Cheddar Cheese - Character

Character

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".

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 crystals of calcium lactate – often precipitated when matured for times longer than six months. 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. Coloured Cheddar-style 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". According to David Feldman, an author of trivia books, "The only reason why cheesemakers colour their product is because consumers seem to prefer it".

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, claiming that only three cheeses should be called "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.

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, "Montgomery's", with an apple aftertaste. An example of a cheese, made in the style of a traditional Cheddar in Lincolnshire, is Lincolnshire Poacher.