Say Cheese – Say Somerset – Say Cheddar

Piesek P is on the lookout for GREAT British Cheese in Poland – as he finds it he’ll let you know – just smile,

Say Cheese from the town of Cheddar in the Mendip Hills

The story of Cheddar can be traced back to the Romans who introduced hard cheeses to England. It was the Medieval feudal system which led to the development of the large, buxom traditional British cheeses. It was not until the 16th century that the hard cheese made in the Mendip Hills in the Cheddar Gorge in Somerset became known as Cheddar. In the 17th century, Queen Elizabeth I herself noted that ‘‘West of Wales, just below the Mendip Hills, is the town of Cheddar, known for the excellent and prodigious cheeses made there.”

Produced according to a method used to make the French cheese cantal, cheddar’s name was associated with its town of origin early on. This jewel in the crown of English cheese was exported throughout the Commonwealth, made its Canadian debut during the 19th century and quickly became the country’s most widely produced cheese. Since then, the excellent quality and renown of cheddar has sent it far beyond our borders to grace some of the finest tables around the world.

In earlier times, cheddar’s flavour was often masked by undesirable bacteria, which developed because milk could not be refrigerated. In 1857, Joseph Harding standardized the process known as “cheddaring” and succeeded in suppressing the growth of the microorganisms. Cheddaring is a process of rapid acidification obtained by stacking and turning the curds at high temperature during draining. This results in a stringy texture, not unlike white chicken meat. The curds are then ground down into small bits and salted to stop the acidification and reduce the whey, and the desirable bacteria that give cheddar its particular flavours are selected.

There are several types of cheddar:

– Fresh unpressed: These are the unripened curds, straight out of the vat, which have become so popular. They make the perfect healthy snack or tasty addition to an hors d’oeuvre tray.

– Mild: This soft, mild-flavoured cheddar is ripened for three months.

– Medium: Ripened for four to nine months, this cheddar is firm-textured, melts in the mouth, and tastes faintly of hazelnuts.

– Vintage: Ripened for nine months to two years, this cheddar has a firmer, dryer, slightly granular texture and a strong, sharp flavour.

– Extra Vintage: Ripening from two to ten years gives this cheddar its very pronounced flavour.

To taste an unpasteurized, clothbound cheddar made from cows’ milk whose diet is grass, clover, buttercups and daisies is to taste a little piece of England. The bite is firm but yielding like chocolate, the aroma earthy and savoury. The flavour differs from farm to farm however there is always the rich sweetness of the milk, a classic acidity, sometimes nuttly with an explosion of flavour in the mouth and a lingering cheese and onion tang.

For generations Cheddar has been at the heart of the English diet. Salads, Ploughmans, cheese and pickle sandwiches are well known and flavoursome. Cheddar is superb in sauces or melted over that famous British Baked potato. A GREAT grilling cheese and a superb addition to a vegetarian palate. Loves real ale or – for wine lovers – Merlot or Pinot Noir.

Say Cheese – Say Somerset- Say Cheddar – Taste some for yourself today