Gransnet forums

Food

In defence of cheddar cheese

(79 Posts)
MawB Sun 17-Nov-19 08:21:31

Paws cousin Jamie makes the incomparable Montgomery’s Cheddar which is not red.
A story I liked was that pieces of cheddar would be sold on the WI stall at the nearby farmers market and any that were not considered good enough, went to Tesco as Tesco’s Finest.

Yorksherlass Sun 17-Nov-19 08:18:00

Me too, www.thecourtyarddairy.co.uk/blog/cheese-musings-and-tips/why-is-red-cheese-red/

Whitewavemark2 Sun 17-Nov-19 08:15:49

Just googled it.

The colour comes from a seed from a tree grown in Mexico.

Annatto.

giulia Sun 17-Nov-19 08:12:05

Living out of the UK, a good piece of Cheddar is one of the things I miss most.

My kind butcher/delicatessen, at my request, has brought some into his shop (E32/kg my dears!). It is an award-winning west country variety and is almost orange.

Hence my problem: my Italian family and friends refuse to taste it. They say it must contain food colouring to be that colour! I am sure this is not so but it is true that all Italian/French cheeses are all pale.

I read somewhere that it is carotene which causes the colour but surely the cows don't eat carrots!

If I remember rightly, Leicester cheese is almost red.

How do I explain this orange colouring?

Ps: I saw some sliced, packaged "cheddar" here in a supermarket - it was made in Belgium!