Cheese is packed with calories, good fats, and a variety of nutrients. Although it may not be the most slimming food available, it gives many different foods flavor and texture.
One of the most popular types of cheese is cheddar. This natural cheese has a moderately hard texture and occasionally has a harsh flavor. Interestingly, mozzarella cheese is the most popular cheese in the United States, whereas cheddar cheese is the most popular cheese in the United Kingdom. This means that the annual sale of cheese is calculated in billions of dollars due to the population and spending power of these two developed regions.
The English village of Cheddar in Somerset is where cheddar cheese originated. Today, you can certainly find it in every store, but how much do you actually know about it?
What are the Types of Cheddar Cheese?
There are innumerable cheddar variations that range from the common to the exceptional. Here are a few of our favorites for you to be aware of:
1. Blue Cheddar
Why pick when you can have both blue and cheddar cheese? This kind of cheddar is distinguished by its characteristic blue veining, as the name would imply. The helpful microorganism that gives blue cheese it’s distinct and adored flavor, Penicillium roqueforti, is inoculated into cheddar during the cheese-making process. While slightly more strong than most cheddars, Blue Cheddar is milder than most blue cheeses.
2. Aged Cheddar
These cheddars have been matured for a few months to more than ten years! Your cheddar goes through a number of natural processes while it ages, adding to its flavor and texture. The breakdown of fat and protein in particular contributes to the acidic flavor of aged cheddar. The cheddar also gradually loses moisture, which helps to concentrate all of your favorite flavors into a solid, typically flaky cheese.
3. Colby
Cheddar, particularly young cheddar, is made using a procedure that is relatively similar to other types of cheese. While maintaining a moderate flavor profile, Colby differs from cheddar in that it is typically softer and more elastic. The mild flavor and texture of Colby provide grilled sandwiches, hamburgers, fajitas, rye bread, apples, and pears a whole new meaning. Colby cheese is occasionally made by blending it with other cheeses, such as Monterey Jack.
4. Young Cheddar
Young cheddar is extremely mild, smooth, and creamy. It has a slightly buttery, moist, and melty quality. It is perfect for making homemade macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches. As an addition to your favorite meal or as a snack, it also tastes fantastic on top of apple pie. It really is an excellent crowd-pleaser.
How to Choose the Best Cheddar Cheese?
Ingredients
Really, all cheddar requires is milk, cultures, enzymes, and salt. Some cheeses are colored orange using annatto, a natural pigment derived from plants. It’s not required, but it’s also not always a problematic ingredient.
Taste
When eaten, it should be creamy with savory, sweet, and all-around tangy tastes. When making a choice based on taste, you might choose aged cheddar because it has a more potent flavor and requires less of it to make a noticeable flavor difference.
Quantity
Almost usually, the pre-shredded and pre-cut cheeses will cost more than their block counterparts. The pre-shredded cheese will also almost definitely contain additional chemicals and preservatives to prevent clumping.
What are the Forms of Cheddar Cheese?
Some people might not have a strong preference for the cheese’s color or texture, but they could prefer it in a specific form to save time. For instance, crumbled cheddar cheese is excellent for topping pasta, uncooked pizza right before baking, and burgers before toasting. Comparatively speaking, this is considerably more practical than chopping cheese from a whole loaf or log.
Some people might like cheese slices, which are suitable if you make quick breakfast sandwiches for the kids every day. Others, however, might not want their cheese so tightly wrapped in plastic because it tastes like plastic.
Some people might prefer cheese in the shape of a handy powder. This is simple to melt, yielding a silky and delicious cheese sauce. Especially if your children enjoy mac and cheese for most meals, getting your own powdered cheese in a jar can make it very simple.
Pairing Cheddar Cheese
Fruits, crackers, crusty French bread, and mustard go well with cheddar. Although it may seem difficult to mix cheese with different foods, cheddar goes nicely with almost anything. The key to successful matching is achieving a balance of flavors; neither the drink’s flavor nor the cheese’s flavor should dominate the other.
From beers, wines, and spirits, surely you’ll be able to pick easily. Choose an aged beverage with a touch of sweetness. Because apple and cheddar cheese go so well together, ales and cider are some of our favorite pairings. We adore the light, fruity aromas of white wine with mild cheddar. If you have aged, sharper cheddar on hand, pick a pinot noir or another red wine with similar taste strength. Dark spirits that have been aged in barrels, like rum, bourbon, and scotch, all have a hint of sweetness to go with their rich flavors. When paired with cheddar, your supper is almost balanced. Common flavor descriptors like nutty, sweet, and salty, which can be utilized to compliment or contrast particular flavors, are shared by old whiskey and aged cheddar cheese. A whiskey may also develop tastes from the type of barrel it was aged in, such as dark fruit from sherry casks or honey from sauternes.
Conclusion
One of the most flexible cheeses available is cheddar. You have your work cut out for you if you’re looking for the greatest cheddar cheese on the market right now. It could be difficult to choose one type of packaging that will meet your demands because there are so many distinct types and variations.
To locate the ideal type of cheddar cheese, you might also need to engage in some form of trial and error. Think about the purpose for which you will use the cheese before concentrating on a particular variety that meets your needs.