What’s up with cheddar?
Cheddar. It’s the most widely produced cheese in the world, and none of it is made in the Somerset, England, village of Cheddar that lies about 100 miles west of London. Still England is renowned for its cheddars and rightly so. Some of the best farmstead cheddars in the world originate in the English countryside: Montgomery’s and Keen’s or elsewhere in the British Isles: Reade’s or Isle of Mull (also called Tobermory after the capital of the Isle of Mull which is part of Scotland).
But cheddar cheese or more properly “cheddaring” cheese is a process rather than place. With hand-cheddaredcheeses this means partially draining the curd, cutting the curd into large slabs, and stacking the slabs atop one another, two to four slabs high. The cheese maker turns these stacks every ten to fifteen minutes over a two-hour period. This process extracts much of the whey and causes chemical and molecular changes in the curd, binding the protein molecules and densely matting the mass.
All of these cheddars range in color from slightly off-white to very pale yellow. When cheddars appear yellow or orange, they have been dyed, usually with annatto dye, a flavorless coloring agent made from the red-orange seeds of the achiote tree, widely grown in South America. Even Cougar Gold is off-white, not gold. Calling it “Cougar Gold” comes from the name of one of the WSU researchers who helped to perfect it—Dr. Gold.
Extra-aged (that’s 30-36 months) Fiscalini cheddar, made by John Fiscalini of Modesto, California, won the international cheese contest for best cheddar in 2008. That’s a first for an American cheddar, although there are some other really fine ones made in the USA: Grafton cheddar (Vermont), Cabot Creamery cheddar (Vermont), and Shelburne Farms cheddar (Vermont).
There are some fantastic “young” cheddars too; the best, I think, is Winzer Delice, aged only five months but mouth-wateringly delicious. This Swiss cheddar is finished in sweet red wine and pairs well with Pinot Gris and Reislingor Pinot Noir. Isle of Mull cheddar works well with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.
For a grilled cheese sandwich, a good, well-aged farmstead cheddar or a traditional farmhouse cheese like Cheshire, Single Gloucester, and Double Gloucester are great choices. The Welsh have traditionally used Caerphilly (care-FILLY) for grilled cheese or what they and the Englishcall “Welsh Rarebit” or “Welsh Rabbit.” I just had an Isle of Mull cheddar grilled cheese on some crusty bread–that’s hard to beat–yum.
