What Does Cheddar Cheese Taste Like?

Cheddar cheese is the most popular type of cheese in the United States with over 700,000 tons being produced each year. Cheddar cheese is what you typically get when you order a cheeseburger or a grilled cheese sandwich. It is a relatively simple cheese to create but it has several variations.

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Types of cheddar cheese

There are two main types of cheddar cheese: sharp cheddar and mild cheddar.

Sharp Cheddar Cheese – This variety is aged for a longer period of time which gives it a stronger taste and saltier bite. Its texture resembles that of parmesan cheese but its consistency is rougher due to more air being blown into the cheese during production. This variant, also known as extra sharp cheddar, is what you typically use for cooking.

Mild Cheddar Cheese – Mild cheddar cheese is what you typically want to add in a sandwich or add to a recipe. It is what most people think of when they hear the word “cheddar” – it is what you get in your grilled cheese sandwich from a diner, what you get when you order a cheeseburger at McDonald’s and what you put on your macaroni and cheese from the cafeteria. It is milder in taste, smoother in texture and far less expensive than its sharper cousin, extra sharp cheddar.

Cheddar cheese origins

Cheddar is an off-white or pale yellow cheese, a semi-hard cheese that can taste either sharp or milder depending on the variety. Typically made from cow’s milk contained in England and other parts of Western Europe, cheddar has a more orange colour than Swiss cheese.

It was originally made as far back as the 12th century in the village of Cheddar.  The caves here made for the perfect place to mature the cheese and it quickly became a favourite of the English elite.  The cheese then started to travel around the world and made it to the US in the 1800s.

How is cheddar cheese made?

The Cheddar cheese process has an additional step called “Cheddaring” where after being heated, the curd is kneaded with salt and then cut into cubes before being stacked and turned.

Cheddar cheese is traditionally made with cow’s milk in the UK, but can also be produced from sheep or goat’s milk. The most common type of Cheddar is aged for 15 months or more and then labelled as vintage. There are cheddars that are smoked, but some types of Cheddar cheese are matured in caves at Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge

The term “cheddar cheese” is widely used but has no designated origin. However, in 2007 a Protected Designation of Origin called “West Country Farmhouse Cheddar” was created, meaning only cheddar produce from local milk within Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall and manufactured using traditional methods may use that name.

The style of cheddar can otherwise be very different depending on the cheese producers and their methods.

What does cheddar cheese taste like?

From a flavour perspective, traditional cheddar tends to be pungent with some earthiness. This can reflect the concentration of bitter peptides in the cheese which strongly affects the overall perception of an aged Cheddar flavour.

Cheddar has a crumbly texture, and much of this is due to the presence of small crystals that form when it ages for long periods.

There are many distinct types of cheddar, and its colour can be deeply yellow or off-white. One increasingly common spice is annatto, extracted from the achiote tree’s seeds. This gives it a more orange colour. Paprika is also used by some producers such as Kraft in the US to create the orange shade of cheddar.

Cooking with cheddar cheese

Most cheddar cheese is great to cook with. It is what people typically use when they make a grilled cheese sandwich or macaroni and cheese. Some cheeses, however, such as extra-sharp cheddar are best left to marinate in their natural juices before being added to dishes.

You often do get some greasiness when you add cheddar to the top of a dish. If this happens, gently lie a piece of kitchen towel over the top to soak it up.

A great all round cheese

Cheddar cheese is a great all-round cheese. It works well as a sandwich cheese, in warm dishes such as grilled cheese or cheese sauces. It can sit on top of pizzas and other recipes. Or just slice it and enjoy!