Cheddar Cheese

The single most popular cheese in the world, Cheddar cheese originated in the Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, England. Usually pale yellow, the hard cheese has a sharp taste and is used frequently on sandwiches and burgers despite its long melting time.

To make Cheddar, hot milk is added to a start culture mixed with rennet, an enzyme mixture. In a different process from other cheeses, salt is pressed into the curd before being sliced into cubes and re-heated.

Cheddar is widely produced throughout North America, Europe and Australia. As it does not have a protected designation of origin, other regions are allowed to produce the cheese and legally call it "cheddar." However, in order to be considered traditional "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar," the cheese must meet the process standards set in the original region of Somerset.

An English cheese called Cheddar is known to exist as early as the late 12th century and is older than any other well-known cheese originating in England. There is a recording of King Henry II ordering over 10,000 lbs of Cheddar in 1170. Cheese, at that time, was often made- to-order rather than made in routine production. After becoming a favorite of the royal court, the cheese soon gained an international reputation. As a hard cheese, Cheddar had the advantage of keeping better and, therefore, was more suitable for export than soft cheeses.http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/cheddar-cheese/biography/history-of-cheddar-finished

Cheddar retained its high standing among English cheeses. In the 1720s, author Daniel Defoe noted that Cheddar sold for between sixpence and eightpence per pound, whereas another notable cheese, Cheshire, sold for about a mere twopence per pound. It's hard to say whether these historical cheeses named Cheddar would have had much resemblance to the modern cheese because the recipe for making Cheddar was not standardized until the mid-1850s and the pasteurization process was yet to be invented.http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/cheddar-cheese/biography/history-of-cheddar-finished