Double Gloucester is a semi-hard cheese and made from whole milk. Double Gloucester was originally colored with carrot juice or saffron. These days, cheese makers use a vegetable dye called annatto, to give it a warm orange color.
Traditionally Double Gloucester was an unpasteurized, semi-hard cheese which has been made in Gloucestershire since the 16th century. It was traditionally made as a large wheel with a thick rind to withstand annual cheese rolling ceremonies; when cheeses were rolled down the hills in Gloucestershire to protect the grazing rights. Double Gloucester is made using a mixture of morning and evening milk, hence the name, Double Gloucester.
Gloucester cheese has suffered in the transition from small-scale to factory production, and the distinction between Double and Single Gloucester has become blurred.
Farmhouse cheeses are made in large flattish cylinders which are cloth wrapped. They have a lovely orange color which is not as vivid as some other cheeses which are dyed with annatto. The cheese has a sweet aroma of milky carrots. The flavor is really rich and mellow with raisins and dried fruit, and a lingering lemon acidity. It is firm and bitable, like hard chocolate.