Cheese of the Month - Cheddar
For the first cheese of the month, it seems like a good idea to look at an old favourite: Cheddar.
Cheddar cheese gets its name from a village in Somerset, England, named Cheddar (not surprisingly). Cheddar cheese is a pale yellow, sharp-tasting cheese, and is often called "Tasty Cheese" by Australian manufacturers of mass-produced dairy products.
It is a semi-hard cheese made from cows milk and usually matured for three to four months. The term cheddaring refers to an additional step in the production of cheddar-style cheese where, after heating, the curd is cut into cubes to drain the whey, then stacked and turned.
The colour of cheddar is often modified by the use of food colorings. Annatto, a tropical tree extract, is frequently used to give cheddar an orange color. This is done with other cheeses too, but why this practice started is not precisely known. A couple of the theories are that it allows the cheese to have a consistent colour from batch to batch, or that it helps buyers identify the type of cheese or its region of origin if the cheese is unlabelled.
Cheddar in History
Cheddar has been immensely popular since the middle ages. Financial records from the reign of the English King Henry II in the 12th century show an order for cheddar cheese for his court of 10,420 pounds which would amount to 3650kg in modern terms.
A "Tasty" Cheddar Recipe
Cheese straws
100g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
100g grated mature cheddar
salt and pepper
Mix butter and flour in a food processor until crumbly. Add grated cheese, season then process again until a ball of dough forms. Wrap dough in grease-proof paper and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Roll dough out 5cm thick and cut into straws. Line baking tray with baking paper then place straws well apart. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool on tray for a little while before moving to a wire rack. Store in an air tight container. Should make 25, depending on the width of your straws.
Some Cheddar trivia and a poem
Although not a world record, (that goes to a cheddar weighing 15,853kg produced in Wisconsin, USA in 1964) a cheddar cheese of 7,000 pounds (3,175 kg) was produced in Ingersoll, Ontario in 1866 which was exhibited around the world.
This impressive piece of cheddar inspired Canadian poet James McIntyre to pen his "Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing over 7,000 Pounds", which seems a fitting way to end this brief look at the single most popular cheese in the world.
Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing over 7,000 Pounds by James McIntyre
We have seen the Queen of cheese,
Laying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze --
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.
All gaily dressed soon you'll go
To the great Provincial Show,
To be admired by many a beau
In the city of Toronto.
Cows numerous as a swarm of bees --
Or as the leaves upon the trees --
It did require to make thee please,
And stand unrivalled Queen of Cheese.
May you not receive a scar as
We have heard that Mr. Harris
Intends to send you off as far as
The great World's show at Paris.
Of the youth -- beware of these --
For some of them might rudely squeeze
And bite your cheek; then songs or glees
We could not sing o' Queen of Cheese.
We'rt thou suspended from balloon,
You'd caste a shade, even at noon;
Folks would think it was the moon
About to fall and crush them soon.
What will next month's featured cheese be? Check back in March to find out.