Delicious Artisinal Cheeses From S Clyde Weaver
At S. Clyde Weaver, we know our cheese. In fact, we have a century of experience creating delicious, artisan cheeses, meats and other delicacies to brighten Americans tables. When bland, over-processed cheese from the grocery store doesnt cut it, you can find amazing cheeses, aged by experienced cheesemakers from S. Clyde Weaver. Some of our cheeses are aged for many years to produce the perfect texture and flavor. We even have creamy, delicious cheese spreads to try.
Whether youre looking to assemble an amazing cheeseboard or you just want to try something new to add a punch of great flavor to your next meal, browse our selection of cheeses today.
How Cheddar Cheese Is Made
Before we get to talking about sharp cheddar cheese, lets delve into what cheddar is in the first place. Its a cows milk cheese that originated in the village of Cheddar in England but is now one of the most popular and inexpensive cheeses in the US.
The cheddar-making process starts out like most other cheeses: milk is cultured, meaning starter bacteria is added to acidify the milk. When enough acid is developed, rennet is added and milk forms curds. After the curds form, the watery whey is drained out to leave behind more concentrated curds. The concentrated curds are then heated to about 100 degrees F to release even more whey and start to melt together.
Its at this point that cheddar continues on a different path in cheesemaking called the cheddaring process. The curds are formed into big slabs that are piled together and flipped over many times, getting denser and releasing more whey. Finally, the pressed curds are passed through a mill to make small curds again before being pressed into molds to drain further and age.
So Whats Sharp Cheddar
Cheddar cheese is one of those unique cheeses that has a descriptor before it, the term sharp. Its a loose label that isnt regulated, so designations can be inconsistent across brands.
Sharp is the term that indicates how cheddar changes in flavor and texture as it ages. Mild cheddars are aged 2 to 3 months, sharp 6 to 9 months, and extra-sharp 1 1/2 to 2 years old. As cheddar ages, it goes from mild to tangier with more complex and deeper flavors. Its texture also goes from smooth and creamy to developing hard, salt-like crystals called calcium lactate.
The best way to understand the age and sharpness of cheddar is to taste two different ages of cheddar side-by-side. Go with the same brand if possible to have a fair comparison and start tasting! Only then will you know if you like mild and creamy or nutty and tangy.
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Start Making Your Own Cheddar Cheese Today
Youve probably felt that learning how to make your own cheese is hard but youve just done it!
If you dont already have your cheese starter culture, what are you doing? This recipe works perfectly with the starters that Cultures For Health has.
Weve got everything you need and more to start making your own cheese today including cheddar cheese starters, cheesecloth, and cheese salt!
If youre ready to start your fermentation journey and start making your own cheddar cheese,
Be sure to check out these other cheddar cheese recipes!
Tips To Improve Your Cheddar
The quick and easy way to get started is to get yourself a cheese making kit. The Standing Stone Farms Complete Cheese Making Kit includes everything you need to get started!
- If you decide to use fresh raw milk, then we recommend decreasing the culture by 23-40%.
- This recipe requires 3 gallons of milk. It is a volume thats easier to manage for any beginning cheese making. In future batches, we recommend doubling the recipe to reduce the loss of moisture and to assist with adequate ripening.
- Keep a journal and make notes of how the cheese tastes, its texture, color, and any other points of interest. This information is useful if you intend to make future batches and are looking to make improvements.
- Remember that accuracy is the key to amazing cheddar. Take your time and make sure the temperature is correct. A few degrees either way can result in unpleasant cheese.
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How Long Should You Age The Cheese To Get A Sharper Flavor
The first step in making cheddar cheese is to curdle the milk with rennet, a natural coagulant. The curdling process separates the solids from the liquids and forms a thickened mass of curds.
The cheesemaking process takes place at about 40 degrees Celsius for about four hours until it reaches a pH of 4.6.
This is when the cheese moves into its final phase, which creates the flavor profile that makes cheddar cheese a sharp cheddar cheese.
To get a sharper flavor, you need to make sure that you age your cheddar cheese for at least 90 days or up to three years.
Remember that if you dont want your cheddar cheese to be quite as sharp, aging it for less time will still produce a flavorful result.
Everything You Need To Know About Cheddar Cheese
In the kingdom of cheeses, cheddar falls far below the heights of royalty afforded to stilton and époisses, occupying the position of the everyday person. It comes with different flavors and different colors. It is the cheese you find in the supermarket. It is the cheese you use when you want something fancier than American. The Boston Globe tells us that when scientists want to study cheese, they almost always turn to cheddar. Cheddar is so cheese that Goldfish are made with artificial cheddar. It welcomes all.
Cheddarâs ubiquity makes it hard to pin down though. What is cheddar? From what corner of the world did it emerge to grace our shelves? Why is it so popular? To these questions we will now turn ourselves. This is everything you need to know about cheddar cheese.
Cheddar originally came from Cheddar, a village in the English county Somerset hence the name. According to The Guardian, ordinary village life led to the accidental discovery of the cheese. Sometime in the 12th century, a milkmaid had left a pail of milk in one of the caves of Cheddar Gorge. By the time she retrieved it, the milk had solidified somewhat. While the following eight centuries may have hyperbolized the event, The Independent explains that the caves do in fact help with cheese maturation. The humidity and temperatures stay at a perfect constant for the process. So, the people of the village began to store their cheese in the caves.
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How To Make Cheddar Cheese At Home
Making cheddar cheese will take up a good portion of your day, to be sure. I start a batch around 9 AM after milking & breakfast then end up getting the cheese in the press around 4 PM. Just in time to start dinner. The good news is this time is not all spent over the pot stirring the cheese. The active stirring time takes just about an hour.
How Cheddar Cheese Gets Made
Cheddar cheese is one of the most popular cheeses in the United States. Its made from cows milk. The cheddaring process starts out like most other cheeses. Milk is cultured . After that rennet is added and milk forms curds. The curds form and then the watery whey is drained out to leave behind more concentrated curds. The concentrated curds are then heated to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit to release more whey and start melting together. This is the beginning of cheese.
At this point in the process the cheddar continues to form makingbig slabs that are piled together and flipped many times. The flipping helpsthe cheddar to get denser and release more whey. Towards the end of the processthe curds are passed through a mill to make small curds. Then they are pressedinto molds to drain and further age the cheese.
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Best Cheddar Cheese Brands
Several accessible Cheddars represent the categories above.
- Fiscalini Farmhouse Cheddar is a widely available example of the Farmhouse style.
- Widmer 10-year Cheddar is offered in both tinted and white varieties this is a very sharp Cheddar heavy in savory crystals.
- Shelburne Farms Clothbound Cheddar is reminiscent of the old-world style, as it takes its color from beta-carotene-heavy milk.
Also…
The Slow Food Movement recognizes the following three Presidium Cheddars–those most reminiscent of the style in its original form. Each producer makes only 10 to 20 wheels per day, but they are worth a try if you can get your hands on one!
- Montgomery Cheddar from Manor Farm in North Cadbury
- Cheddar from Westcombe Dairy inEvercreech, Somerset
- Pitchfork Cheddar from Trethowan’s Dairy in Hewish, North Somerset
Further And Higher Education
A wide range of and courses is available in Somerset, in schools, colleges and other community venues. The colleges include , , , , Richard Huish College, and . Somerset County Council operates , a residential adult education college located in Ilminster.
The , and are higher education establishments in the north of the county. The University of Bath gained its Royal Charter in 1966, although its origins go back to the Bristol Trade School and Bath School of Pharmacy . It has a purpose-built campus at on the outskirts of Bath, and has 15,000 students. Bath Spa University, which is based at , achieved university status in 2005, and has origins including the Bath Academy of Art , Bath Teacher Training College, and the Bath College of Higher Education. It has several campuses and 5,500 students.
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First A Little Background Information
There is no secret to the fact that all cheese is made in a similar way. Its a process that transforms milk into curds and whey. The whey is drained and the curd remains this curd is already fresh cheese! It can then be strained, pressed, salted or brine washed. It can be eaten young or old, clean or with mould! Producing cheese is both a science and an art and each cheesemaker practices his craft in his or her own unique way.
Now, whether this was the result of a happy accident, or by design, no one can really be sure! The one thing we know, is that the production of cheese is an excellent way of preserving milk. The first cheesemakers learnt to transform milk into cheese to ensure the perfect food was available all year round. Our ancestors got through lean seasons by preserving meat, vegetables and milk in many inventive ways.
How Is Cheese Made
Article Overview: This helpful article details how cheese is made in todays agricultural practices, as well as a step-by-step guide for how to make cheese.
If you read our ultimate cheese guide, your mouth was probably watering by the end of it. After all, who doesnt love cheese? We shred it on top of pasta or potatoes, add a slice to our favorite sandwich or enjoy it as a fabulous snack or appetizer with a glass of wine. We can all agree cheese is delicious, but even self-declared cheese lovers may not know much about the cheese-making process.
At S. Clyde Weaver, we know this process inside and out, so were here to demystify the magic of the art of cheese making. Well look at the ingredients that go into cheese making and break down the process, step by step. The next time you enjoy your favorite cheese, you may have a greater appreciation for the labor and care that goes into creating this delicious product.
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Can Any Cheese Be Called Cheddar
In the United States, only the cheese from a particular state in the country can be called as cheddar. The original cheddar was created on the English market town of Cheddar in the county of Somerset from where the name is derived from. This cheese was also exported to America, where it was given the name cheddar..
Is Cheddar Cheese A Goat
It is no longer an urban legend among cheese lovers, but the answer to the question Is Cheddar cheese a goat? is no, it is not. The milk that is used in making Cheddar cheese can come from either goats or cows. The fact that Cheddar is named after the town where it originated in England is what has led to this confusion. The origin of the cheese can easily be traced back to the 13th century. The English settlers brought this robust cheese to America when they emigrated. The use of cows milk may have led to the confusion, probably because it is more commonly used in making Cheddar cheese..
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The Difference Between White And Yellow Cheddar
The color you imagine cheddar is one of those culturally instilled images that you donât think about but hold onto when someone else disagrees. However, despite the closeness with which we might hold it, the color doesnât actually make any difference to the cheddar itself. If you buy mild orange cheddar or mild white cheddar, the differences will be negligible when compared to mild vs sharp.
The reason that cheddar colors differ so little is that orange cheddar is just dyed white cheddar. Josh Windsor, assistant caves manager at Murrayâs Cheese, explained to HuffPost that many cheesemakers add annatto, which is a food coloring derived from seeds found in South America, to cheese in order to give the product a uniform appearance throughout the year. Otherwise, the color of cheese will vary from very white to more yellow as the cows change from consuming hay in the winter to grazing on grass in the spring. A second bonus for altering the color of cheddar is that for many, the vibrant orange of dyed cheese offers an appearance of bounty and decadence. However, such differences are entirely visual.
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Dont Be Fooled By The Name
As I opened with, Cooper Sharp Cheese is a processed American cheese made of milk and just seven ingredients, with a heavy essence of hand selected aged cheddar which creates its unique, almost nutty flavor. The company which started in Theresa, New York
in the late nineteenth century moved to Philadelphia in 1918. Since then, it has become as much a part of Phillys vibrant food culture as soft pretzels and roast pork sandwiches. The cheese is insanely creamy without having an unctuous quality and the smooth melt and silkiness makes it a perfect compliment for the Philly Cheesesteak, even challenging Whiz and Provolone as the crowd favorite. Dave Portnoys recent cheesesteak video at Angelos Pizza in South Philly recieved his highest rating. The review of his Cooper with on Angelos home baked bread has over 400k views and the demand for the sandwich has never been greater. Meanwhile in Northeast Philly, husband and wife owners Joseph
and Anna Maria Maglio fuse their familys Italian Roots and Philadelphia upbringing at to make the South Philly Pizzaz, a pizza with Cooper Sharp, fresh tomato, banana peppers and oregano. In Fishtown, check out the Asian inspired Furikake Cooper Sharp Cheese Fries at the Noodle & Japanese style pub food spot Cheu Fishtown & Nunu.
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Raw Milk Is The Genuine Article
Unpasteurised milk is freshly delivered to our dairy in the village of Cheddar, Somerset, each morning. We source our milk from one local farm, monitoring the quality, composition and temperature of the milk as it arrives.
Once our large, traditional open vat has been filled with this milk, we gently warm it. When ready, we add starter cultures additional bacteria and allow the milk to ripen for a while. These selected bacteria play a vital role in determining the quality, flavour, body and safety of our cheese.
We dont pasteurise our milk, ensuring we preserve the naturally occurring bacteria within it. As a result, our cheese has a more complex flavour than that made from pasteurised milk. Additionally, unpasteurised milk cheese can arguably boost ones health and immune system, containing more probiotic bacteria, nutrients, vitamins and enzymes which would otherwise be denatured during pasteurisation. This is one of our cornerstones, and we are determined to preserve the heritage of this truly authentic cheddar.
Adding The Starter Culture
Acidification is done by adding the starter culture to the milk.
Starter cultures are a mix of lactic acid bacteria that will create lactic acid. This lactic acid is important because it will lower the pH of the milk, and help with coagulating the curd.
The slightly low pH is also crucial for certain bacteria to grow.
The selection of starter culture will also have an impact on the final flavor of the cheese. For example, the most common bacteria strains for cheddar making are Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris.
The Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis in particular is more heat resistant so it will tend not to be retarded/deactivated in slightly higher temperatures. Therefore It gives a faster result. However, it will also have a bitter taste due to the production of peptide compounds.
In addition, this strain produces very little to no carbon dioxide . For that reason, you will rarely see holes in cheddar cheese as in Swiss cheese.
More often, most producers will use a bulk of starter culture or a selected few. Therefore, different brands of cheddar cheese will taste somewhat different.
After the starter culture is added, the milk is allowed to rest for about 40 minutes.
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