Cheddar Cheese Please

Whether served with crackers and fruit, sprinkled on a chef’s salad, or melted atop a burger, cheese is good eating. Cheddar is among the most popular varieties and one of the first cheeses to be made in America. Knowing a few basics about how to choose, store, and serve it insures that every bite will be delicious.

-Look for the words natural and aged on the package. This means the product inside contains only milk, cheese cultures, rennet and salt and will have the smooth texture and distinctive taste that only time can create. Cheddar flavored processed cheese, cheese food, or commercially made cheese spread is not the same thing.

-Just as the character of wine is influenced by where the grapes are grown, the flavor of cheese is affected by what the cows eat. The memorable sharp tanginess of New York cheddar comes from the grass that grows upstate where the iron content of the soil is high.

-American cheddars are moister, creamier, less crumbly and more sliceable than their English counterparts.

- Cheddar is at its flavor and aroma peak when eaten at “cellar” temperature, cool but not cold. Unless the room temperature is very hot, let it sit out of the refrigerator 30-35 minutes before serving.

-Store unwrapped blocks of cheese in a plastic container with a bamboo sushi mat on the bottom to permit air circulation. You don’t want your cheese to dry out but it needs to breath. So put a lid on the container but don’t seal it completely.

- White or green “bloom” on the outer surface of the cheese does not mean it has gone bad. Molds are a natural part of cheese. Cut or scrape off the discolored portions. If the cheese underneath looks and smells normal, your cheddar is safe and still edible. When mold penetrates below the surface, the cheese should be discarded.

- If your piece of cheddar dries out and gets hard, grate and use like Parmesan.

Information provided by Jonathan Bennett, Executive Chef of Red the Steakhouse and Moxie, and Great Lakes Cheese Company’s Adams Reserve Celebrity Chef. For more cheddar cheese tips and a collection of his recipes, go to www.adamsreserve.com.

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