🧀 Cheddar

Cheddar is a hard aged cow's milk cheese named after the area around Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, south-west England ¹. The Codex describes it as firm and smooth, without eyes, in any shade from almost white to orange ². Today the word stands for a method more than a place: Cheddar is made on farms and in factories across Britain, the Commonwealth and the USA ¹.

So the rules depend on where you buy it. A US Cheddar may hold no more than 39% moisture and needs at least 50% fat in dry matter ³. The international Codex asks for only 22% fat, with 48–60% as a reference level ². In Britain and the EU the word itself is free; only West Country Farmhouse Cheddar (PDO) ¹ and Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar (PGI) ⁷ are tied to a place and a specification.

Most Cheddar on the shelf comes from rectangular blocks that mature in film and never grow a rind ¹. The farmhouse cylinder is a different sight. Under the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar name it is made on a farm, cheddared by hand, holds 48% fat in dry matter and no more than 39% moisture, and may use pasteurised or unpasteurised milk. Its cloth bandage, rubbed with lard, turns into a rind that breathes yet keeps mould out ¹. Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar is sold at three ages: 6–12, 12–15 and 15–18 months ⁷.

What sets the cheese apart is cheddaring. The curd is cut into rectangular blocks that are turned and stacked, so whey runs off and acidity builds; then the blocks are milled, salted and pressed in moulds ¹. The US standard describes the same technique ³, while Orkney makers have used a dry-stir method since 1984 ⁷.

The story starts on farms. According to the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar specification, cheese was probably being made near Cheddar by the 15th century and sold at local markets, and tradition has it maturing in caves under the Mendip Hills ¹.

Is Cheddar just another name for Gouda or Parmesan? No. Gouda follows its own Codex standard, and Parmesan is Parmigiano Reggiano, a separately protected name. Mozzarella is further still: a fresh stretched-curd cheese, not a pressed, aged one.

Frequently asked questions

Facts

Cheese

Cheddar belongs to hard cheeses. It is made from cow's milk by a special process called cheddaring: slabs of curd are stacked and turned until they become dense and fibrous, then milled, salted and pressed. Ripening lasts from a few months to two years or more, and the taste grows sharper with age. The name cheddar itself is not protected; only West Country Farmhouse Cheddar from four counties of south-west England is a PDO. Tip: mature cheddar melts well in bakes and toasted sandwiches.

Composition per 100 g

How it connects to milk

🧀 Cheddar → made from → 🥛 Cow's milk → type of → 🥛 Milk

How it connects to Cheese

🧀 Cheddar → kind of → 🧀 Cheese

Links

What to read next

• 🌍 Western Europe — France, the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg: a mild, moist climate, pastures and hundreds of cheeses such as Roquefort, Camembert, Gouda and Cheddar.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 British — People of Great Britain; their protected West Country Cheddar matures for at least 9 months, and tea is drunk with milk.
• 🔄 Curdling — Rennet coagulates casein into a curd (the basis of cheese).
• 🧪 Milk fat — ~3.5% in cow's milk.
• 🧫 Rennet — An enzyme (chymosin) that curdles milk for cheese.

Similar

🧀 Monterey Jack · 🧀 Camembert · 🧀 Gouda · 🧀 Mozzarella · 🧀 Cream cheese · 🧶 Oaxaca cheese

ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.

What it includes

Sources

• Defra — West Country Farmhouse Cheddar (PDO) product specification
• FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius. Milk and milk products, 2nd ed. (2011): CXS 263 Cheddar, 266 Gouda, 276 Camembert, 281 Evaporated milks, 282 Sweetened condensed milks
• US 21 CFR 133.113 — Cheddar cheese (GovInfo CFR 2025)
• US 21 CFR 73.30 — Annatto extract (GovInfo CFR 2025)
• NHS — Foods to avoid in pregnancy
• NC State Extension — Moldy Foods: Use or Pitch (USDA guidance), 2024
• GOV.UK: Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar — product specification (PGI)
• Voedingscentrum: Kaas
• USDA FoodData Central: Cheese, cheddar (FDC 328637)

Also listed under

• Milk › Dairy products › Cheese
• Cheese › British cheeses