Title: Even Cheddar Is Exotic
Categories: Cheese Blank
Yield: 1 Servings

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A fine cheddar cheese is one that is made of whole, unpasteurized, summermilk from cows which have drunk fresh, clean water and have fed on green grasses, free from any flora that might taint the milk. A good cheese should be aged slowly and lovingly until it is eighteen months to two years old. It will then be full in flavor and sharp, without any bitterness.

This is the way the renowned cheese man of Jermyn street in London described a large wheel of cheddar. He then asked me to taste a paper-thin slice of it. He was right. The moment it touched my tongue I could feeall the penetrating quality of this perfect cheddar.

Alas! It is not, and cannot always be perfect, but it is rarely not good. Most of us associate cheddar with Ontario. When I can find a good "Ontario" mild from summer milk, I always have some. With an apple and a glass of port wine, it is the perfect ending to a meal.

The art of cheese making was introduced to the early settlers of Eastern Ontario by the United Empire Loyalists. By 1854, some 2,000,000 pounds of domestic cheese were produced in Canada for home use, and for export to the United States.

Of all the cheese produced in Canada today, 50% of all Cheddar and 75% of the foreign and specialty cheeses are manufactured in Ontario.

Storing Cheese:

If it is improperly wrapped, cheese will lose moisture and take on "off" flavors from other foods.

To store, wrap small pieces of cheese carefully in moisture-vapor-proof foil or film.

Protect the cut surface of large pieces of cheese with a coating of paraffin, or press a heavy piece of waxed paper to the cut surface with a hot iron.

Keep cheese in a dry cool place.

Cooking with Cheese:

Don't cook cheese, just melt it. High heat, or overcooking makes cheese stringy and leathery. Crumble it into a cream sauce. Melt it into an omelet for breakfast. Toast it in a sandwich for lunch. Spread it on crackers for snacks. Grate it over a casserole for a crispy topping. Pile it on a tray with fresh fruit.

Use it as a low-cost meat substitute, with no waste factor to consider. Engjoy it with an apple, watching TV.

To bring out the true flavor of any cheese, allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

To melt cheese, place it over hot water, or add grated cheese to a hot mixture.

When making a sauce, add the sliced or grated cheese after the sauce is cooked; heat only until the cheese is melted. Overcooking may cause a milk-egg-cheese sauce to curdle or separate.

To make a cheese omelet, add the cheese just before folding.

Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #10

Recipe by: The Canadiana Cookbook/Mme Jehane Benoit/1970

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