Cheddar cheese is a staple of English gastronomy and something that islanders can be truly proud of. With a very wide range of full-flavored, very textured cheeses, there is sure to be something to suit everyone.
Like the best Italian cheeses and French wines, cheddar is protected by a registered designation of origin. This means that while there are different types of cheddar cheese made in many parts of the world, real cheddar can only be made by cheesemakers in a few counties. Real cheddar can only be made in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, or Somerset.
In England, cheddar is the best-selling cheese, second only to mozzarella in the United States.
Real burgers usually come with this cheese.
It is also similar to edamame in that it is named after a town and the name itself is not protected, so you can basically put cheddar on any cheese. For this reason, you can find plain cheddar on the shelves, dyed orange with food coloring, or aged for many months.
The legend
Legend has it that, like most gastronomic discoveries, the birth of cheddar was due to chance, as a housewife left her milk in a cave – for God knows why – and the microclimate there made the milk into an exciting cheese. Although the legend is kind, it is unlikely that this is how the first cheddar was born.
Nowadays, cheese is not cave-aged, but made from good thick milk, renneted with animal rennet, the precipitating whey poured off the curds, ground, then thoroughly pressed, molded, and ripened.
History of cheddar
Cheddar’s past is lost in the misty Albion’s past. It is thought to have been established in the island nation as far back as the Celtic period, but what can be proven is that cheddar was made in England in the 12th century, as it is already found in the accounts of King Henry II’s court. Cheddar also appears later in the court’s list of suppliers.
But cheddar was not only on the court’s menu at this time, it was also on the markets.
The method of making cheese remained almost unchanged from the beginning until the Industrial Revolution, when the conditions for modern cheese production were created, with the advent of American and Scottish production, which led to an increase in the volume of cheese production and a growing number of people trying and loving cheddar.
In a short time, cheddar has become one of America’s great favorites, melting well but not overflowing, making it an excellent addition to hot sandwiches, and it has also found a new home in American versions of Mexican dishes.
The first record of cheddar cheese dates from 1170, when King Henry II bought 10240 pounds of cheddar cheese at a quarter of a penny a pound. During the reign of Charles I, in the first half of the 1600s, demand for cheddar was so great that it was supplied only to the royal court, and only if paid for in advance.
Queen Victoria’s wedding present included a giant cheddar disc weighing 1000 pounds.
The cheese has appeared in many places in the history of Anglo-Saxon countries outside the royal court, for example, cheddar cheese was used to provide a significant proportion of the calories for Robert Falcon Scott’s 1901 expedition to Antarctica.
Originally, only cheese made within a 30-mile radius of Wells Cathedral was called cheddar, but the word now means a method of production.
Cheddar production process
The aging of cheddar varies from variety to variety, but even the freshest-tasting varieties take 9 months to debut. And really mature cheddars can be matured for up to two years.
The texture of the firm, high-fat cheese is homogeneous, not pitted, not marbled, and uniform. It is often colored, and flavored with powdered spices, and often colored. Smoked versions are also known.
Due to cheddaring, the consistency of real cheddar is not completely homogeneous, but rather crumbly.
Cheddar in the present
So Cheddar can now be produced anywhere in the world, but only cheeses produced in Somerset, Dorset, Devon, or Cornwall in a specific way are labeled with the words ‘West Country Farmhouse Cheddar’.
But what’s the best thing to eat if you want the truest possible cheddar from the town of Cheddar? Well, they needn’t be sad. Although Cheddar Gorge is now a well-known tourist destination, attracting tourists and rock climbers, in the early 2000s John and Katherine Spencer set their sights on bringing a cheese back to its birthplace and opened what is now the only cheese factory in the town, the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company.
Tourists can visit the factory and see the cheese-making process through glass walls, and of course, buy the only cheddar in Cheddar at the exit. Unpasteurised milk is used as the raw material and, needless to say, the local cave-aged variety is also available.
Customers don’t have to go all the way to Cheddar, they can order from an online shop, but due to changes in customs rules after Brexit, they are not currently shipping to the EU.
How do we use cheddar cheese?
Cheddar goes very well on a cheese platter, but if you want to use it really well, then – free after the Americans – put it in various gratin dishes, grated into a variety of casseroles, but also delicious melted into sandwiches and burgers, use it in hot sandwiches, grate it on meats, pasta, bread, pizzas, etc. It can be used not only on its own but also mixed with mozzarella, scamorza.
What does cheddar cheese taste like?
Made from cow’s milk, it is a hard cheese, straw yellow to orange-red in color. It has a slightly brittle texture. The flavor is strongly aromatic, slightly tart, and reminiscent of walnuts.
Where can I buy cheddar cheese?
On Amazon
- One individually wrapped 8 oz Organic Valley Grassmilk Raw Organic Cheddar Cheese block
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Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 8 oz (Packaging May Vary)
- Sharp cheddar cheese offers a bold taste of sharpness that’s never dull
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- Naturally aged over 9 months for a sharp and full cheddar flavor
- Made from high quality milk, from cows not treated with artificial growth hormone rBST
Kerrygold Dubliner Parchment, Packaged-cheddar-cheeses, 7 Ounce
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Last updated: September 24, 2023
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