Cheddar Cheese

Photo: flickr user stu_spivack

About

Cow's milk cheese named for the English town of Cheddar and a cheesemaking process developed there. Typically quite firm, and a bit crumbly. The more cheddar ages, more it is described as "sharp," which is a strong tangy flavor. Extra sharp cheddars are aged for years before selling to the public. In the United States, several states are renowned for their cheddar production, including New York, Vermont, Oregon, and Washington.

Information

Other names: Cheddar

Translations: Čedaras siers, Cheddar sūris, Cheddar Brânză, Cheddar sira, Ser cheddar, चेडर पनीर, Queijo Cheddar, Сыр чеддер, Τυρί Cheddar, جبن شيدر, 체다 치즈, Cheddar sýr, Keju cheddar, 切德奶酪, Formatge Cheddar, Sir cheddar, Cheddar syr, צ 'דר גבינה, Cheddarost, Чедар сир, チェダーチーズ, Fromage cheddar, Cheddar Ost, Queso Cheddar, Сир Чеддер, Cheddar-juustoa, Сирене

Physical Description

firm, semi-hard orange, yellow or white cheese

Colors: semi-hard orange, yellow or white

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Millky, salty, pungent flavour

Mouthfeel: Creamy

Food complements: Pastries, Vegetables, Salads, Fish, Meat, Soup

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Choosing: Whether you're preparing an elegant cheese souffle or a quick and easy grilled cheese sandwich, use the finest cheddar cheese you can get your hands on. Cheddars differ greatly in taste, color, ingredients and method of preparation. Since professional taste tests awarded blue ribbons to the pricier cheddars, expect to spend a little extra to get a superior product.

Prefer a farmhouse cheddar cheese, which is not mass-produced. Professional cheesemakers prepare the cheddar by hand according to a traditional "cheddaring" technique.

Read the label ingredients on the cheddar before buying it. Make sure the cheese contains at least 50 percent milk fat.

Touch the cheddar to feel its texture. Choose the cheese with the flaky and hard surface. Prefer also a fine-grained rather than coarse-grained texture.

Plan to test the cheddar by melting it. Inferior quality cheddars appear greasy when melted because the fat and solids separate. High quality cheddars remain intact and velvety when melted.

Check the amount of protein noted on the label of the cheese. Cheddars containing higher protein contents taste better. High protein means the maker used a premium quality milk.

Buy several different brands and compare their taste. Aim for a sharp, nutty and full-flavored taste. Inferior quality cheddars taste flat and lack "bite."

Examine the cheese's packaging. Manufacturers of an inferior cheddar cheese wrap their products in flimsy cellophane. However, pricier farmhouse cheddar producers double wrap their cheeses, first in sturdy cloth and then in heavy duty plastic.

Buying: You can buy Cheddar Cheese at any local or supermarkets. There are also cheese store that sells thousands of different cheese.

Preparation and Use

Cleaning: Clean Cheddar Cheese on running water.

Conserving and Storing

Freezing cheddar alters the texture of the cheese, but it will retain its flavor and can be used for cooking in the same way as cheddar that has never been frozen.

Before storing your cheddar cheese, examine the cheese block to make sure that it does not have any mold on the surface. Do not eat or attempt to store cheese that has become contaminated with mold.

For best results, store cheddar cheese in its original packaging or in a sturdy plastic wrap. You might find it best to wrap the cheese block in plastic wrap and then place the wrapped portion of cheese in a zipped storage bag or freezer bag.

The ideal temperature for storage cheese in the refrigerator is about 40 degrees. Cheese frozen in the freezer will last longer than refrigerated cheese, but you can expect the cheese to acquire a dry, crumbly texture after prolonged freezing. The change in texture does not affect the flavor of frozen cheese, which is most suitable for cooking.

Social/Political

During the Second World War most milk in Britain was used for the making of one single kind of cheese nicknamed 'Government Cheddar' as part of war economies and rationing. This nearly resulted in wiping out all other cheese production in the country. Before the First World War there were more than 3,500 cheese producers in Britain, while fewer than 100 remained after the Second World War.

History: Cheddar cheese has been produced since at least 1170. A pipe roll of King Henry II from that year records the purchase of 10,420 lb at a farthing per pound (£3 per ton). One suggestion is that Romans brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France, where it was adapted. Cheddar cheese traditionally had to be made within 30 miles (48 km) of Wells Cathedral.

Central to the modernisation and standardisation of Cheddar cheese was the nineteenth century Somerset dairyman Joseph Harding. For his technical developments, promotion of dairy hygiene and unremunerated propagation of modern cheese-making techniques he has been described as the father of Cheddar cheese.

Harding introduced new equipment into the process of cheese making, including his "revolving breaker" for curd cutting, saving much manual effort. The "Joseph Harding method" was the first modern system for Cheddar production based upon scientific principles. Harding stated that Cheddar cheese is 'not made in the field, nor in the byre, nor even in the cow, it is made in the dairy', He and his wife were behind the introduction of the cheese into Scotland and North America. Joseph Harding's son, Henry Harding, was responsible for introducing Cheddar cheese production to Australia.