Cheddar cheese is a hard to soft variety of cheese. It is moderately solid, yellow to off-white in color being made at times with a sharp-taste firstly made in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Cheddar cheese recipes are largely admired in the United Kingdom. It reports for 51% of the revenue obtained from the country's yearly cheese market. It is a harder variety of cow's milk cheese with flavors ranging from mild to sharp and natural white to pumpkin orange in color. The cheddar produced in the classical way, tends to have a sharp and strong flavor that is somewhat earthy. It has a firm consistency although the traditional farm variety is little crumbly. The more mature cheddar cheese contains big crystals of calcium lactate.

History of Cheddar Cheese 

Cheddar cheese hails from the village of Cheddar in Somerset in South West England. The cheese thrived well in the Cheddar Gorge on the periphery of the village where there many  caves, that housed the right humidity and constant temperature conditions to enable the cheese to mature. Cheddar cheeses have been made since the 12th century. A pipe roll of King Henry II from 1170 reveals a detail of acquisition of 10,420 lbs of cheese at a farthing per pound. Charles I (1600–1649) also procured cheese from the village. There is another theory that suggests that the Romans were the ones responsible for bringing in the formula to Britain from the Cantal province of France. By the 19th century, modern and improvised methods of making cheddar cheese were developed by Joseph Harding, a Somerset dairyman.

Culinary Uses of the Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar cheese has a variety of use in cooking. It can be added to almost any savory dishes. It can be diced, cubed or grated and added to recipes. Cheddar cheeses are great when added to pizzas and sandwiches. Cheddar cheese goes through a process known as “cheddaring” whereby it is treated to give in a special level of moisture and texture. The cheddaring process is somewhat unique and it noticeably changes the end product. To create cheddar cheese, milk is combined with cultures and rennet to form curds that are gently heated, cubed and drained. The draining process makes the curds to wad up and the wad is cut into loose blocks of cheese that are regularly turned, letting the curds to drain even more. This process is known as cheddaring and it results in a very distinct cheese. The curds may also be piled to create a more moist cheese by the cheesemaker. Next, the cheddared curds are cut, salted and packed into molds for aging.

Popular Cheddar cheese Recipes

Cheddar Cheese and Mustard Bread is a bread dish made with a tinge of mustard palpable of cheese.

Twin Cheese Molds contain a combination of diverse ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce with the cheddar as the key ingredient.

Apple Cheddar Muffins are cheddar cheese recipes to make muffins combining the textures of both apple and cheddar cheese.

Cheddar Pear Cobbler is a dessert in which the pears are infused with this cheese.

Creamy Cauliflower & Cheddar Cheese Soup is among cheddar cheese recipes to make appetizing soup with crunchy fresh cauliflowers.

Cuisines Using Cheddar cheese Recipes

Cheddar cheese is a popularly used ingredient in British and American cuisines. It has been in use in the cuisines since long time. Cheddar cheeses are made in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, United States of America, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands. There are two broad varieties of cheddar cheese in - artisanal cheese and industrial cheese.

Preferable Cooking Methods For Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar cheeses can be cooked in most cooking techniques including baking, roasting, sautéing, etc. It can also be mixed into dishes raw. Cheddar cheese recipes of salads can incorporate the cheese after grating it. Cheddar cheese can also be used for garnishing dishes.

Nutritive Value of Cheddar Cheese Recipes

Cheddar cheeses are rich in calcium and protein potentially besides being rich in fat. Therefore people on diet need to watch their calories particularly from cheddar cheese. Normally there are 113 calories in 1 slice of Cheddar Cheese. Most of its calories come from fat amounting up to almost 72 percent.

Cheddar Cheese Storing Tips

Cheddar cheeses can be frozen by cutting into small 1/2-pound chunks and wrapping in airtight packaging. This must be refrigerated. Before using the cheese must be thawed in the refrigerator and used soon enough.

Trivia

Cheddar cheeses were at times (and still can be found) packaged in black wax, but was more commonly packaged in larded cloth, which was impermeable to contaminants, but still allowed the cheese to "breathe", although this practice is now limited to artisan cheese makers.