Thousands of cheese lovers to log on...to watch cheddar mature

The Daily Mail ^ | 17th September 2007 | Staff

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Thousands of cheese lovers are expected to log on to the internet this week to witness the thrilling highlight of one of the world's most unlikely spectator sports.

Over the last nine months, more than 1.5 million people across the globe have logged on to www.cheddarvision.tv to watch a round of cheddar cheese as it slowly matures.

Viewing is expected to reach a fever pitch on Wednesday when something is actually going to happen in the project for the first time in many months.

The 44-pound handmade cheese, named Wedginald by its creators, will undergo its ninth month grading test.

An expert cheese taster will pierce Wedginald with a special testing device to remove a core of cheddar.

The cheddar core will then be sniffed and tested for "depth and maturity".

More than 100,000 viewers logged on to the website in March this year as Wedginald passed its first quality check with flying colours and organisers expect a similar figure to log-on on Wednesday.

The project is expected to last for a further three months and is based at a farm in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

At the end of the year, the cheese, valued at around £400, will be auctioned off for charity.

Westcountry Farmhouse Cheesemakers are behind the cheddarvision website. Expert cheese taster Tom Calver, who is involved in the project said: "The continued interest in the cheese is incredible."

"We never thought for a moment that the website would become this popular. The cheese has more than 1250 MySpace friends and a time-lapse video of Wedginald's first three months has been viewed on YouTube 344,000 times."

A 'director's cut' video of the Wedginald's year-long maturation, condensed into two minutes, is expected to be released onto YouTube in the coming months.

The round of cheddar started off whitish grey, but is slowly developing into the colour of an "old gravestone".

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