Joseph Harding - Technical Innovations in The Production of Cheese

Technical Innovations in The Production of Cheese

Joseph Harding is attributed with "an easy way of draining the curds of as much of their moisture as possible. This resulted in a semi-hard, close-textured, non-crumbly cheese, the style universally associated with Cheddar. Harding, born into a cheesemaking family in 1805, was more than any other individual responsible for the international spread of Cheddar as a popular cheese, helping to introduce Cheddar-making into Scotland, and also training American cheesemakers on their visits to Somerset." Another commentator has put his contribution thus: "his major contribution was to improve dairy hygiene and to standardise the methods used for making cheddar".

His dictum was 'Cheese is not made in the field, nor in the byre, nor even in the cow, it is made in the dairy'.

The English method of producing cheddar cheese was known in America as "the Joseph Harding Method".

Joseph Harding described good cheese 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 hazlenut".

Harding believed that "a sharp cutting instrument in breaking the curd is injurious and that the curd should be allowed to split apart according to its natural grain".

Harding was insistent upon temperature control and strict hygiene in the production of cheese. He stated "the milkers may not enter the dairy, a tin receiver is placed outside the house, into which the milk is poured and conveyed to the cheese tub by a conduit, at each end of which is a strainer to prevent any filth from the yard from passing into the cheese-tub". This technique is notable as a development in food hygiene.