Cheddar is an immensely popular snack cheese, enjoyed with bread or crackers, apples or
pears, in sandwiches and on hamburgers, and accompanying apple pie. Grated, it appears in a
wide range of baked goods (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. Colors 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 coloring.
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-flavored version.
Quality cheddar-type cheeses are also being produced in New Zealand and other countries,
including the United States.
*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular
nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value. Foods that are a “good
source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the Recommended Daily
Value.
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 pharmacist for any health problem and before using any
supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications.
Information expires June 2009.
