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Cheddar is one of the two most popular varieties of cheese in the United States (the other being Mozzarella). Let Sesame Street show you how it’s made, then scroll down here to learn more about this dairy delight (and note, of course, the name of the most excellent variety featured above).
• Forget sweet dreams – try cheese dreams! The British Cheese Board conducted a study of dreams and cheese, and found (among other things) that not only does eating cheese before bed not give you nightmares, a significant number of people eating Cheddar dreamt about celebrities.
• Let them eat cheese! In 1982, Reagan gave away 30 million lbs of surplus processed cheddar cheese to the needy. The history of Presidents and cheese goes back even further (no pun intended): Andrew Jackson once served a wheel of cheese at a party weighing 1,400 lbs that was consumed in a mere two hours, but still managed to make the White House smell of cheese for weeks.
• Sometimes it’s ok to play with your food, as long as you can make something like Troy Landwehr did. Watch this time lapse video to see more cutting of the cheese (sorry, I had to. I had to!)
• It’s no secret that cheese can be preserved for quite a long time, and apparently proximity to cheese doesn’t hurt either. Just look to the 9,000 year old “Cheddar Man” found by a schoolteacher in the Cheddar Caves. The Cheddar Man now resides in Natural History Museum in London.
• I thought I really loved cheese, but here are two things that make me question that devotion. The first, from artist Cosimo Cavallaro, who uses cheese frequently in his installations. Check out this Cheese Room in the Cheese House, where one might hang their Cheese Jacket.
• If even this has left you with a craving for “more cheese, please!” then may I direct your attention to Cheddar Vision TV, where 1.7 million people watched cheddar cheese age for 12 months in real time last year, but you can still get in on this year’s action! Read more about the phenomenon here.
What are some of your favorite ways to eat cheddar, or cheese in general? And what are your favorite cheeses? Personally, goat cheese is probably at the top of my list.
Hungry for more? Venture into the Dietribes archive.
‘Dietribes’ appears every other Wednesday. Food photos taken by Johanna Beyenbach. You might remember that name from our post about her colorful diet.
Comments (15)
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Allison you’re after my heart on this one! I love love love cheese! Sharp cheddar is my favorite cheese and I can eat it on most anything, from sandwiches to omelettes to burgers to salad.
Following close behind, like you mentioned is goats cheese. I make a semi-omelette by sauteing fresh spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, then adding in eggs that have been beaten. Let it sit on top of the stove until the bottom is cooked, then top with bits of goats cheese and broil til the top is cooked. It’s so good we have it for dinner sometimes!
Thanks for the awesome post!
posted by Tricia on 10-1-2008 at 12:30 pm
“a party weighing 1,400 lbs”
Is that heavy for a party? How many guests?
posted by BassMan on 10-1-2008 at 1:15 pm
I’m personally not a fan of cheddar, and lactose intolerant to boot, but I’ve sent this on to various members of my family. In my family, it isn’t a family gathering unless there’s a platter with a variety of cheddar and crackers.
posted by Amy D on 10-1-2008 at 2:02 pm
I love cheese!!! Cheddar followed my Moz are my 2 favorites.
There is a dairy called Pine River Dairy near my husband’s parents house in upper Wisconsin that we frequent when we are in the neighborhood (about twice a year). They know us by name as we are known to walk out of there about $400 lighter and fill up 2 coolers.
Fresh cheese curds that squeek when you eat them are the best. I recently just discovered a garlic and dill cheddar that was awsome. For some reason I’m not liking the super sharp (aged 25 yr) but prefer the younger varieties. They definetly have some interesting combinations of flavors.
I now have a saying – once you go fresh you can’t go back – the stuff they sell massed produced in the stores now taste like chaulk.
posted by Beth on 10-1-2008 at 2:23 pm
Have you tried a goat Cheddar? It’s awesome! I’d recommend the Chevre Noir (its a little pricey, but SO GOOD!)
Also, most lactose intolerant people(lactards) are able to eat Goat and or Sheep’s milk cheeses. Its usually just cow’s milk that causes problems for these people.
posted by marctwain on 10-1-2008 at 2:31 pm
definitely either gruyere or manchego…I love me some sharp, smelly cheese!
My whole family makes fun of me because I will eat cheese by its lonesome as a snack. Just me and a fist-sized block of cheese to nibble on. Mmmm.
Also, being from NE Ohio, a popular snack choice was always cheddar cheese and apples (preferably fuji or granny smith…red apples are too sweet).
My boyfriend is from Georgia and he was disgusted at the combo until he tried it..now he’s hooked!
posted by Brooke on 10-1-2008 at 2:36 pm
Havarti – FTW! So creamy. MMmmmm….
Then of course, some good ole fashioned thick sliced velveeta grilled cheese sammiches. MMmmmmmm…..
posted by velveeeeta on 10-1-2008 at 2:38 pm
J’adore les fromages bleus! Mmmmmmm! Started with Cambozola when I was a teenager, dabbled with generic Danish blues, but now I treat myself to either Cashel Blue–amazing, from a little dairy farm in Ireland–or Shropshire blue, which is the perfect combination of cheddar and blue cheese.
Ironically, I have a mortifying fear of “expired” foods. If there is a speck of green fuzz on bread, if fruit is slightly overripe, if milk is within three days of its best-before date, I cannot touch it. But last week I ate an entire wedge of Tigre Bleu from Quebec, which was literally OOZING with green-blue mold, and I was ravenous for more.
That’s it. I’m going to the deli.
posted by Kikadee on 10-1-2008 at 3:57 pm
The cheese installations give me the creeps. The room looks like some sort of horrible fetish crime scene. Gross.
posted by tiffany on 10-1-2008 at 4:41 pm
Ah, yes, cheese. One of mankind’s better discoveries. I like toasted cheese sandwiches, usually with sharp cheddar, and instead of butter on the outside to make it golden brown, I found out I can use mayonaise. My favorite is infused with Tabasco sauce. Yum!
Ate more than my fair share of that “Regan cheese”. I was working part time, and living with a housemate to share expenses. We both would go down to the distribution center and come home with two bricks of cheese, 5 lbs each, if memory serves. We would eat some, give some away and freeze the rest. Cheddar cheese does not freeze well, so the texture wasn’t very appetizing. But not too worry, there was always the next installment of cheese to look forward to.
posted by cheesy cheese addict on 10-1-2008 at 7:08 pm
Who doesn’t love cheese? Though it’s true that I don’t love bleu cheese, I’ll eat just about any other kind, room temp or refrigerated. What an awesome sculpture! Does he sculpt in any other medium than cheese?
posted by sky on 10-1-2008 at 7:45 pm
I think this was probably illegal (or at least frowned upon), but when I was a kid, my dad used to buy “government cheese” from the lady who take care of me and my cousins. We loved that cheese – the blocks were HUGE, so “just one piece” was plenty!
My favorite cheese combinations (don’t tell my personal trainer) – cheese and peanut butter (great on a sandwich) and cheese and chocolate chip cookies (you get the salty and the sweet…mmmm….)
Great post! You can’t go wrong with cheese!
posted by Lynley on 10-1-2008 at 10:45 pm
The teacher who found the Cheddar Man was actually a descendant of him.
posted by anonymous on 10-2-2008 at 11:32 am
One of my absolute favorites is a goat cheese covered in ashes… Anyone ever try that? SOOOO good…
OK, that´s it. I´m having cheese and crakers for lunch.
posted by GTT on 10-2-2008 at 11:36 am
I can’t remember where I heard the quote from but it was definitely apt: “Dairy is the only substance on the planet purposed solely for food.”
posted by josh on 11-13-2008 at 12:48 am