History of Cheddar Cheese

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) received a very delicious gift on her wedding day - a giant wheel of cheddar cheese, weighing 1000 pounds. This shows the popularity of this cheese during that period of history. Till date, the popularity and demand for cheddar cheese is intact. Today, this cheese is considered the most sought-after one in the world. Though it originated in England, it is widely accepted across the globe. Nowadays, this cheese is manufactured in large quantities in the United States, Iceland, Canada, Australia, and many other countries.

What is Cheddar Cheese

This cheese is usually made of cow's milk. One of the unique features of cheddar cheese is its process of manufacturing, called 'cheddaring,' which is alien to other types of cheese. Its natural color is pale white, but, manufacturers add 'annatto,' extracted from the achiote tree or oil made from paprika, to get the deep orange color. Even food colors are used to get the different hues seen in various types of this cheese.

Compared to other types, cheddar cheese has a sharp taste and is smoother and, creamier. The sharpness depends on the aging period of the cheese. The longer it ages, the taste become sharper and the cheese becomes crumbly. Depending on the age and level of sharpness, cheddar cheese is available in a wide range - mild, medium, old, extra old, etc. The mild one may age in a few weeks or months with a smooth and slightly crumbly texture and will be semi-hard. The old ones are hard and more crumbly with a sharp, strong taste. Apart from this, you can get this cheese in various flavors like hot pepper, caramelized onion, garlic and horseradish. The maximum aging period for this cheese is five to six years, but, there are older ones too. Older versions are expensive and scarcely available. Nowadays, almost 250 varieties are available in the market.

Origin of Cheddar Cheese

It is believed that this cheese was developed by the villagers of Cheddar (in Somerset), England. Somerset, with its rich pastures, was considered as the center of England's dairy industry. According to a local tale, a milkmaid kept a bucket-full of milk in the Cheddar caves. She forgot to collect it and at a later stage found out that the milk had been transformed to something else, which tasted good. This incident prompted the villagers to try out the possibility of developing this product.

Though there is no evidence to prove the exact time of invention of cheddar cheese, it is said that the official account books of King Henry II (1154-1189), mention the purchase of 10,000 pounds of cheddar cheese. So, this cheese can be dated back to the late 12th century. At that time, the cheese was made by the dairy farmers, only after they received orders from customers and there was no mass production. Later, a local system was developed to make cheddar cheese, by collecting milk from livestock farmers. Each farmer received his share of cheese in proportion to the quantity of milk contributed by him. It is not proved whether this cheese made at that period carried any resemblance to the present-day version.

Traditional Method of Making

Cheddar cheese was manufactured manually, till a Somerset dairyman, Joseph Harding introduced the methods of mechanization and standardization, in 1856. The raw material for the traditional method was unpasteurized milk collected from the dairymen of Somerset. Milk was curdled by adding rennet (enzyme collected from the stomach of a milk-fed calf). After heating the curd, it was kneaded with salt, cut into slabs, pressed to remove the whey (watery part of curd), and stacked, one upon the other. These slabs had to be turned at regular intervals. This process of stacking, pressing and turning was termed as cheddaring.

After cheddaring, these slabs were packed in larded cloth and kept in constant temperature conditions (sometimes, black wax was also used for coating these curd slabs). The caves in Cheddar and the surrounding regions provided the perfect temperature settings for cheese-making. Hence, slabs of curd were kept in these caves for maturing. Even today, some manufacturers prefer these caves for maturing cheddar cheese.

Modernization

As mentioned earlier, Joseph Harding pioneered the standardization and modernization of the manufacturing process of cheddar cheese. He introduced scientific ways of cheese-making in England and also initiated the propagation of this method in Scotland and North America. Harding's innovative equipment included the 'revolving cutter,' which was made for cutting curd. He always insisted on dairy hygiene and perfect temperature control. Considering his contributions to this field, he is often called the father of cheddar cheese.

Today, cheddar cheese is made of pasteurized milk, in fully mechanized surroundings. Even though, many countries manufacture this cheese, only West County Farmhouse has been accredited with a PDO (protected designation of origin) by the European Union. In order to meet this standard, the cheese making process should be traditional.

• The raw milk should be from one of the four English counties - Somerset, Cornwall, Devon or Dorset (West County Farmhouse)
• Animal rennet should be used
• Cheddaring should be done manually
• No coloring agents should be used
• Only cloth wrapping is allowed
• Cheese should be matured up to a minimum of nine months

The doubts regarding the genuineness of cheddar cheese never affected its popularity. Over the years, it has been savored by people all over the world. If you are an exception, grab a pack of this cheese, the next time you visit a supermarket.