Cheddar | Health Notes at WWSM | Health Information at WWSM

Cheddar

Wine Pairings

Preparation, uses, and tips

Cheddar is an immensely popular snack cheese, enjoyed with bread or biscuits, apples or pears, in sandwiches and on hamburgers, and accompanying apple pie. Grated, it appears in a wide range of home baking (such as cheese biscuits and muffins), as an accompaniment to salads, and as a topping on French onion soup; in casseroles (from informal dishes such as macaroni and cheese to elegant soufflés); and in regional potato, pasta, and rice dishes, such as rice with peppers and stuffed peppers. Cheddar also combines well with Parmesan.

Buying and storing tips

As a hard cheese, cheddar can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in plastic, for two to four weeks.

Varieties

There are more than 250 varieties of cheddar cheese. Colours vary from white (undyed) to deep orange. Yellow and orange cheeses are created through the addition of carrot juice or marigold; some use annatto, a flavorless natural colouring.

Varieties include Chewton, Green’s, Keen’s, and Montgomery’s Cheddars of Somerset; Dorset Drum Cheddar of Dorset; and Denhay and Quickes Cheddars of Devon.

British cheeses related to cheddar include the tart Welsh Caerphilly, creamy Scottish Dunlop, crumbly Cheshire, sharp Glouster and Double Glouster, mild Leicester, and Derby, which has a sage-flavoured version.

Quality cheddar-type cheeses are also being produced in New Zealand and other countries, including the United States.

Nutrition Highlights

Cheddar cheese, 1 slice (1 oz.) (28g)
Calories: 114
Protein: 7.0g
Carbohydrate: 0.36g
Total Fat: 9.4g
Fiber: 0.0g
*Good source of: Calcium (204mg), and Riboflavin (0.18mg)

*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value, based upon United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the USDA Recommended Daily Value. Nutritional information and daily nutritional guidelines may vary in different countries. Please consult the appropriate organization in your country for specific nutritional values and the recommended daily guidelines.

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The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or chemist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires September 2008.