The Cheddar Tradition
Colin James
The cow’s hard milk cheese, known as cheddar, has been made in the Mendip Hills near the Cheddar Gorge in England since at least the sixteenth century. Since then emigrants have taken the recipe for this wonderful cheese to all parts of the world. However to be a true cheddar, the cheese must be produced in the hills of Somerset, Devon and Dorset. Unlike many of the other European cheeses, the name cheddar has not been protected and more than any other British cheese, it has been copied and abused to the point where many hundreds of tonnes of tasteless cheese are churned out daily world-wide bearing the name cheddar.
True cheddar is made from the milk of cows whose daily diet is fresh green grass, buttercups and daisies. Ten litres of milk is used to make 1 kg of cheddar cheese. Made by hand, traditional cheddar is wrapped in cheesecloth to mature for 9 - 24 months. Its taste is like magic, the bite like chocolate, firm and yielding and the aroma is fresh, nutty and slightly savoury. While the flavour differs from farm to farm, there is always the rich sweetness of the milk, a classic acid tang and a long lingering kaleidoscope of flavours.
Mild cheddars, sold between 1 and 3 months old, are firm, supple, slice easily and can be served with a crisp white wine. Matured cheddars (3 - 12 months), have a stronger flavour and a more textured body, making them a perfect partner for dry whites, Shiraz and Merlot. Vintage cheddar (aged for 12 - 24 months) with its more robust flavour, is delicious served with Cabernet Sauvignon, ports and muscats.. The older the cheese, the more crumbly it becomes. Aged cheddars can develop calcium lactate granules throughout the body of the cheese and often on the outside where it can be mistaken for white mould. Today cheddar cheese is the base for various styles of club and processed cheeses which can contain a range of different flavourings, herbs and spices such as peppercorns, sage, walnuts, garlic, chilli and wasabi.
Today some cheesemakers still mature their cheddars in cheesecloth (eg Kenilworth and Pyengana) and many cheesemakers use specific coloured waxes to depict the ages of the cheeses.
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