History
The cheese was originally made on farms in Leicestershire with milk that was surplus once all the Stilton desired was made. It was originally coloured with carrot or Beet juice.
It used to be called Leicestershire Cheese, after the county in which it was originally made, but is now called Red Leicester to distinguish it from the White Leicester which was made to a national recipe under wartime controls during the 1940s. The rind is reddish-orange with a powdery mould on it.
The fat content of Red Leicester cheese when fresh is generally between 33 and 34%. Regulations regarding cheese require minimum fat levels to be stated in terms of the "fat in dry matter" or FDM, as moisture levels decrease as cheese ages. Take out the moisture and you are left with fat, protein, minerals, vitamins and salt – the FDM measures the amount of fat in these solids, exclusive of water. So although the minimum FDM generally listed for Red Leicester is 48% this equates to an actual fat content in the final product of around 33–34%
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