National Cheddar Day adds some cheesy goodness on February 13th!
Grilled cheese would be buttered bread without melt-able slices piled high; burgers would be lackluster without a perfect ooze; mac & cheese would just be…mac, to be frank. So many of our iconic American dishes simply wouldn’t be the same without a slice of cheddar’s deliciousness.
- Cheddar first rolled into being in the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England in the 12th century.
- While cheddar accounts for more than a third of all the cheese sold in the United States, it is a royal hit in the United Kingdom where it was created.
- In fact, more than half of the cheese sales in the UK go to cheddar.
- In 1894, renowned cheesemaker Peter McIntosh brought his cheese-making skills to Tillamook County, Oregon where it rains a lot and the grass was always green. He taught the locals all he knew, and in due time he earned himself the nickname “Cheese King of the Coast.”
- Today, there are more cows than people in Tillamook, and those local farmers have since formed the farmer-owned cooperative we know today as the Tillamook County Creamery Association.
- Cheddar is the most popular cheese in the United Kingdom, accounting for 51% of the country’s 1.9 billion pound sterling annual cheese market.
- Cheddar cheese is the second most popular cheese in the United States, second to mozzarella, with an average annual consumption of 10 pounds, or 4.5 kilograms, per capita.
- Cheddar Gorge, on the edge of Cheddar, Somerset, contains many caves, which provided the ideal humidity and steady temperature for maturing Cheddar cheese.
- The Romans may have brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France.
- Central to the modernization and standardization of Cheddar cheese was the 19th century Somerset dairyman Joseph Harding.
- For his technical innovations, promotion of dairy hygiene, and volunteer dissemination of modern cheese-making techniques, Joseph Harding has been named “the father of Cheddar cheese.”
- The Joseph Harding method was the first modern system for Cheddar production based upon scientific principles.
- According to a United States Department of Agriculture research, Cheddar cheese is the world’s most popular variety of cheese, and the most studied type of cheese in scientific publications.
- According to local legend, Cheddar cheese was discovered by accident over 800 years ago when a milkmaid left a pail of milk in the nearby Cheddar Gorge caves and returned sometime later to find the milk had turned into cheese.
- For the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, Wisconsin created 34,951 pounds of Cheddar cheese from the milk of 16,000 cows.
- Aging is the only difference between mild and sharp Cheddars. The longer cheese is aged naturally, the sharper and more pronounced the Cheddar flavor becomes.
- Mild Cheddar cheese is generally aged for 2 to 3 months, whereas an extra sharp might be aged for as long as a year.
- Cheddar cheese is packaged airtight to eliminate molding. Although wax packaging is the most traditional, modern methods utilize plastic films and vacuum packing or a “gas flushing” technique to remove air before sealing. Regardless, the surface mold that sometimes forms on cheese is completely harmless; simply trim it off, reseal in fresh plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
- Pairing wine and cheese is a matter of personal taste, although the flavors of both should complement each other.
- Intense flavored cheeses such as Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese, blue cheeses and goudas match well with a bold Pinot noir or Cabernet.
- Mild cheeses or a goat cheese pair great with a round, mellow Merlot.
- A fresh and fruity Chardonnay is a match for milder cheese varieties, enhancing the creaminess of a mild Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese, with just the right whisper of sweet.
- Cheese and beer lovers share a common passion. They both appreciate award-winning taste! The right beer and cheddar cheese melded together can be a magical taste explosion.
- For instance, the pleasant bitterness of English Pale Ale—the British idea of perfect balance of malt and hops—is a beautiful complement to Extra Sharp Cheddar roasted potatoes. Roast wedges of potatoes with olive oil, rosemary and coarse salt; top with shredded Cheddar and serve with grape tomatoes.
- The most stolen food item in the world is cheese, with 4% of all cheese being sold end up stolen. – Source
- When cheese is digested, it breaks down into an opioid. Other opioids you may know about are heroin and morphine. – Source
- Stilton blue cheese is known to frequently cause odd, vivid dreams. – Source
- Scientists have successfully created cheese using human bacteria collected from toes and belly buttons. – Source
- Gouda accounts for over half of the world’s cheese consumption. – Source
- The oldest known cheese was from 1615 BC in China and resembles cottage cheese. – Source
- Wisconsin produces around 2.6 billion pounds of Cheese each year. – Source
- Moose cheese costs around $420 per pound, since each milking takes two hours, and must be done in complete silence. – Source
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