Cheddar cheese 6936 225685335 2008-07-14T22:04:26Z CountryDoctor 7333926 /* Character */ add what Kraft does to color cheddar, add comment from Feldman and information on regional preferences in the U.S. {{Cheese|Cheddar | [[Image:Somerset-Cheddar.jpg|330px]] | [[England]] | [[Somerset]], [[Cheddar]] | [[Cow]]s, rarely [[Domestic goat|Goats]] | Frequently | hard/semi-hard | 3&ndash;30 months depending on variety | ''West Country farmhouse Cheddar'' Only:<BR>[[Protected designation of origin|PDO]]}} '''Cheddar cheese''' is a fairly hard, pale yellow to orange, sharp-tasting [[cheese]] originating from the [[England|English]] village of [[Cheddar]], in [[Somerset]]. <ref>{{cite web | title= Separating the curds from the whey | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5241544.stm | work= [[BBC Radio 4]] Open Country| date= [[21 August]] [[2006]] | accessdate= 2007-08-07 }}</ref> Cheddar cheese is the most popular cheese in the [[United Kingdom]], accounting for 51% of the country's £1.9 billion annual cheese market.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Interview - Lactalis McLelland's 'Seriously': driving the Cheddar market | work=The Grocery Trader | url=http://www.grocerytrader.co.uk/News/October_2006/G_lactalis.html | accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> Although Cheddar cheese is originally English, it is also widely produced in other countries, including [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], the [[United States|USA]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]] and [[Canada]]. ==History== Cheddar cheese has been made since at least 1170. A [[pipe roll]] of [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] from that year records the purchase of 10,420&nbsp;[[Pound (mass)|lb]] at a [[British farthing coin|farthing]] per pound (£3 per tonne).<ref>{{cite web | title=History | work=Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company | url=http://www.cheddargorgecheeseco.co.uk/history.php | accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> Central to the modernisation and standardisation of Cheddar cheese was [[Joseph Harding]] in the nineteenth century.<ref name="History">{{cite web | title=History of Cheddar Cheese | work=Icons of England | url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/cheddar-cheese/biography/history-of-cheddar-finished/in time of place/my mum/yummy cheese is yummy because it is yummy with yummy skills | accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> For his development and propagation of modern cheese-making techniques he has been described as the father of Cheddar cheese.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heeley |first=Anne |coauthors= Mary Vidal |title=Joseph Harding, Cheddar Cheese-Maker |year=1996 |publisher=Friends of the Abbey Barn |location=Glastonbury }}</ref> Harding is credited by some websites as the inventor of the [[Cheese Mill]]<ref name="History" />: whether or not this is true, Joseph Harding was responsible for the introduction of modernizing cheddar production along a scientific approach. He was responsible for the introduction of this very English cheese into Scotland and North America. Joseph Harding's son, [[Henry Harding]], was responsible for introducing Cheddar cheese production to [[Australia]].<ref>From Artisans to “Factories”: The Interpenetration of Craft and Industry in English Cheese-Making 1650–1950, by Richard Blundel and Angela Tregear, Enterprise and Society, October 17th 2006</ref> ==Production== ===Process=== {{main|Manufacturing of Cheddar Cheese}} [[Manufacturing of Cheddar Cheese#Cheddaring|Cheddaring]] refers to an additional step in the production of Cheddar-style cheese where, after heating, the [[curd]] is kneaded with salt, then is cut into cubes to drain the [[whey]], then stacked and turned.<ref name=telegraph>{{cite web | url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2005/06/18/edsavvy18.xml | publisher= [[The Daily Telegraph]] | title= Savvy shopper: Cheddar | date= [[18 June]] [[2005]] | accessdate= 2008-03-10}}</ref> 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 cheese production in other European countries, [[cave]]s provide an ideal environment for maturing cheese; still, today, some Cheddar cheese produced in the UK is matured in the caves at [[Wookey Hole Caves|Wookey Hole]] and the caves in [[Cheddar Gorge and Caves|Cheddar Gorge]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.cheddarvalleygazette.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=216909&command=displayContent&sourceNode=216903&contentPK=17447868&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch | title= Maturing deep underground | work= Cheddar Valley Gazette | date= [[31 May]] [[2007]] | accessdate= 2007-08-07}}</ref> The [[rennet]] used to coagulate the milk into separate curds and whey used in [[vegetarian]] Cheddar is not sourced from the stomachs of dead calves.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.vegsoc.org/info/cheese.html | publisher= [[Vegetarian Society]] | title= Information Sheet - Cheese & Rennet | accessdate= 2008-03-10}}</ref><ref name=telegraph /> ===International production and taste=== Cheddar cheese is produced in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Canada]], [[United States]], [[South Africa]], [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]] (where it is usually called ''tasty cheese''), [[Sweden]], [[Belgium]], and the [[Netherlands]]. Much of this cheese is mass-produced and quality varies enormously. The strong flavour develops over time, with a taste diverse enough that food packaging will usually indicate a strength using adjectives such as mild, medium, strong, tasty, sharp, mature, or vintage, and may also indicate the maturation period. ==Status== [[Image:MidSomerset Show 170803.jpg|right|thumb|Various cheeses]] The name 'Cheddar cheese' has become widely used internationally, and does not currently have a [[protected designation of origin]] (PDO). However, the [[European Union]] recognises '''West Country Farmhouse Cheddar''' as a PDO. To meet this standard the cheese must be made in the traditional manner using local ingredients in one of the four designated counties of [[South West England]]: [[Somerset]], [[Devon]], [[Dorset]], or [[Cornwall]]. The [[Slow Food|Slow Food Movement]], encouraged and advised by [[Neal's Yard Dairy]], has recently created a ''Cheddar Presidia'', claiming that only three cheeses should be called 'Cheddar'. Their specifications, which go well beyond the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Presidia Artisan Somerset Cheddar | work=The Slow Food Foundation | url=http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/eng/presidi/dettaglio.lasso?cod=148 | accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref> ==Character== In England, Cheddar tends to have a sharp, pungent flavour, often slightly earthy. Its texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional cheddar being slightly crumbly. It is always a pale yellow colour, and food colourings are not used. In parts of the United States and Canada, [[annatto]], extracted from the tropical [[Achiote|achiote tree]], is used to give Cheddar cheese a deep orange colour. The largest producer of Cheddar in the United States, [[Kraft]], uses a combination of annatto and [[oleoresin paprika]], an oil made from paprika.<ref name=df>{{cite book | last = Feldman | first = David | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = When Do Fish Sleep? And Other Imponderables of Everyday Life | publisher = Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. | date = 1989 | location = | pages = 15 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0-06-016161-2 }}</ref> The origins of this practice have been long since forgotten, but the three leading theories appear to be: * to allow the cheese to have a consistent colour from batch to batch * to assist the purchaser in identifying the type of cheese when it is unlabelled * to identify the cheese's region of origin (<i>i.e.</i>, not from Cheddar). According to David Feldman, an author of trivia books, "The only reason why cheesemakers color their product is because consumers seem to prefer it." Some parts of the eastern United States prefer white cheddar, while most areas in the rest of the country like it yellow.<ref name=df/> Cheddar cheese was sometimes packaged in black wax, but more commonly in larded cloth, impermeable to contaminants but still allowing the cheese to breathe, although this practice is now limited to Europe and to artisan cheese makers. In the United States, Cheddar cheese comes in several varieties, including mild, medium, sharp, extra sharp, New York Style, [[Colby cheese|Colby]]/Longhorn, white, and Vermont. New York style Cheddar cheese is a particularly sharp Cheddar cheese, sometimes with a hint of smoke. It is usually slightly softer than milder Cheddar cheese. Colby/Longhorn Cheddar cheese has a mild to medium flavour. The curds are still distinct, often marbled in colour, varying from cream to yellow. Cheddar that has not been coloured is frequently labelled as "white Cheddar" or "Vermont Cheddar", regardless of whether it was produced in the state of [[Vermont]]. [[Vermont Cheddar]] is the nearest of any North American cheese to authentic English Cheddar. [[Image:Cheese curds 2.jpg|thumb|A bowl of [[cheese curds]]]] Cheddar cheese is one of several products used by the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] to track the [[dairy industry]]; reports are issued weekly detailing prices and production quantities. The state of [[Wisconsin]] produces the most Cheddar cheese in the United States; other centres of production include [[upstate New York]], [[Vermont]], and [[Tillamook, Oregon]]. Cheddar cheese is a good source of [[vitamin B12]]. A slice of vegetarian Cheddar cheese (40&nbsp;g) contains about 0.5&nbsp;µg of vitamin B12 (required daily intake for an adult is 2.4&nbsp;µg). Famous Cheddar cheeses from Somerset include Keen's, with a strong tang, and Montgomery's, with an apple after taste and the unpasteurised Cheddar made by the Gorge Cheese Company in Cheddar itself. == Record sized Cheddar cheeses == [[White House]] [[historian]]s assert that U.S. [[president]] [[Andrew Jackson]] held an open house party where a 1,400&nbsp;lb (635&nbsp;kg) block of Cheddar cheese was served as refreshment; this block of cheese would later serve as direct inspiration for two episodes of the [[Emmy award|Emmy-award]] winning television series ''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]''. A cheese of 7,000&nbsp;lb (3,175&nbsp;kg) was produced in [[Ingersoll, Ontario|Ingersoll]], [[Ontario]], in [[1866]] and exhibited in [[New York]] and Britain; it was immortalised in the infamous [[poem]] "Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing over 7,000 Pounds" by [[James McIntyre (poet)|James McIntyre]], a [[Canada|Canadian]] poet. In 1893 farmers from the town of [[Perth, Ontario]] produced The Mammoth Cheese, at a weight of 22,000&nbsp;lb (10,000&nbsp;kg) for that year's World's Fair in Chicago. When placed on exhibit with the Canadian display, The Mammoth Cheese promptly crashed through the floor and had to be placed on reinforced concrete in the Agricultural Building. It was more written about than any other single exhibit at the fair, and received the bronze medal. A still larger [[Wisconsin]] Cheddar cheese of 34,951&nbsp;lb (15,853&nbsp;kg) was produced for the [[1964 New York World's Fair]]. It required the equivalent of the daily milk production of 16,000 [[cattle|cows]]. == See also == * [[Wedginald]] &ndash; a round of Cheddar made famous when its [[Cheese#Aging|maturation]] was broadcast on the internet. == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * [http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/cheddar-cheese Icons of England &ndash; Cheddar Cheese] <!-- Non commercial site commissioned by UK Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport --> * [http://www.howtomakecheese.co.za/cheddar_cheese A recipe for a Cheddar-like Cheese] * [http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/html/aj7.html Andrew Jackson's 1,400 lb Cheddar] * "[http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1367.html Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing over 7,000 Pounds]" - full text of the poem, with notes [[Category:Cow's-milk cheeses]] [[Category:Goat's-milk cheeses]] [[Category:English cheeses]] [[Category:British products with protected designation of origin]] [[Category:Vermont culture]] [[Category:Vermont cuisine]] [[af:Cheddarkaas]] [[cs:Čedar]] [[da:Cheddar ost]] [[de:Cheddar (Käse)]] [[es:Cheddar]] [[fr:Fromage Cheddar]] [[gl:Cheddar (queixo)]] [[it:Formaggio Cheddar]] [[he:צ'דר]] [[ka:ჩედერი]] [[nl:Cheddar (kaas)]] [[ja:チェダーチーズ]] [[no:Cheddarost]] [[pl:Cheddar]] [[pt:Cheddar]] [[ru:Чеддер]] [[sk:Čedar]] [[sv:Cheddar]]