, and his boss jokes that he has a cheese addiction. 🤣🤣

[@llab3903]

@@warriormaiden9829 what American hasn’t heard tillamook

[@warriormaiden9829]

@@llab3903 I'm not talking about the brand Tillamook. I'm talking about the term 'squeaky cheese'. Most people seem to know it under the name 'cheese curds'.

[@val-xo7ud]

In Mexico we mix chile guajillo with salt and rub it on a hard cheese or fresco. It gives it good color and flavor as well as preserving.

[@samueltrifan8228]

Stilton used to be my favorite British cheese, until I tasted Red Leicester for the first time last year. Absolutely love it. 🤤

[@gorillachilla]

2 different world you crazy guy

[@xander1052]

I was brought up on the cheaper mild Red leicester blocks, tempted to get some of a more aged variety now.

[@theautisticgamer1860]

It's all I buy 825g for £3.75

[@scottwhitley3392]

Shropshire blue or Wensleydale with cranberries for me 😮‍💨

[@llab3903]

@@theautisticgamer1860 how much is that in freedom units

[@gigteevee6118]

Definitely the best food channel, Claudia rules!!!

[@The_Deacon1942]

I love these episodes! You do an amazing job explaining what cheese is all about. Thank you.

[@AquaticStarchild]

Claudia is an excellent host. It is like Christmas when they upload one of her videos.

[@miaw.9751]

This is awesome! And to see that younger people have gotten into the craft is wonderful 🤗

[@hari.prasadv]

Thank god for this youtube channel! It's so soothing.

[@Andr359404]

Fun fact: annato is called axiote in Mexico and is famously used in cochinita pibil, which is probably Yucatán's most famous dish. If you go to Cancún, try and have some authentic cochinita to taste annato used in a completely different form.

[@DB-su5qp]

Only tasted Red Leicester recently and these new (longer maturation) and traditional ones are really good. Its a favourite now and added to the cheese rotation.

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

👍👌👏 Simply fantastic again and always when this great reporter does the documentation. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health to all involved life forms (humans, cows and microorganisms). ;-)

[@paulwagner688]

Achiote also has a distinct flavor. I would call it the "saffron of the Americas".

[@MYERZ08]

Agreed. You can taste it, very slightly, in cheese of this quality. Your supermarket variant not at all.

[@marvindiego1958]

The Philippines which is the only Spanish colony in Asia also adopted it..It is called atsuete here and there are trees. We also used it as food coloring for food and soup.

[@brunolondinese5857]

But achiote is it not Anatto plus various other spices?

[@karlbryanison2660]

Ulul

[@gonzoducks8]

Achiote is just anato. Nothing else is added to it. You can buy it in seed, paste, or liquid form.

[@gudfaderncc]

Claudia, the best foodie on YT 😍

[@Filbie]

Would love to see a video on Cotswold cheese! It’s my favorite! ☺️☺️

[@ExoticS_TM]

Vintage Red Leicester is my favourite cheese it's wonderful to see how it's made bravo bellissima 😘👌

Thanks for the excellent sharing.

[@boarbot7829]

Red Leicester and cave aged cheddar are just so good. Amazing for cooking too.

[@5amgoodies84]

love these cheese videos and idk why

[@tmackie1694]

Red Leicester is a SUPERB cheese. My favourite hard(ish) cheese (with Stilton being my favourite soft cheese) … can’t beat those British Midlands cheeses 😀 🇬🇧

[@dextersynesterformerlysorb5334]

Take your mask off, gimpy

[@gpulitini666]

Besides food coloring, Anatto was and still being used by natives from central to south America as traditional red color body painting, it's called URUCUM here in Brazil, they also use the leafs as medicine by chewing or making tea. The red fruit is said to have lot of c vitamin and other good substances. Indigenous people eat it as healthy food... So if you use it in these cheese, you are improving not only with color, but with other good stuff...

[@ja-bv3lq]

Claudia Romero is one of the most charismatic and gorgeous food-show hosts I've seen in decades! ❤ you, Claudia! Keep up the fun, entertaining and educational episodes!!!

[@DarrenBoss1984]

Easily one of my favourite cheese.

[@PREPFORIT]

I love these shows.

[@SaraLevins]

After moving to another european country from England, i deeply miss Red Leicester. They don’t have it anywhere! 😢

[@JohnHausser]

American 🧀 : I’m great for 🥪 Red Leicester 🧀 : Hold my 🥛

[@D4NYBL4Z3TV]

Anytime, very good job Claudia.

[@gez9145]

great stuff

[@vicentecastro7148]

Awesome...

[@definitelyme9056]

Beautiful cheese beautiful anchor ❤️

[@sockpuppets7256]

this is my favorite cheese ever.

[@pjacobsen1000]

When I hear 'Red Leicester', I am immediately reminded of the Monty Python cheese sketch.

[@aznamoon1111]

Very cool video. I’m all about traditional methods, but I would be interested in knowing what it tasted like without the larding method and then compare the two 🧀 ☺️

[@daveprice5911]

red Leicester is my favourite cheese in the whole world. I wish I could get it in germany :(

[@CamAteUrKFC]

Red Leicester is popular here in Canada aswell, although Cheddar is still by far the most common.

[@fnjesusfreak]

I'm not sure I remember ever seeing Red Leicester on your side of the ditch, when I used to go to Canada all the time. :o

[@CamAteUrKFC]

@@fnjesusfreak It's becoming more popular I should say. We're starting to see more and more euro cheeses here since we opened up the canadian dairy market a couple of years ago. The big fear was we would be bombarded by cheap american cheese, but that doesnt seem to have been the case.

[@johnr797]

@@CamAteUrKFC our dairy cartel is still alive and well, I'm sure they colluded to make sure the Americans couldn't effectively enter the market in major grocery stores, but if you have a cheese shop nearby you could probably find some American cheeses. The increased availability of European cheeses is great though, but expensive like every other food here.

[@gerrykomalaysia2]

Looks good

[@pakistanifoodslover]

Nice 👍

[@m.l.pointless9903]

This guy i soo cool with evrything!

[@paulvarda5318]

it makes a badass mac & cheese!!!

[@junpabelonia4334]

In our country we called it achuete oil for that natural food coloring.

[@motupatlugamesworld5768]

AWESOME CONTENTS

[@user-vo7tj4bv1z]

Cheerios govner, an absolute smashing video bruv

[@adamblunsdon7784]

Nice video

[@vickithompson3039]

Yay Claudia!!!!

[@MagikManz]

yummy

[@crabmansteve6844]

Red Leicester is a fantastic cheese for grilled cheese, and I like 1 part Red Leicester in my mac'n'cheese too.

[@shoal2242]

Claudia my love 😍🥰seeing you after so many days. Love you cheesy girl🥰😘

[@victorsantos9884]

Anato, colorau, urucum. They are the same thing, very common here in Brazil

[@derrickstableford8152]

The cheese of my home city.

[@rockisgood111]

At 2:53 she says "American friends won't know about this" lol. Wisconsin cheese curds beg to differ. I've tried them both, it's almost the same thing

[@fredlacroix6865]

annatto plant (seeds) has the most potent form of tocotrienols (vitamin E)

[@giogarcia4002]

I would love to attend a cheese eating and sampling event.

[@Gltokensp06]

Chris Morocco is QUAKING! iykyk

[@yanu3778]

nice 😊👍😊

[@atlashellwalker9769]

Now I’m craving an egg banjo with Red Leicester

[@johnaythehuman]

Cheese is one of the tastiest works of art mankind has ever happened upon making

[@bonnielucas153]

Makes me want a nice grilled sandwich

[@FOODangiri]

I just love cheese . take love from foodangiri.

[@truthtube1673]

I live in Leicester yay

[@krod432]

Red Leicester cheese, with a slice of Melton Mowbray Pork pie. Perfect XD

[@lordfaladar6261]

yumm

[@FeedMyPostBox]

My City!!!

[@Giveme100ksubs]

for real?

[@greglinski2208]

When my son was about 11 years old he entered a Jaycee Relay Race. He’d never ran track before and didn’t know everybody wore shorts. He came in jeans, to everyone’s amusement. He ran the last leg for his team - and came away the fastest runner of the day, and made up considerable distance to win. This video made me think of that day. How I wish I had been able to see it, instead of only hear and read about it. I was a single mom and had to work. My son was an amazing athlete. ❤️

[@caminojohn3240]

Love that traditional cheese making is coming back from the dead.

[@sazara]

Proses pembuatan keju terimakasih ..

[@motupatlugamesworld5768]

AWESOME GAME PLAYING

[@reema.1096]

*RED LEICESTER CHEESE IS SO UNDERRATED?!!!!*

[@jerrycheese1506]

Thats some fine cheese

[@raiyanibrahim2489]

Claudia Romeo in the headcap looks like Aladeen from 'The Dictator'.

[@animehub4169]

She's the 👑 of chess. 🥰✌️

[@rungsukburanarungsuk8816]

We love cheese

[@andrewlm5677]

A very pleasant man there

[@Kratos-005]

If anyone wants to know what it tastes like, it’s basically just a cheddar cheese with dye added to it. It is incredibly tasty when melted or grilled, from cheese on toast, grilled cheese toastie, to lasagna and pasta dishes. Or just a humble sandwich. It’s a very versatile cheese.

[@albertorocca1069]

Red Chees NO NO NO Lasagna...

[@renellecooke5717]

We call this Roucou in Tobago 🇹🇹

[@LA-bq6hf]

Ohh annato we use that in chicken oil for a filipino delicacy called inasal or grilled chicken

[@fnjesusfreak]

I can't find Leicester cheese around here so I don't know if there's any variety I can compare to. As a lifelong New Yorker, though, I know exactly what they were talking about with the curds ;p

[@johnr797]

If you mean NYC I'm sure you can find it somewhere. But as a Canadian I'm just glad you know the joy of cheese curds

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@johnr797 NYS. I live literally down the street from a border crossing, in Niagara Falls.

[@johnr797]

@@fnjesusfreak awesome, love the wine country down there

[@ethanquirk28]

Yeah the UK doesn’t really like to export a lot of its cheeses; red Leicester, double Gloucester, *real* Cheddar, Stilton etc are primarily only made to sell to domestic markets

[@KurtMidas1510]

Damn.. That's some good ass cheese

[@SaadNabil]

Say Cheese! 📸🧀

[@quinnw6795]

Lol 😂 you beat me to it. I was gonna say that lol. Well done 👍

[@thebrutaltruth460]

I am having this as I'm watching the video. It sure is squeeky and salty

[@-Osiris-]

We need more of these with Claudia

[@drewhuso9496]

Chris Morocco is shaking in his boots watching this

[@Jabberwok28]

I do love all English cheeses, but whenever I see anything about them I always think of the Monty Python Cheese Shop sketch.

[@dtulip1]

Looking forward to getting a block of Red Leicester with flecks of nail varnish in it!

[@Jab7kO]

I can smell it even here.

[@theautisticgamer1860]

Mt favorite

[@iurirafael]

Question. When u get to the step to "split" the milk. can u use any acid ??? i would like to try with coffe/coffe beans. would it be possible ??

[@hylacinerea970]

prepandemic my grocery store had a “bespoke” cheese counter where they had whole imported wheels, id always see red Leicester but i thought it was just sharp cheddar.

[@motupatlugamesworld5768]

GOOD LUCK YOUR CHANNEL

[@natzvds]

Back for my favourite presenter: Claudia.

[@kelvinlights1028]

When they use the little cutter to take a core out of the cheese to test for taste, how do they plug the hole again?

[@mctaz2043]

I may be wrong here but my understanding is that they only taste the very inner part of the core and replace the outer as a plug.