What Is Cheddar Cheese?

What Is Cheddar Cheese?

Have you ever just stopped and asked yourself exactly what cheddar cheese is? How do they make it? What exactly makes it more “cheddary” than the other cheeses? Just what exactly is cheddar cheese? Well, the answer really isn’t that complicated.
What makes cheese cheddar? Well, when the milk curdles (sounds yummy already, right?); the curd is heated and kneaded with salt. After that, it is cut into cubes to drain off the whey. The curds and whey are then separated with an enzyme that is normally produced from the stomachs of new born baby calves.

Cheddar cheese is one of the more hard cheeses and usually comes in a yellowish color. Most cheddar cheese is aged around six months before being considered ready for purchase. The mark of high quality cheddar cheese is its texture and taste. It should be more on the crumbly side. It should never have a soapy texture when you touch it or put it in your mouth. Cheddar is more brittle than most other types of cheeses.

If cheddar is made in the correct way, it should be firm in texture, but mellow in character or quality. It should be slightly rich and sometimes melt in your mouth. It would be a full bodied flavour which can be compared to hazelnut. IT should also have earthy hints to it.

Where did the name cheddar come from exactly? Well, it came from the homeland of cheddar cheese. Cheddar was first made in an English village of...well, Cheddar. It makes sense right? Almost immediately after its creation, cheddar gained wide spread popularity throughout the world. While it is now produced in a lot of countries all across the world, only cheese produced in the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset can officially be called West Country farmhouse Cheddar.

Cheddar is very popular right here in the United States. In 2009, the United States produced more than 3,207,440,000 pounds of cheddar! It looks like the United States appreciates cheddar. Americans sure do love their cheddar, and for good reason. Cheese is good for you. It has everything that you need to support bone health. Cheese is full of calcium and other nutrients that people need. Children who eat enough cheddar grow up to be big and strong. So, get your fill of those billions of pounds of cheese that America makes every year. Your body will thank you.