Is this cheese worth going out of my way for

[herbidacious Profile]

I like your positive thinking BM

(On another, but reelated note, husband wanted to order a book from the States and they wanted to chargre £50 'shopping' because of the Brexit situation??!!??)

[scullion Profile]

i wouldn't say it was damned with faint praise - that implies it's not that good as cheddars go. it's ok - i've had a few better but i've had plenty worse - and if its available to mark it's worth him trying it.

i'm not sure how much cheese will pass across the pond - the americans will refuse any unpasteurised cheeses from here and according to things we've read any of the smaller artisanal stuff from there will be horrendously expensive here. - and we already get 'american cheese'.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Yesterday I finished all but a small square of Cathedral City Cheddar, with a salad. I thought it was great - pleasant sharpness, creamy , just slightly "gritty" - wonderful!
Mind you - I haven´t eaten a decent piece of Cheddar since I was last in the UK 2 years ago, so I´m not really qualified to give an opinion!
I´d buy some,. Mark. I´d also go for some Wisconcin cheddar, to see how they compare.

[scullion Profile]

and if you like it, buy some for the freezer.
when frozen in block form cheddar goes a bit crumbly but it freezes fine grated.

[aero280 Profile]

Picking up on a point in the OP, I wonder if the US Cathedral City Cheddar is imported, or made under licence in the US. If the latter it may well be changed to suit US expectations. It would be interesting to read the package and see if it lists the place of manufacture.

[aero280 Profile]

Ah! Dairy Crest has been bought out by Saputo Industries Inc.

Maybe the cheese will be exported, for now, at least. I remember the promises made about Cadburys...

https://www.dairyindustries.com/news/32 ... -dairy-uk/

[Badger's Mate Profile]

There are lots of lovely artisanal cheeses in the UK made with pasteurised milk. Presumably trade deals make the tariffs and hence prices lower than WTO rules allow.

There's a local couple importing Italian stuff whose business model is strongly dependent upon a deal with the EU. Their current range of cheeses go up to £45/kg, obviously most are very much cheaper than that, but it remains to be seen what the impact will be. Those cheeses sell at that price however.

Doubtless cheap and cheerful US cheeses would come in more cheaply under a deal but other cheeses would be worth importing also.

[Lokelani Profile]

Godminster vintage is well worth going out of your way for, but it's hard enough to get in the UK. The Cathedral City Vintage is not bad, depending what you have there to compare it to of course.

[mistakened Profile]

I have no choice, the best Cheddar cheese that I can but is Cathedral City

Moira

[jeral Profile]

Hi mark1111757. Cathedral Farms is an everyday brand here as said but is still pretty good and doesn't break the bank at at about £7-12 kg depending on matured age. I think the 25% import tariff still applies on EU cheese in the US, so with that and transport it won't be an everyday price for you.

This article Sept 20 on launch says that Saputo are expanding their Cornwall premises to make more for international markets.
https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/dairy/cathe ... 57.article
They already sell to Canada. Would it be cheaper to buy direct from there to avoid double transport?

It seems that even US Cheddar-style aged cheeses all cost an arm and a leg so if you buy some, let's hope you don't like it! I'd go for the vintage which will be the furthest from tasteless plastic slices you could get. It should last longer as only a small nibble at a time should be enough.

Cath.City is sold as a piece in a resealable vacpack, so will keep unopened for a very long time. Once opened only for a week, maybe two, as it sweats and moulds as cheese does, so cut it into portion sticks and wrap each tightly in freezer paper and foil/poly bag before freezing.

[Amyw Profile]

I would only ever freeze cheddar grated , I think if you freeze it in solid pieces , the texture goes really funny and crumbly so I wouldn’t use it in say a cheese salad after

[jeral Profile]

Amyw, my cheddar and feta "fingers" come out as they went in after defrosting in the fridge. I use Reynolds freezer paper which is quite thick and waxed with something on the inner side, then those in foil and the package in a poly bag, all minus as much air as I can exclude.

[MagicMarmite Profile]

It's the only brand I'll buy ready grated as the coating isn't too floury.
Obviously it would be better to grate my own but I'm too lazy these days..

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I find ready grated actually freezes better, because of the coating (which is just a minute amount of potato starch), if you are careful it can be extracted as "free flow"
Morrison's own brand is quite good

[jeral Profile]

I don't think Mark can get the grated version in the US as it's limited to the three he showed. It's a pity as on the Cath.City website they also do a taster of all three (mature, extra, vintage) which would be ideal.

I fail to grate extra mature without it crumbling so use a cheese wire peeler for slices instead. Ready grated surprisingly is not much different in price so I would buy that if that's how I mainly used it.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Once opened only for a week, maybe two, as it sweats and moulds as cheese does,

Mine arrived from Spain, in a suitcase, on November 6th. I opened it immediately - and finished it yesterday. It was still fine.

[Pampy Profile]

I've kept it for quite a while once opened too. Have never had any go mouldy on me.

[jeral Profile]

I'm happy to take your words for it onlongevity, but if I were paying what Mark will have to pay, I 'd sure want to keep an eye on it.

[Lokelani Profile]

I find most vintage cheddars last in the fridge quite a while past date. Also once opened, if they have the resealable plastic pack I do tend to leave them in as we go through cheese quite quckly.

If it's precious, expensive or I really need it to last ages, I re-wrap in Lakeland food saver paper, which is waxed on both sides. Cheese lasts for ages in the fridge in that.

[Pampy Profile]

I'm happy to take your words for it onlongevity, but if I were paying what Mark will have to pay, I 'd sure want to keep an eye on it.

How much does it cost in the US - is it a lot more than here in the UK?