Mom recently took a road trip up to Wisconsin, and bought me a rather large chunk of cheddar from Carr Valley Cheese Company, aged 4 years. It’s AWFUL. It’s got a very bitter chemical flavor, vague vomit aftertaste, and the texture… Well, I can’t even slice it because it flakes badly. I’m doing all the right things- letting it come to room temperature and everything.
I don’t know what to do with this cheese. It would be a shame to throw it away. As it is though, I can’t even cook with it.
Uh, is this the way 4-year old cheddar should be? Did I get a bad batch? Am I a wimp for thinking it tastes “too strong?” My brother’s souvenier 2-year old cheddar is quite nice: excellent flavor, lovely texture.
Hmm. The Carr Valley Cheeses I’ve tried are incredible. I haven’t had the cheddar, though.
The flakiness is normal with an aged cheddar. That’s just what happens. Try one of those cheese shaver thingies, they work better, or just eat it in chuncks.
The chemical flavor, however, has me concerned. I would call Carr Valley and explain the problem, and see what they say.
I was hoping someone else had experience with their products. I’m glad you replied.
I was expecting a different texture with an aged cheddar… Like when you break it, you can see little knobs (bad description, I hope you can guess what I’m trying to convey). This is a bit different. You know how cheese gets if it’s been frozen? That’s sorta like how it is.
Carr Valley usually has excellent cheeses and I’ve never heard of anyone getting a bad batch from them. Also, they probably sampled the batch before they sold it, so it is highly unlikely that it has some bad chemical contaminant in it. An aged cheddar should be a little pasty in texture because the protein is breaking down. The flavor should have bitter, astringent, and acidic notes, but should still taste like cheese, just more intense. At 4 years, it will be a strong flavored cheese. Some people like it, many don’t.
Now, about those knobs…I know exactly what you are talking about. Fresher cheeses break along the curd lines. Imagine your block of cheese as being made up of cottage cheese (without the dressing) pressed together. If you apply force to break it, it will break along the seams and you will see the outside edges of all the of all the little curd pieces. As the cheese ages, two things happen, the seams start to knit together, and the individual pieces of curd start to break down chemically, which weakens them physically. Therefore, if you break an aged cheese, your just as likely to break the curd and seperate two curds. (This is called ‘curd identity’). Freezing cheese makes ice crystals that physically break the protein structure, causing a similar result to texture as aging.
If you don’t like it as cheese, you might try it in a cheese soup or sauce or someting where you can ‘dilute’ the flavor. Remember, since it is aged, it won’t be stringy when melted like a young cheddar. Also, it might taste better to you cold. Some flavors are less pronounced when cold, just because it isn’t the ‘right’ way, doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Also, pair it with fruit. The sweetness of the fruit can mellow the bitter/astringent of the cheese. Try a nice apple with it.
Sorry to hear you don’t like our Wisconsin cheese
I guess I just have to accept the sad fact that I’m a cheddar wuss. I’ve had 2 and 3 year old cheddar and loved it. What a difference a year makes.
I’m so disappointed in myself. I wanted to love it, oh yes. But my taste buds let me down.
I called Carr and they said nobody has complained about a chemical aftertaste. They asked me if I had let it come up to room temp. I told them that I looked for any cuts or holes in the wax that may have occurred in the ride home, but there were none.
I will use the cheese, though. Soup, mac & cheese, whatever. I can’t just throw it away.
xbuckeye- I DO like your cheese! I’d steal my bro’s 2 year cheddar if he wouldn’t kill me.
Maybe next time you should stick to fresh squeaky cheese curds. The Carr Valley store in Sauk City is my crack-house for that stuff. If your brother likes the 4 year, would he swap you? Maybe you could use the 2 year to work up to the four year. I’m not a huge fan of aged cheddar either, I’ll eat a piece or two at a time, but not much more. If you ever get a 6 month cheddar with crystals, though, I’d fight you for it!
I’m glad to know I’m not alone. Still it bums me out that I thought I was a down & dirty true cheese head and now I can’t take a 4 year cheddar. QtM will think I’m a pansy. ← cheesy grin
But my aged cheddars generally aren’t pretty to look at. They flake, they crumble all to hell, occasionally some of the calcium has precipated out and given it a crunchy texture, and the flavor is quite intense. All of which I love!
I don’t know about the chemical taste, though. To me, an older cheese has an extremely powerful taste, orders of magnitude stronger than mild, medium, or even sharp varieties. To me they just accentuate the aging process.
I’ve had a few cheeses have bad flavors due to mold. Fly-by-night cheese shops will tell you not to worry about the mold, just cut it off and things are just fine. But this is nonsense for a true cheese aficionado. Those molds throw the taste badly out of whack.
Truly aged cheddar is not for everyone. One must sometimes be born to the orange.
Growing up with parents who lived through the Depression, you didn’t not eat perfectly good cheese (actually, insert ANY food here) because of a little mold. Besides it’s good for you…penicillin comes from mold.
Another thumbs up for Carr’s. I hit that place everytime I go back to Wisconsin. The 4-year is only to be eaten by die-hard cheddar lovers. It is a very intense flavor. Also, it’s a bit of an acquired taste. There aren’t a lot of people that think liver tastes wonderful. Same concept with a 4-year cheddar. Keep at it though, you may learn to enjoy it more. And the strange chemical taste is normal. I know what you’re talking about, I noticed the same thing when I first tried it. But good on ya for being adventurous anough to try it.
My MIL has complained about the “vomit” after taste of sharp cheddar also, so you’re not alone. Trying it with apples is an excellent idea, though. That’s one of my favorite food combinations.
For you hardcore cheesies out there, the Bavarian Sausage House in Madison (or Fitchburg?) sells 14-year-old cheddar.
Must try! I’ve never had older than 11 year old cheddar (to die for!!) but I’d like to push the envelope. I’ve got a hunk that’s about 10 and a half in the fridge now, but I’m not sure how patient I can be.
A doc I work with, who is 81, was raised in northern Wisconsin. He tells me that early in WWII the local cheese factory was sending their surplus 20 year old cheddar to England to help with the food shortage. He bemoaned the fact that they didn’t give him the ancient cheddar and send some of 9 month old stuff!
Qadgop in an earlyer message you had mentioned, I think, having a Cheese Fridge. Do you know of any good ways someone with only the storage space of a small appartment might best store cheese for home use?
Not really. I just call it the cheese fridge. It’s a mini bar fridge that holds sodas and some of my dairy stash, that’s all.
Anybody got a line on some good aged swiss? I find I can’t get stuff that’s much over 2 and a half years old. By then it’s pretty crumbly, but the holes are filled with a clear yellow liquid ambrosia!!!
← cheesy grin
