Cheddar and Cheddar-Type cheese

Abstract

A chapter on the evaluation of Cheddar cheese has been included in all of the previous editions of Judging Dairy Products (Nelson and Trout, 1964) and Sensory Evaluation of Dairy Products (Bodyfelt et al., 1988); the current author/editor would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the authors of the five previous editions.Much of the text in the current chapter is the result of the careful work of the previous authors with addition of new materials, deletion of redundancies, and a rearrangement of the chapter. Cheddar cheese is generally classified as a hard, internally ripened cheese and is the most widely recognized and produced member of a group of cheeses often called "Cheddar-type." Until 2002, Cheddar was the most plentifully available cheese in the U.S. Commodity data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that Cheddar cheese increased from 5.8 pounds available per capita (papc) in 1970 to a high of 10.6 papc in 1987, and has subsequently fluctuated between 9.0 and 10.3 papc through 2005. The burgeoning pizza market has led to the emergence of Mozzarella cheese as a contender for the honor of most available cheese. During that same period, the availability of Mozzarella has steadily risen from 1.2 papc in 1970 to 10.2 papc in 2005 (USDA, 2007). However, the rapid rise of Mozzarella does not diminish the importance of Cheddar cheese, which continues to be strong as a stand-alone product and as an important ingredient for the food industry. A cheese judge is often called upon to evaluate one or more varieties or types of cheese. To be proficient, the evaluator should be knowledgeable in the sensory characteristics and the desirable and undesirable qualities of each cheese variety under consideration. The variations in processes and techniques, involved in making cheeses within the Cheddar-type group, result in relatively small differences in cheese characteristics when placed in the context of all cheeses. Therefore, Cheddar cheese grading is the primary focal point for discussion in this chapter. An outline of the proper sequence of procedures for grading will be followed by a section defining defects and attributes in detail. The use of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Cheddar cheese scorecard for the training of students to evaluate body and texture and flavor characteristics will be woven into the general topic of grading. © 2009Springer-Verlag New York.