Cheddar cheese

Cheddar Cheese
Country of origin	England
Region	Somerset
Town	Cheddar
Source of milk	Cows
Pasteurised	Frequently
Texture	Hard
Aging time	3–18 months depending on variety
Certification	West Country Farmhouse Cheddar PDO

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, pale-yellow-to-off-white (unless artificially coloured), sometimes "sharp" (i.e., acidic)-tasting, natural cheese. Originating in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset,^[1] cheeses of this style are produced beyond this region and in several countries around the world.

Cheddar is the most popular type of cheese in the U.K., accounting for 51 percent of the country's £1.9 billion annual cheese market;^[2] it is also the second-most-popular cheese in the U.S.A. (behind mozzarella), with an average annual consumption of 10 lb (4.5 kg) per capita.^[3] The United States produced 3,233,380,000 lb (1,443,470 long tons; 1,466,640 tonnes) in 2010,^[4] and the UK 258,000 long tons (262,000 tonnes) in 2008.^[5] The term "cheddar cheese" is widely used, but has no Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) within the European Union. However, only cheddar produced from local milk within four counties of South West England, may use the name "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar."^[6]

History

The cheese originates from the village of Cheddar in Somerset, South West England. Cheddar Gorge on the edge of the village contains a number of caves, which provided the ideal humidity and constant temperature for maturing the cheese.^[5] Cheddar cheese traditionally had to be made within 30 miles (48 km) of Wells Cathedral.^[1]

Cheddar has been produced since at least the 12th century. A pipe roll of King Henry II from 1170 records the purchase of 10,240 lb (4,640 kg) at a farthing per pound (totaling £10.13s.4d., about £10.67 in decimal currency).^[7] Charles I (1600–1649) also bought cheese from the village.^[5] Romans may have brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France.^[8]

Central to the modernisation and standardisation of cheddar cheese, was 19th Century Somerset dairyman Joseph Harding.^[9] For his technical innovations, promotion of dairy hygiene, and volunteer dissemination of modern cheese-making techniques, he has been dubbed "the father of cheddar cheese".^[10] Harding introduced new equipment to the process of cheese-making, including his "revolving breaker" for curd cutting, saving much manual effort.^[11][12] 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".^[13] He and his wife were behind the introduction of the cheese into Scotland and North America. Joseph Harding's sons, Henry and William Harding, were responsible for introducing cheddar cheese production to Australia^[14] and facilitating the establishment of the cheese industry in New Zealand respectively.

During World War II, and for nearly a decade after the 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.^[15] This nearly resulted in wiping out all other cheese production in the country. Before World War I there were more than 3,500 cheese producers in Britain, while fewer than 100 remained after the Second World War.^[16]

Process

A bowl of cheese curds

The curds and whey are separated using rennet, an enzyme complex normally produced from the stomachs of newborn calves (in vegetarian or kosher cheeses, bacterial-, yeast- or mould-derived chymosin is used).^[17][18]

Cheddaring refers to an additional step in the production of cheddar cheese where, after heating, the curd is kneaded with salt, cut into cubes to drain the whey then stacked and turned.^[17] Strong, extra-mature cheddar, sometimes called vintage, needs to be matured for up to 15 months. The cheese is kept at a constant temperature often requiring special facilities. As with other hard cheese varieties produced worldwide, caves provide an ideal environment for maturing cheese; still, today, some cheddar cheese is matured in the caves at Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge.

Cheddar cheese maturing in the caves at Cheddar Gorge

Character

Cheddar cheeses on display at the Mid Somerset Show

The ideal quality of the original Somerset Cheddar was described by Joseph Harding in 1864 as "close and firm in texture, yet mellow in character or quality; it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth, the flavour full and fine, approaching to that of a hazelnut".^[19]

Cheddar made in the classical way tends to have a sharp, pungent flavour, often slightly earthy. Its texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional cheddar being slightly crumbly; it should also, if mature, contain large cheese crystals consisting of calcium lactate – often precipitated when matured for times longer than six months.^[20] Real Cheddar is never "soapy", in texture or mouthfeel, and tends to be more brittle than other types of cheeses.

Cheddar is usually a deep to pale yellow (off-white) colour, but food colourings are sometimes used in industrial varieties of cheddar-style cheeses. One commonly used example is annatto, extracted from seeds of the tropical achiote tree. The largest producer of industrial cheddar-style cheese in the United States, Kraft, uses a combination of annatto and oleoresin paprika, an extract of the lipophilic (oily) portion of paprika.^[21] Coloured cheddar cheese has long been sold, but even as early as 1860, the real reason for this was unclear: Joseph Harding stated "to the cheese consumers of London who prefer an adulterated food to that which is pure I have to announce an improvement in the annatto with which they compel the cheesemakers to colour the cheese".^[22] According to David Feldman, an author of trivia books, "The only reason why cheesemakers colour their product is because consumers seem to prefer it".^[21]

Cheddar cheese was sometimes (and still can be found) packaged in black wax, but was more commonly packaged in larded cloth, which was impermeable to contaminants, but still allowed the cheese to "breathe", although this practice is now limited to artisan cheese makers.

The Slow Food Movement has created a Cheddar Presidium,^[23] claiming that only three cheeses should be called "Original Cheddar". Their specifications, which go further than the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), require that cheddar cheese be made in Somerset and with traditional methods, such as using raw milk, traditional animal rennet, and a cloth wrapping.^[24]

Notable cheddar cheeses include "Quickes", which in 2009 was awarded cheese of the year by the British Cheese Association, "Keen's", with a strong tang, and "Montgomery's", with an apple aftertaste. Lincolnshire Poacher cheese is an example of a cheese made in the style of a traditional cheddar in Lincolnshire.

International production

Status

The Cheddar cheese name is used internationally; its name does not have a protected designation of origin (PDO) but the use of the name West Country Farmhouse Cheddar does. Countries making cheddar cheese include Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. 'Cheddars' can be industrial or artisan cheeses. The flavour, colour, and quality of industrial cheese varies significantly, and food packaging will usually indicate a strength, such as mild, medium, strong, tasty, sharp, extra sharp, mature, old, or vintage; this may indicate the maturation period, or food additives used to enhance the flavour. Artisan varieties develop strong and diverse flavours over time.

Canada

Following a wheat midge outbreak in Canada in the mid-nineteenth century, farmers in Ontario began to convert to dairy farming in large numbers, and cheddar cheese became their main exportable product, even being exported back to England. By the turn of the twentieth century there were 1,242 cheddar factories in Ontario, and cheddar had become Canada’s second largest export behind timber.^[25] Cheddar exports totalled 234,000,000 pounds (106,000,000 kg) in 1904, but by 2012, Canada was a net importer of cheese. James L. Kraft grew up on a dairy farm in Ontario, before moving to Chicago. As writer Sarah Champman writes, "Although we cannot wholly lay the decline of cheese craft in Canada at the feet of James Lewis Kraft, it did correspond with the rise of Kraft’s processed cheese empire."^[25] Canadian 'Cheddar' is produced mostly by a number of large companies in Ontario, though other provinces produce some and there are some smaller artisanal producers. The annual production is 120,000 tons ^[26] It is aged a minimum of three months, but much of it is held for much longer, up to 10 years.

Canadian cheddar cheese soup is a featured dish at the Canada pavilion at Epcot, in Walt Disney World.^[27]

New Zealand

Much of the cheddar cheese in New Zealand is factory produced but reportedly good quality. Most of it is sold young within the country. The Anchor dairy company ships New Zealand cheddars to the UK, where it matures for another year or so.^[28]

United Kingdom

PDO logo can be displayed on any approved West Country Farmhouse Cheddar cheese

The four English counties in the PDO

Only one producer of the cheese is now based in Cheddar itself, The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Co.^[29] The name "cheddar" is not protected by the European Union, though the name "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar" has an EU Protected Designation of Origin, and may only be produced in Somerset, Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall, using milk sourced from those counties.^[30] Cheddar is usually sold as mild, medium, mature, extra mature or vintage. Mature Cheddar is the best selling variety in the UK.^[31]

United States of America

Cheddar-style cheese from Bravo Farms, Traver, California

The state of Wisconsin produces the most cheddar cheese in the U.S.A.; other centres of production include: California; Idaho; upstate New York; Vermont; Tillamook, Oregon; Texas; and, Oklahoma. It is sold in several varieties (mild, medium, sharp, extra-sharp, New York-style, white-, and Vermont-). New York cheddar-style cheese is particularly sharp, but usually slightly softer than the milder-tasting varieties. Cheese that has not been artificially-colored the familiar yellow-orange hue, is frequently labelled "white cheddar" or "Vermont cheddar" (regardless of whether it was actually produced there). Vermont has three creameries that produce what is regarded as first-class cheddar cheeses: the Cabot Creamery, which produces the sixteen-month-old Private Stock Cheddar; the Grafton Village Company; and Shelburne Farms.^[28]

Some cheeses called Cheddar, are actually flavoured processed cheeses or "cheese food"s; they often bear little resemblance to the natural cheeses they were named for. Examples include Easy Cheese, a cheese food packaged in a pressurized spray can, or, in packs of individually-wrapped, processed cheese slices.

'Cheddar' is one of several products used by the United States Department of Agriculture to track the status of America's overall dairy industry; reports are issued weekly detailing prices and production quantities.

Record cheddars

U.S. President Andrew Jackson once held an open house party at the White House at which he served a 1,400-pound (640 kg) block of cheddar cheese.^[32]

A cheese of 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) was produced in Ingersoll, Ontario, in 1866 and exhibited in New York and Britain; it was immortalised in the poem "Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing over 7,000 Pounds" ^[33] by James McIntyre, a Canadian poet.^[34]

In 1893 farmers from the town of Perth, Ontario produced The Mammoth Cheese, which weighed 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) for the Chicago World's Fair. It was planned to be exhibited at the Canadian display, but the mammoth cheese fell through the floor and was placed on a reinforced concrete floor in the Agricultural Building. It received the most journalistic attention at the fair, and was awarded the bronze medal.^[35] A larger, Wisconsin cheese of 34,951 pounds (15,854 kg) was made for the 1964 New York World's Fair. A cheese this size would use the equivalent of the daily milk production of 16,000 cows.^[36]

Oregon members of the Federation of American Cheese-makers created the largest cheddar cheese in 1989. The cheese weighed 56,850 pounds (25,790 kg).^[37]

See also

• Red Leicester
• Double Gloucester
• Wedginald – a round of Cheddar made famous when its maturation was broadcast on the Internet

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cheddar cheese.

• Icons of England – Cheddar Cheese