My love for Cheddar and how to make it.
Cheddar and American cheese are one of the most popular cheeses in the US and the US is the biggest exporter of cheese in the world. Wisconsin is still the largest producer of Cheddar cheese in the US while Kraft is the largest producer of Cheddar style cheese. What does Cheddar style cheese mean? Well, let’s give a brief history lesson on why cheddar is not better.
history:
This cheese dates back to production in 1170. Apparently the Romans brought the recipe from France where it, like many other cheeses, was made better. That seems like the logical story, but the locals believe that a milkmaid brought buckets full of milk into the Cheddar caves to keep cool and one day accidentally forgot a bucket. When she went back the milk had turned to cheese, she tried it and it was pretty good. (really?)
Anywho, this cheese was made from cow’s milk and had to be made within 30 miles of the Wells Cathedral in Somerset England. This cheese was manufactured by hand until Joseph Harding introduced a revolutionary standardization of the cheese making process. He took the raw unpasteurized milk and curdled it by adding rennet. Then he heated the curd and kneaded it and cut into slabs. Then cooked the slabs and turned them as they cooked. He then added some salt, pressed it to remove the rest of the whey and then stacked the cheeses on top of each other to store. The whole process of turning the cheese and pressing and stacking was termed as cheddaring.
Sadly there is only one company still producing Cheddar in Cheddar. (Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company). Yes, in those same caves as the milkmaid once hung out in! There are tons of companies that make cheddar cheese in the same area, but only one manufacturer, West county farmhouse in Somerset, is accredited.
About the cheese:
It is a semi hard cheese that can be off white to yellow to even a light orange. The difference in color is from a dye being added to the curd. This cheese originally was produced from a cows milk and has a range of flavors from mild to sharp. The cheese can be aged (depending on which variety) from 1 to 60 months.
types:
1. Processed Cheddar: Super creamy, it’s the really bad cheddar you buy in bulk at the grocery. It is good for grating and melts easily or you can throw it at your neighbors dog that barks all night. example, easy cheese.
2. flavored Processed Cheddar: It is like it sounds. Its that kraft singles that have bacon in it. horrible. but good when you’re drunk.
3. Mild Cheddar- aged for at least 3 months.
4. Semi Matured Cheddar- aged for 3-6 months.
5. Matured cheddar- aged 6-12 months
6. Vintage Cheddar- aged up to 18 months.
7. Flavored Cheddar- matured cheddar that has a flavor added to it. like, cheddar soaked in wine, caraway seed cheddar etc.
8. Red Leicester- it has red vegetable dye to give the color and is an easy melting cheese!
9. Double Gloucester- very colorful, very tangy flavor.
10. Cheshire – sharper flavor
11. Cotto- made from skim milk
12. Steppen – firm, low fat cheese, like cotto
13. Cheedam- half cheddar, half edam.
Over the years Cheddar has gotten a bad name. Cheetoes? come on. It saddens me that there is all this history to a great cheese, but I find myself repulsed by making it just because what our society has done to the name. It is scary that one type of cheese can be manipulated to the point where the only thing resembling cheese is the color, which by the original recipe isn’t natural either. How can a blob of orange goo on a cracker be cheese?
As you can tell, there are tons of varieties of Cheddar cheese but my recommendation is to pay attention to what your eating. Read the label and of course buy local. Also don’t be scared of cheddar, because it too has a great qualities and each type has a unique characteristic.