Double Gloucester is a traditional, full fat, hard cheese made from pasteurized or unpasteurized cows' milk. The cheese, made from the milk of once nearly extinct Old Gloucester cows, traces its origins to 1498 in the City of Gloucester.

Gloucester comes in both single and double varieties. While Single Gloucester is made from skimmed milk, Double Gloucester uses full fat milk. In addition, Double Gloucester is twice the height of Single Gloucester and more flavorful. It is also said that Double Gloucester uses the whole milk taken from two milking or a mixture of milk and cream.

The double variety has a smooth and buttery texture, rich and nutty yet mellow flavor and apricot color thanks to the addition of annatto plant extract. Vegetarian rennet is used and the cheese is aged for at least 4 months. If the cheese is allowed to age further, it will develop more complex and nutty flavors. Moreover, the texture tends to become very hard and flaky.

Double Gloucester cheese is made in many parts of the UK both on farms and in large dairies. It has a characteristic light orange hue given by the addition of annatto to the milk. This has been a traditional characteristic of the cheese since the 16th century when producers of inferior cheese used a colouring agent to replicate the orange hue achieved by the best cheesemakers who were probably making the cheese from the morning's milking to which was added the separated cream of the previous evening's milking. During the summer months the high levels of carotene in the grass would have given the milk an orangey colour which was carried through into the cheese. This orange hue was regarded as an indicator of the best cheese and that is why the custom of adding annatto spread to other parts of the UK with Cheshire and Red Leicester cheese as well as Coloured Cheddar made in Scotland all using this natural dye. The farm made cheeses tend to be kept a little longer adding to their flavour and where the cheese is cloth bound they are significantly harder and drier than their creamery counterparts and generally more expensive.