Cheddar cheese
is famous for its uniform taste and texture. People seek after a
particular brand or cheese from a region of the world because they have
tasted a cheese from that area and crave the taste. Cheddar has with it a
telltale texture as well. There is no secret: the more the cheese ages,
the more it crumbles.
Why Does It Crumble
That is the real question. What makes one cheddar cheese crumble more than another?
That secret has to do with the cheddaring process, at least in part. Cheddaring is a process of cutting and cutting again, the curds that are going to eventually be the brick. They are cut into minuscule squares and stacked and stacked again over a period of time, and kept at a completely even temperature not to exceed 100 degrees F. This process is responsible for even taste, texture and moisture reduction in the cheese that all add up to the flavor being what it is.
Finally, when a knife inserted comes out showing the curds to have a glassy texture, the cheese is ready for pressing. This signifies that the minute curds are ready to be stacked, pressed with a weight, stacked again, pressed with more weight, and pressed again with yet more weight, until the blocks or rounds of cheese we are accustomed to seeing are formed.
Each time the cheese is weighted, more moisture is removed from it. This is what will eventually give way to the smoothness of the texture, and if aged correctly, to the crumbles.
Aging
It is actually lack of moisture, not moisture, that contributes the crumbliness to the cheddar, and that process of cheddaring means the moisture is taken from the cheese in the most even way possible. The aging process, originally done in the Cheddar Caves in Somerset, in the southwest of England, from where the name derives, is a similarly even process. This helps it develop this even crumbly texture, slowly, over time.
A young, immature cheese of less than a year is likely to be smooth and have very little crumbling to it. These cheeses will also have less bite, as taste judges would call it. This cheese is fine for eating, and is preferred by those who like a mild flavor. The more mature a cheese is, indicates the more years it has aged. A cheese can age for up to twelve years or more.
Freezing And Crumbling
It should be noted that since freezing drastically affects the moisture content in all varieties, it will affect the cheddar the same way, creating much more crumbliness and damaging ability to slice the cheese. In tasting and conducting one's own study, it will become readily apparent that enjoying aged cheddar and developing a taste for crumbliness must go hand in hand.
Why Does It Crumble
That is the real question. What makes one cheddar cheese crumble more than another?
That secret has to do with the cheddaring process, at least in part. Cheddaring is a process of cutting and cutting again, the curds that are going to eventually be the brick. They are cut into minuscule squares and stacked and stacked again over a period of time, and kept at a completely even temperature not to exceed 100 degrees F. This process is responsible for even taste, texture and moisture reduction in the cheese that all add up to the flavor being what it is.
Finally, when a knife inserted comes out showing the curds to have a glassy texture, the cheese is ready for pressing. This signifies that the minute curds are ready to be stacked, pressed with a weight, stacked again, pressed with more weight, and pressed again with yet more weight, until the blocks or rounds of cheese we are accustomed to seeing are formed.
Each time the cheese is weighted, more moisture is removed from it. This is what will eventually give way to the smoothness of the texture, and if aged correctly, to the crumbles.
Aging
It is actually lack of moisture, not moisture, that contributes the crumbliness to the cheddar, and that process of cheddaring means the moisture is taken from the cheese in the most even way possible. The aging process, originally done in the Cheddar Caves in Somerset, in the southwest of England, from where the name derives, is a similarly even process. This helps it develop this even crumbly texture, slowly, over time.
A young, immature cheese of less than a year is likely to be smooth and have very little crumbling to it. These cheeses will also have less bite, as taste judges would call it. This cheese is fine for eating, and is preferred by those who like a mild flavor. The more mature a cheese is, indicates the more years it has aged. A cheese can age for up to twelve years or more.
Freezing And Crumbling
It should be noted that since freezing drastically affects the moisture content in all varieties, it will affect the cheddar the same way, creating much more crumbliness and damaging ability to slice the cheese. In tasting and conducting one's own study, it will become readily apparent that enjoying aged cheddar and developing a taste for crumbliness must go hand in hand.
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