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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from England

Cheddared cheese family (Cheddar as template)Cheddar

Cow milk is set with rennet, cut and scalded to about 38–41 °C. The drained curd is stacked in slabs and turned until it is acid enough, then milled, dry-salted, pressed and matured for months. Made in 9 steps over 2 months. The longest step, mature, takes at least 2 months (US Code of Federal Regulations) and runs at 10 °C (INFLIBNET e-PG Pathshala). Salt is 2–3 %. Lactococcus lactis and Lactococcus cremoris does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[cfr133-113][wcfc-spec]Mature
Temperature10 °CReported[inflibnet]Mature
Salt2–3 %TypicalDry-salt the milled curd
AciditypH 5.3–5.4Reported[inflibnet]Mill the slabs
Fully documentedCheese2 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceFamily template, so the ingredients are the ones cheddared cheeses share. The only amount is the rennet dose of a generic Cheddar method (INFLIBNET); farmhouse makers set their own.
Cow milk · Raw or pasteurised; West Country Farmhouse Cheddar allows both[wcfc-spec]
Starter culture · Mesophilic lactococci that sour the milk[wcfc-spec][mohamed2023]
150 ml per 1000 L milkRennet · Animal or vegetable rennet; the dose is from a generic Cheddar method[inflibnet][wcfc-spec]
Dry salt · Mixed into the milled curd[wcfc-spec][inflibnet]
Muslin and lard · For clothbound cylinders; blocks are wrapped in film instead[wcfc-spec]
Startermesophilic lactococcal starter culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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32 °CpH 6.6shapes, not to countLactococcus lactisLactococcus cremoris

What changes: Starter and rennet go into warm milk and it sets to a gel

Step 1 of 9
Warm the milk and set it with rennet
Time
30–40 min
Reported
Temperature
32 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 6.6
Reported
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Lactococcus cremoris
Lactobacilli

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
firm gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

the starter begins to sour the milk

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

The curd is drained, then stacked and turned as slabs until it is acid enough (cheddaring), and milled and salted dry before pressing. Washed-curd cheeses such as Gouda swap part of the whey for water and are brined instead.

Related ferments

Variants

  • West Country Farmhouse Cheddar PDOMilk from Somerset, Dorset, Devon or Cornwall; cheddared by hand; matured at least 9 months.
  • British territorials (Cheshire, Lancashire, Derby, Gloucester, Leicester, Wensleydale)Milled and dry-salted like Cheddar; several are not fully cheddared.
  • Cheese curdsCheddared, milled curd sold fresh the same day.
  • Colby and Monterey JackStirred or washed curd, not cheddared; moister.

Made the cheddared cheese family way

Safety

Cheddared cheeses are pressed hard cheeses, which the UK NHS lists as safe in pregnancy even when unpasteurised. In the US, Cheddar made from raw milk must be cured for at least 60 days at not less than 35 °F (21 CFR 133.113).

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes and other pathogens carried in raw milk.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Linked to Cheddar in Somerset; Joseph Harding standardised the method in the 19th century (commonly cited).

  1. [wcfc-spec] Defra (UK), West Country Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese PDO product specificationspec
  2. [inflibnet] INFLIBNET e-PG Pathshala, Technology of Milk and Milk Products, module 16, Technology of cheese manufacture II, soft and hard cheesesbook
  3. [cfr133-113] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 133.113, Cheddar cheesegov
  4. [mohamed2023] Mohamed H.M., Barzideh Z., Siddiqi M., LaPointe G. 2023, Taxonomy, sequence variance and functional profiling of the microbial community of long-ripened Cheddar cheese using shotgun metagenomics, Microorganisms 11:2052paper
  5. [barzideh2022] Barzideh Z., Siddiqi M., Mohamed H.M., LaPointe G. 2022, Dynamics of starter and non-starter lactic acid bacteria populations in long-ripened Cheddar cheese using propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment, Microorganisms 10:1669paper
  6. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov