Andy Shay on Cheese at Gremolata

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Cheddar Nation

One sign that an ethnic food is universally considered “world class” is that people outside the group adapt that food into their own diets. As Canadians what food do we have that people from other countries have widely adopted. Mustard, wheat, beef (not lately)…maybe. Without a doubt I think that it is cheddar cheese. We sell cheddar to the Americans, the British eat more Canadian cheddar than their own. Canadians eat it coast to coast, it ought to be our national food!

I am not Canadian (upstate NY, close enough right?) and I was brought up on cheddar. It wasn’t until about 1980 when my mother went on a “girls trip” to New York City and came home filled with heady big city scenes and an exotic cheese from Macy’s Cellar called Brie, that other cheeses began to enter our lexicon. It is a cheese that I have always derived simple pleasure from – eating, cooking and on sandwiches. To this day, in my house with a devoted cheese cellar, my family eats a half pound of 3 year cheddar every week.

But I have recently learned the great delights of different cheddars – it is not a monolithic taste profile. The variety is in fact as different as the many hills and valleys of our broad country. I find that there are 2 major camps – mostly divided by Ontario and Quebec. Ontario cheddars tend to be pasteurized and have a sharp, pleasant bite. Quebec cheddars are often made from unpasteurised (raw) milk and are lightly fruity and feature loads of midrange flavour nuance.

White VS Yellow – All cheddars start out as white. Historically cheddar was tinted with annatto seed (a natural, flavourless, yellow dye) in the winter when the cows were eating only hay and the colour of the resulting cheese was very white. If you have ever opened a package of cheddar and found white lines on the surface, not mold, but something harder, this is a natural by-product of the cheese aging. We don’t often see very old yellow cheddars because the colour highlights these aging marks (and it is not good for sales). Other than colour, there should be no flavour difference between white and yellow cheddar. But I swear that I find orange cheddar has a bitter edge!

Production – all cheddar is made using the same basic process called cheddaring. The milk is curdled, the whey is drained and curds are piled up. The curds continue to grow and knit themselves together. The piles are then cut into blocks and they are stacked on top of each other to press more whey from the cheese. The blocks are then sent through a grinder that makes very small shreds. The shreds are put into a form and then the forms are pressed to again remove more whey and form the final cheese. The cheeses are then wrapped and set aside for aging.

Storage – Cheddar is the one cheese I can think of that actually thrives on being wrapped in plastic – the tighter the better.

Here are some cheddars to try:

Cru Clocher – raw milk, aged 6 month in Loraineville, Quebec. Unbelievable cheddar considering that it is technically a medium cheddar. Soft, smooth texture with fruity, delicate flavour and plenty of complex notes. Find at Cheese Boutique.

Balderson 3 Year Cheddar – Pasteurized cow milk, made in Balderson, Ontario. Though common, this is a championship cheddar and a favourite of the Shay house. It has a good bite, but not too much and lovely graininess. Eat unaccompanied or use in any of your cooking. Find at Loblaws and specialty stores.

Whole Foods 5 Year Aged, Quebec, raw milk, cheddar. Fruity tones, with a gentle nip, beginning to crumble more easily (cut carefully) with complex notes, long finish.

Mapledale 4 Year – I often find Mapledale lacking in a sharp bite (which I like) but it is interesting never the less. I find distinct overtones of Parmigan flavour and aroma. Beginning to crumble more easily, nice smooth texture. Find at Alex Farms and other specialty food stores.

Chevre Noir - At first I wondered what a goat was doing playing the cheddar game, but one taste tells the whole story. Classic cheddar bite, nice grainy texture and then you get the bonus: gentle, faintly nutty goat flavour. A fabulous invention! Find at Whole Foods, Alex Farms, Cheese Boutique and other specialty food stores.

Other cheddars worth trying:

Jensen/Wilton, Simcoe, Ontario - marketed under both names, mild flavoured raw milk cheese various years
Black River Cheese, Prince Edward County – Worth a visit in a lovely location right beside a channel. Gentle cheddar flavours, has a devout local following.

Forfar, Forfar Station, Ontario - An extremely sharp cheddar, another favourite of mine, but it is hard to find in Toronto.

Ile-aux-Grues, Quebec – from islands in the St. Lawrence river, the cheese has a very faint note of smokiness.

Andy Shay:
Andy Shay is a food devotee. After graduating from the Cornell Hotel School, Andy managed gourmet food stores in Manhattan and Sydney Australia. He moved to Toronto in 1995 and founded Shay Gourmet with his wife Meredith Johnson. For the past year, Andy has been a cheese consultant helping Quebec and Ontario artisan cheese producers access the market in Ontario. Currently he teaches at Centennial College, is the busy father of Max and Simon and delights customers with monthly cheese boxes from Shay Cheese.