Explore the world of American cheddar

Tag : Goat Milk Powder

When the Pilgrims sailed from England in the early 1600s, theybrought cheddar cheese with them.
Originally made in Cheddar, a village in southwest England, thissemihard cow's milk cheese has grown over the centuries into theworld's most-copied cheese style.
Because it's so widely available, you might think you know cheddar;you're familiar with the shreds that top tacos, the slicessandwiched between grilled bread and the cubes on an appetizertray. But a growing number of American artisanal cheese makers areshowing there are many sides to cheddar.
"It's not just a big orange log that you pick up at the grocerystore," says Jeanette Hurt, Villa Park native and author of "TheComplete Idiot's Guide to Cheeses of the World" (2008, Alpha,$18.95). "Good cheddar doesn't have to be that color."
In the beginning
Cheddar cheese didn't just get its name from a town, it gets itsname from the process. Cheddar cheese is made, Hurt explains, bycutting the cheese into curds, then pushing the curds together intoslabs; slabs are piled on top of one another and the pressureextracts the whey (a watery, high-protein liquid that now ends upin protein drinks).
Many modern varieties get a dose of annatto, the ground seed of aSouth American achiote tree, to give the cheese color.
"When cattle graze on grass during the summer, the cheese would geta nice yellow color from the natural beta carotene," says BillWendorff, dairy professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison,and cheddar judge for the American Cheese Society. "When the cowsare on winter feed, that color would disappear."
Wendorff says it became a tradition in the Midwest to add annattoyear-round to keep the product consistent. Vermont's familiar whitecheddar, on the other hand, is made without the natural coloringagent.
The regional differences go beyond color, Wendorff says. Just asclimate and soil determine a wine's flavor, so do the environmentand feed influence cheese. Midwestern mild cheddars, he says, tendto have a clean, slightly acidic flavor, while New York and Vermontvarieties are generally more intense and slightly sulfury.
Aging gracefully
The American Cheese Society recognizes nine categories of cheddarcheese at its annual competition: mild and medium cheddars agedless than 12 months; sharp cheddars aged 12 to 24 months; cheddarswith sweet and savory flavorings (herbs, alcohol, jalapenos);cheeses aged 25 to 48 months; those aged longer than 48 months; aswell as "bandaged wrapped" (those wrapped in cloth, linen) aged upto 12 months and aged more than 12 months.
"Bandage-wrapped cheddar is a special type of cheese," Hurt says."It actually gets kids of moldy; they tend to have more of a musty,more pronounced taste."
That mold is scrubbed off before it hits the store.
At The Winery Restaurant at the American Club in Kohler, Wis., chefUlrich Koberstein offers diners a unique opportunity to sample aspectrum of cheddars.
"Wisconsin has such a strong cheese-making heritage; I wanted togive people an opportunity to get an appreciation of how complexcheddar can be," Koberstein says.
(By the way, of the 45 cheeses in his cheese cave, 41 are fromWisconsin.)
His evolution of cheddar tasting starts with fresh curds - "theycome to us the day they are made" - then moves onto cheddar aged 90days and then 12 months.
"At one year, you start to see the complexity you don't get inpackaged supermarket cheese," Koberstein says.
The tasting continues with three-, five-, seven-, 10- and12-year-old cheeses. At five years, mineral notes come in and atseven salt crystals develop.
"The salt crystals bring unique flavors. I wouldn't recommend a12-year cheddar for a grilled cheese or burger," Koberstein says.Rather, the cheese should be appreciated on its own.
When judging cheese, Wendorff says he looks for cheese that holdstogether nicely, breaks down easily in the mouth and has balancedflavor with a bit of nutty notes. He said great cheddar (anycheese, really) makes you say, "Gosh, that was good. I want anotherpiece."
Wendorff cautions that home cooks shouldn't be tempted to try toage cheddar at home.
Cheddars designed for "long hold" are drier and higher in acid andare made with bacteria cultures that react to temperaturefluctuations.
"Natural cheese is a living piece of tissue," Wendorff says. "Ifyou picked up a mild cheddar today, what you would end up withwould be pasty."
Artisan cheeses for sampling, sale
It's a good time to be a cheese lover in Chicago.
Later this month the city plays host to the American Cheese Societyand its 25th Annual Conference and Cheese Competition. While theevent, July 23-26, is a chance for cheese makers from across thenation to share dairy knowledge, learn about new markets andemerging styles and put their cheddars, blues and bries on thejudging block, it also offers two opportunities for the generalpublic to take a bite of the big cheese.
At the Festival of Cheese, 5:30 to 9 p.m. July 26 at the HiltonChicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave., cheese lovers will have theopportunity to taste more than 1,200 cow, goat and sheep cheeses,including the award winners of this year's cheese competition.Tickets cost $85 and can be purchased at the door or ordered onlineat www.cheesesociety.org or ACS headquarters, (502) 583-3783.
If you like what you taste Saturday, head to Kendall College forSunday morning's cheese sale. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., shoppers willhave the chance to buy specialty cheeses at rock-bottom prices inthe parking lot at Kendall College at 900 N. North Branch St.,Chicago. Admission is free.
"The Festival of Cheese and Cheese Sale are rare opportunities forcheese lovers to peruse, sample and purchase the top cheeses inNorth America all in one weekend," said Marci Wilson, executivedirector of the American Cheese Society. "Chicago was chosen as thehost city this year because it is a top-tier city that provides abig stage for our anniversary, and chefs and consumers in the areahave a huge interest in cheese."
Cheddar cheese by the numbers
• Consumers ate 13.1 pounds of American-style cheese (of whichcheddar is included) in 2006.
• Supermarkets sold 540 million pounds of cheddar in 2006.
• Wisconsin has 57 cheese plants that make cheddar.
• In 2007, Wisconsin produced 626.6 million pounds of cheddar- more than any other state.
• For a Fourth of July celebration in Madison, Wis., Sarah"The Cheese Lady" Kaufmann carved patriotic scenes into a5,000-pound block of cheddar.
Sources: Wisconsin Dairy Producers, International Association of DairyFoods, Dailty Herald interviews
Duck, Wild Mushroom and Cheddar Cheese Strudel
pound assorted wild mushrooms (such as crimini, shiitake, morel)
¼ pound confit and shredded duck meat
½ pound butter
¼ cup chopped, peeled shallots
1 teaspoon peeled, chopped garlic
2 teaspoons stemmed, chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon stemmed, chopped fresh thyme
4 cups baby spinach
1 box phyllo dough
3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Wash any dirt from the mushrooms and dry quickly, sliced into1/8-inch slices.
Melt the butter in a pan and saute the mushrooms, shallots, garlic,rosemary and thyme, 2 to 3 minutes until the mushrooms render theirliquid and reserve.
In another pan, saute the spinach until wilted and combine with themushrooms and confit duck.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Open the phyllo package and unroll thedough. Cover the phyllo with a moist cloth while using to preventit from drying.
Remove 1 sheet and place on a cutting board, brush with clarifiedbutter sprinkle with cheddar cheese and top with another phyllolayer. Use about half of the cheddar cheese and keep the rest forthe filling. Repeat until four layers are used.
Drain the mushrooms, spinach and duck and mix in the remainingcheese. Place the filling on the edge of the phyllo dough in astraight line. Roll the phyllo into a uniform roll and fold theends under. This phyllo roll should now resemble a large egg rollin size and shape.
Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool and sliceinto 4 slices and serve with a simple green salad dressed with yourfavorite dressing.
Serves four.
Chef Ulrich Koberstein, American Club, Kohler, Wis.
Cheddar cheese scones
1 cups flour
1 cups rolled oats
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) fine shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup milk
1 egg
Heat oven to 425 degrees; lightly grease a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder,cream of tartar and salt. Stir in cheese.
In a small bowl, beat butter with milk and egg; add to dryingredients and stir just until mixed.
Shape dough into a ball and pat onto a lightly floured surface toform an 8-inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges and transfer pieces tobaking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.
Serves 12.
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
Double cheddar mac-n-cheese
1 cup chicken stock
2 ounces roux (1 ounce flour, 1 ounce butter)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dry mustard
4 ounces shredded cheddar
4 ounces shredded white cheddar
4 ounces American cheese, diced
¼ cup shredded parmesan
24 ounces cavatappi, cooked al dente
3 ounces fine bread crumbs
In a 2- to -3-quart sauce pan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Whiskin roux until smooth. Lower heat and add cream and dry mustard.Slowly add cheeses and stir consistently until smooth.
Set oven to broil.
In a large, heat-proof dish, toss pasta with cheese sauce untilpasta is coated well. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top and placeunder boiler to brown the crumbs.
Serves four to six.
Chef John Ayaleanos, Birch River Grill, Rolling Meadows
Southwestern Corn Cheddar Soup
2 ears corn, husked and silks removed
8 flour tortillas cut into ¼-inch strips
Canola oil for frying
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup flour
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups half and half
1 cup Mexican beer
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (4 ounces) diced green chile
1 pound extra sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
1 teaspoon sauce from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime cut into 6 wedges
Place corn ears on a hot oiled grill. Rotate corn until cornkernels have grill markings, about 8-10 minutes. Remove grilledcorn and cool slightly.
While corn is cooling, fry tortilla strips in hot oil until golden.Drain strips on paper towels and set aside. Carefully cut off thecorn kernels from corncob. Discard cob and set corn kernels aside.
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onionsand garlic and cook until tender; do not brown. Whisk in flour andstir until flour and onion/garlic mixture is combined. Whiskingconstantly, add chicken broth, half-and-half and beer to flourmixture. Add cumin, oregano and green chiles. Continue to cook andoccasionally stir soup with a wooden spoon until thickened, about20 minutes.
Remove soup from heat and whisk in cheddar cheese until melted. Addchipotle pepper sauce and reserved grilled corn kernels. Stir untilall ingredients are combined.
To serve, ladle soup into 6 large soup bowls. Divide fried tortillastrips evenly and mound in center of bowl. Top tortilla strips withtomatoes, avocado and cilantro. Squeeze one lime wedge over top ofgarnishes.
Serves six.
Tillamook
Hot Broccoli Cheddar Dip
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli
8 ounces sharp or extra sharp cheddar, grated
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
½ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
Place frozen broccoli in microwave-safe bowl; cover loosely withplastic wrap and microwave until hot and tender, about 9 minutes(do not add any water).
Uncover and add cheddar, cream cheese, hot sauce and pepper tobowl. Cover again and microwave just until cheeses are melted, 1 to2 minutes longer. Stir until smooth. (If mixture seems thin, itwill thicken upon cooling slightly.)
Serve with crackers and fresh vegetables.
Makes about 2 cups.
Cabot Creamery Cooperative