cheddar

cheddar, hard cow’s-milk cheese named for the district of its origin in the southwestern county of Somerset, England. Cheddar is one of England’s oldest cheeses. The original so-called farmhouse variety remains in limited production in modern times.

In the traditional method of cheddar manufacture, the firm curd is cut, or “cheddared,” into small bits to drain the whey and then pressed firmly into cylinders commonly of 12 to 15 inches (30 to 38 cm) in diameter and weighing from 60 to 75 pounds (27 to 34 kg), though size may vary widely. The cheese, a light orange-yellow in colour, is wrapped in thin muslin and coated with wax. It is aged a minimum of three to six months, preferably one and one-half to two years. Its mellow, rich flavour becomes more intense with age but should not be bitter.

Factory-made cheddar, now by far the norm, attains a high standard in England and in certain North American versions, notably Canadian, Vermont, New York, and Wisconsin.