
Cheddar empire: Rise of a cheese superpower - vo2maxer
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/cheddar-cheese-history/index.html
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PaulDavisThe1st
Side note: one of the saddest-but-also-good aspects of the rise of artisanal
cheese making in the US is how most US producers seem to be pricing their
product at or above the cost of European imports. You'd sort of expect them to
aim a bit below, but it seems they've decided to go for maximum revenue from a
smaller market. There is a some crazy good US cheese being made these days,
easily as good as anything from Europe, but it costs a fortune, without any
import taxes or ocean-crossing transportation fees.

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saiya-jin
> easily as good as anything from Europe

That's a strong statement. I've yet to come to anything even remotely close to
the taste of aged (2-3 years minimum, when grains form inside) hard cheeses
like Comte, Gruyere, Beaufort and probably dozen or two more, mostly french.
Copies I've had, sometimes even more expensive than original, can't seriously
compare (ie french versions of Gruyere vs original AOC variant, and one would
expect that French would get this right).

If you actually done that comparison in person, then I believe you, otherwise,
buy a plane ticket after covid. What folks here can create from raw
cow/goat/sheep/buffalo milk and some bacteria (and/or worms) is ridiculously
good, an universe of tastes on its own.

And I haven't even started into properly artisanal, often local-only cheeses.
They are not exported even within their own country, forget to see it anywhere
across the pond.

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PaulDavisThe1st
[ personal background: grew up in the UK, lived in the US for 31 years, lived
for extended periods in Heidelberg and Berlin, and have travelled extensively
in Europe over the last 40 years. Have visited the supposedly best cheese
stores in France, Spain and Germany. I live on cheese :) ]

Almost anything that goes through the the Jasper Hill Cellars in Vermont is
going to give you incredible cheese (they don't make them all, but they do act
as an aging facility).

Hard cheese is more of long shot in the US, although amazingly the WI-based
Bellavitano brand is trying hard (admittedly a lot of the time by adding
flavorings, but still ...). Landaff is another hard cheese somewhat similar to
some of the tangier UK hard cheeses, but quite unique.

Cheddars in the US are nothing like UK cheddar (as the article noted). New
England cheddars probably have the most complex flavor profile, as long as you
stay on the "sharp" end of the scale. They are as strong as a good west
country cheddar, but just different.

For soft cheeses though, OMG, an embarrassment of riches. Winnimere -
unctuous, stinky, incredible. Humboldt Fog - goat, with ash layer, delicious,
midway between the really strong French ripened goats and mere chevre. Oma and
Moses Sleeper (both ripened at Jasper Hill) are also deep and complex.

There are a couple of blues too: Russian River (out of central CA) and Bayley
Hazen are particularly interesting, though also quite unlike any of the great
european blue cheeses (nobody seems to be trying this, sadly).

And these are all nationally distributed varieties. If you live in the right
parts of the US, there are typically local varieties (at least of soft types,
less so for hard cheeses) that will be worth trying.

None of this is to say that US cheese is "better". It's just amazing how far
it has come in the last 20 years, and how good the best of it is compared to
european options.

Gruyere remains unmatched anywhere. But that doesn't excuse the northern
european tier (Nederlands, Germany in particular) from producing "cheese"
generally better suited to filling holes in walls than eating! :)

~~~
deeg
I'm no cheese expert but I've toured parts of Europe sampling their cheeses
and I completely agree: Vermont--Jasper Hill especially--has a lot of great
cheeses.

American cheeses are different, though, sometimes because of pasteurization
laws. If one wants a great Brie then don't get an American cheese. But if
someone wants a great bloomy-rind cheese that can rival the best European
cheeses try Jasper Hill's Harbison (or any of the others mentioned above).

~~~
mauvehaus
Actually, can I just highly recommend going into the Northeast Kingdom Tasting
Center in Newport, VT for all of the Jasper Hill aficionados coming out of the
woodwork in this thread?

It's hilariously out of the way, but it seems that the Northeast Kingdom
region of Vermont is cranking out some seriously good food and spirits.
Caledonia Spirits makes two extremely solid gins, and the aperitif ciders from
Eden Ciders have to be tasted to be believed.

~~~
owenversteeg
I'll have to visit the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center, thank you! Any other
recommendations for foods to try (or things to visit) in that area?

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deeg
Define "that area". :) The Alchemist Brewery in Stowe is highly rated and
there are a few other craft breweries around Burlington. If you're taking Hwy
91 through the state they might be a little out of the way.

Willey's Store in Greensboro will have most of Jasper Hill cheeses for sale
and maybe an experimental cheese or two. The HQ for Ben & Jerry's ice cream is
in Waterbury and the tour is fun (with a free sample at the end).

Depending on when you go there will likely be farmer's markets all through the
area with local producers selling all sorts of great stuff.

~~~
mauvehaus
Here's a few more if you're taking a broad interpretation of "that area".

I haven't yet been to or tried Farnum Hill Ciders in the Lebanon, NH area, but
I've heard it's worth a visit. They've been in business at least 20 years, so
they must be doing something right.

Hogwash Farm has pretty solid sausage (and other meats) and sells from a farm
stand. I'm sure there are many other excellent similar farms. That's just one
I've tried.

Woodbelly Pizza is a mobile operation based in Montpelier does wood fired
pizza that's highly worth catching. The oven is on a trailer. They might be at
the Montpelier farmers' market.

Cabot used to do tour of their creamery but apparently discontinued that in
2018. They still offer samples, according to their website. Their location in
Quechee also offers samples.

If you come during sugaring season, you can't throw a stone without hitting a
sugar house. I haven't yet had bad maple syrup.

Less Vermont-specific, the Inn at the Long Trail is home to an Irish pub with
a pretty broad selection of Irish whiskey.

And getting pretty far afield, the Euro Delli du Village in Mansonville,
Quebec had some pretty damn good sandwiches when we were portaging through in
2016 or 2017. If you've made it as far as Newport VT, it's only a half hour
drive (plus a border crossing, obviously).

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ggm
Cheddar refers to a place, a specific process in some kinds of hard cheese
making, and to a non protected kind of cheese. You would hope all Cheddar has
been through the cheddaring process. Many hard cheeses go though other
processes.

Whilst I personally wish some kind of domain d'origine had applied, it is
worth pointing out that stilton cannot actually be made in the village of
stilton due to DOC rules: it's outside the area. Wensleydale is basically dead
now, in the same sense. (I mention it because Wensleydale and red Leicester
are both cheddared. I am unsure if traditional stilton is, but it has 'crumb'
so it's very likely)

The boat has sailed. Cheddar is like aspirin or thermos, it's a generic. The
American national cheese reserve probably is cheddared? Is pretty unlike
Cheddar as I know it. If it helps preserve a milk surplus, feeds people on
food stamps and helps farms, it has a role.

Cheddar gorge is lovely. They did paper making there due to water power.

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owenversteeg
Wait, what's the problem with Wensleydale? I've been eating it for a while now
and I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it seems that as long as it's labeled
Yorkshire Wensleydale you're getting the real stuff. Or am I eating a modern
bastardization?

~~~
ggm
You're probably getting the real deal. Nobody else much is. the stuff in
union-jack flagged plastic packs we get out here is pretty torrid, as is the
red leicster, the 'golden delicious' of the cheese world.

When I lived in York in the 1980s there was a cheese shop just outside the
city walls on the south side near the fulford road which sold hand
made/artisanal wensleydale, red and stilton, and blued varieties of the
wenslydale and the red. they were fantastically good.

The other thing you can't get for love nor money out here in OZ is a russet
apple: you can't been wensleydale and a good crisp russet apple.

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velox_io
I grew up near Cheddar, If you were expecting an Empire of Cheese it's
surprisingly modest. I recommend Wookey Hole and the area is a good place for
bike rides (just not on the weekend). I seriously recommend Thatchers Gold
[cider], that's probably Somerset's best export (and the Wurzels if you like
cliches, only builders and farmers actually sound like that).

I thought cheddar took off because it's easy to transport and store).[/success
kid]

PS: Cheddar is definitely nicer than creme fraiche (unless you enjoy soggy
sandwiches, and a salad... no, just no). ;)

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emmelaich
Wookey hole doesn't compare to many other caves really. It's a bit hokey.

That said, there are caves that you can explore with speleologists.

Also, Cheddar gorge itself is really short. The geography is interesting
though. Water from mendips result in a perpetual spring in the middle of
Wells. (hence the name)

And the spring in Glastonbury Tor. Probably.

PS. Area is great for good cheap cider aka scrumpy.

~~~
onion2k
Dorset is better for cider.

Source: I grew up in Dorset and was a teenager.

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deeg
A shameless plug but this seems a good place for it: I created a PWA to keep
track of the cheeses I've tried. You can use it for free at www.cheesewiz.app
(There are no ads; this is just a personal project.)

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angry_octet
The strange part of this article is that it seems the author hasn't tasted any
good English cheddar? Most of the cheese sold as cheddar bears absolutely no
resemblance to cheddar, generally being flexible and springy with hardly more
taste than the polyethylene wrapper.

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dan-robertson
In the postwar period this nearly became the case for all cheese in the U.K.
It seemed the country was moving towards having a few varieties of highly
processed, bland cheese (predominantly “cheddar”). I suppose non-bland cheeses
were either to be thought of as unmodern or imported from France. Somehow a
few farmhouse cheeses continued to be made and eventually became more popular.
I think it is only in relatively recent decades that the variety of available
cheese has shot up.

I’m not really sure why things happened this way. Maybe it was cheaper or an
effect of rationing. Unlike the US, I don’t think the U.K. ever banned making
cheese with raw milk so perhaps it was a trend in consumer habits rather than
one encouraged by the government or industry.

~~~
angry_octet
Same terrible thing happened with bread. Makes me thing of the Goodies episode
on industrial farming -- some pursuit of ultimate efficiency.

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owenversteeg
Very interesting article! I'd recommend actually reading it :)

I'm a big cheddar fan and I had never heard of this:

> Aged cheddar, like other hard, aged cheeses, is very low in lactose.

Also, the snippet about cheddar growing in popularity due to its ease of
transport (spoils slower due to less moisture content) is interesting.

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peteretep
> Protected Designation of Origin

PDO and A(d')OC are such a scam. Cheddar refers to a style of cheese,
Champagne refers to a style of wine. Bah humbug.

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alkonaut
Was surprised to see in England that “cheddar(s)” us almost synonymous with
“cheese”, to the point where it could be the sign hanging over the cheese
section in a grocery store.

Is this similar to how “pudding” is used for “dessert”, or is it simply that
almost all the cheese will be cheddar anyway?

~~~
evgen
To be honest I think that this is a bit of hyperbole. Cheddar is certainly
common, and as a simple example there will be at least three and usually four
or five different varieties of house-brand cheddar (excluding different
packaging and block vs. pre-grated) in any big market but there will be as
much pan-European cheeses as well as other English cheese on display. This is
London, so take it with an appropriate grain of salt for being both
metropolitan and cosmopolitan, but no one I know of uses 'cheddar' to mean
cheese in general or at least not in the same way someone from the southern US
might refer to Coke as a generic for soda.

~~~
alkonaut
> this is a bit of hyperbole

I don't want to imply neither that this is still the case (it was 20 years
ago), nor that it happened everywhere (I obviously didn't visit or live in
every region of britain at the time, I lived in Glasgow and visited various
other parts).

What I'm 100% sure of is that it wasn't the sign for the specific cheddars
_part_ of the cheese section in in the store. I made a double take on numerous
occasions because the biggest "main" navigation store signs were saying
"Bread",...,"Jams", "Cheddars" etc which was the surprising bit for me as a
foreigner looking for non-cheddar cheese.

In the cheddars section there were of course all sorts of cheese! Once I
started noticing it I started looking for the phenomenon in stores, and it
wasn't just one store. Sadly I can't remember if it was just one chain of
stores (it's likely).

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29athrowaway
For DIY sandwiches, salads, etc., crème fraîche is nicer than cheddar.

~~~
matthewowen
This is such a strange opinion that I'm wondering if you're confused about
what cheddar is or about what creme fraiche is.

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ReactiveJelly
"As many look for dairy alternatives for ethical or health reasons, vegan
cheeses have been on the rise."

And that's all they say about that. Nothing about animal rights, animal
welfare, or government dairy subsidies. Legend has it that at one point the US
government was paying 75% of the price of dairy.

I'm not sure how it is in the UK, but if you took that out here, vegan soymilk
and dairy milk would cost the same. That bugs me. It's a free market except
for isolationism, cronyism, and the need for "small farmers" to act as PR
fronts. Occasionally there is a good regulation that does something useful.

~~~
monadic2
What _is_ vegan cheese? Have folks reproduced milk proteins in the lab, or is
it taste-and-texture replication?

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bobbyi_settv
It's typically made from seeds or nuts:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan_cheese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan_cheese)

So it's taste-and-texture replication. I don't even think it is aiming to
perfectly replicate dairy cheese, as much as to be something that can be
reasonably substituted for dairy cheese in the typical cases where it is used.
It's analogous to how soy milk isn't meant to be indistinguishable from dairy
milk but instead to be usable in place of dairy milk in coffee, cereal, etc.

~~~
williamdclt
> I don't even think it is aiming to perfectly replicate dairy cheese

It isn't, indeed. I've tried a whole bunch of different vegan cheeses, and
while they sometimes call them "mozzarella", "camembert" or other dairy cheese
names, they do not try to match the taste. It would be an obviously losing
battle as the best they could do is to be as good, most probably and
understandably falling short of that. They instead create new kinds of cheese-
like products, sometimes taking inspiration from dary cheeses sometimes not,
and the results are actually pretty good espectially considered how recent the
art of vegan cheese is!

~~~
guildan
What I found out trying out more vegan food or vegan receipes is to stop
looking at them as replacement of somehting and more like a novelty. Since
I've done that everything taste much better to me because I'm trying the taste
and not comparing it to anything.

