[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus]
Which is nonsense, great cheese come from angst-ridden, angry cows, just like great art.
[/QUOTE]
Just wanted to say that this has made my day for some reason. I am going home with a huge smile on my face. Thanks, Mr. Octopus! 
[QUOTE=villa]
I have not found an American cheddar with either the flavor of a good English/Irish cheddar, and, more noticeably, with the proper texture.
[/QUOTE]
Well, we don’t get much call for it around here, sir.
Thank you, sir. That gave me the first smile of a very crappy day…
Hey – what about Utah Cheddar?
The valleys up near Logan produce a surprising amount of cheddar and other cheeses (It’s got the Largest Swiss Cheese factory in the World: Amalga, Utah - Wikipedia )I remember them extolling the cheese when I traveled through there en route to Jackson Hole.
[QUOTE=Ukulele Ike]
They have cows in California? Who knew?
[/QUOTE]
Only Wisconsin is a bigger dairy state.
I’m sorry, but if it doesn’t come from Somerset, it’s not really Cheddar.
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher]
AKA “Tillamook Chedder”, though California Cheddar would probably be closer.
[/QUOTE]
…but not better. Tillamook is the best choice, ever.
[QUOTE=villa]
Cheese is one of the few things I disagree with this concept on. I have not found an American cheddar with either the flavor of a good English/Irish cheddar, and, more noticeably, with the proper texture.
[/QUOTE]
I have in front of me Kerrygold brand Blarney Castle from Ireland that I picked up in Carrefour. How does this rank on your Irish cheddar scale in terms of price and taste?
color me unimpressed but it may be the equivalent of Kraft on your scale, so just curious?
[QUOTE=Uvula Donor]
The cheaper stuff is like that. If you can find Grafton Vermont Cheddar aged 3 years, you’ll find it more to your liking.
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I love the Grafton Village 3-year cheddar. I also have a certain appreciation for their 4-year cheddar. Eating it is a little like being physically assaulted, but it is an enjoyable assault. I can’t eat a lot of it at a time, though, without my tongue feeling a little raw.
I am a great fan of cheddar, and will eat cheddars of different origins depending on my mood.
Extra sharp NY cheddar is a nice strong cheddar that has a fairly powerful flavor, but it lacks some of the more subtle flavors you find in a Grafton Village (VT) 2-year or 3-year. I grew up eating extra-sharp NY cheddar, so it is my default cheddar. There was always a block of it in the refrigerator we could snack on.
Wisconsin cheddar is just OK; I’ll use it in a recipe but in general don’t want to eat it plain. That said, I have not had a chance to try any artisanal WI cheddars, they way I have with NY and VT cheddars.
Then there are the imported cheddars. Those from England have a distinctly different texture than US cheddars, and a different flavor profile - there are different flavors in there, though I don’t have the vocabulary to explain what I mean. I don’t care for the ones I’ve had from Ireland, though I can’t articulate why.
I had an interesting 3-year cheddar from Canada once (sorry, don’t recall the dairy but I think it was from somewhere in ON). It was quite tasty, though it lacked the bite of a Grafton Village 3-year, and bite is what I’m generally looking for in a cheddar.
P.S. Grafton Village will ship cheese. I have several times sent it to my dad as a Christmas or Father’s Day gift. And I see now they have a 5-year and a 6-year available. I don’t recall seeing those before, but maybe I just overlooked them. Wow!
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Those of you with Mexican markets in town might be familiar with annatto being sold under its Spanish name, achiote. It’s very popular in the Yucatan where it’s used to make a recado that gets smeared over meat or seafood before it is cooked. It has a very earthy taste with a beautiful deep red hue to it. The most popular Yucatecan dish that uses it is cochinita pibil. You will also find annatto used in breakfast cereals and other foods as a coloring agent, although in Latin American cuisines it is used very much for its flavor.
[/QUOTE]
Interesting that annatto is now used, when I had learned that saffron and carrot juice were traditionally used to mimic the milk from cows that had grazed on beta-carotene rich grasses and marigolds. Looking around the web, it seems annatto is also used in Gloucestershire and Leicestershire cheeses.
And for your semi-on-topic trivia bit for the day, "cheddaring"refers to cutting the cheese into cubes as it ages to release whey, which also contributes to the texture.
[QUOTE=China Guy]
I have in front of me Kerrygold brand Blarney Castle from Ireland that I picked up in Carrefour. How does this rank on your Irish cheddar scale in terms of price and taste?
color me unimpressed but it may be the equivalent of Kraft on your scale, so just curious?
[/QUOTE]
I have never had it, though name brand cheese isn’t that good generally…
[QUOTE=Motorgirl]
P.S. Grafton Village will ship cheese. I have several times sent it to my dad as a Christmas or Father’s Day gift. And I see now they have a 5-year and a 6-year available. I don’t recall seeing those before, but maybe I just overlooked them. Wow!
[/QUOTE]
I just wanted to say, Curse you! I went there and next thing I knew I had ordered cheese.
For UK dopers, I would like to offer up Arran’s Cheese shop, on the Isle of Arran. I found it when I was there in 2005. They have some nice flavoured cheeses and I also enjoyed their oaties. They don’t offer 3 or 4 year old cheese, but it is still good stuff. I don’t know if they will ship to the US, but I doubt it. 
[QUOTE=villa]
Some Canadian cheddars I have found tolerable, though less flavored than I am looking for. I can’t get used to the texture of US cheddar though - it always seems almost rubbery.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not familiar with other Vermont Cheddars, but my Brit friend likes the Cabot Farms as well. I recommended it after he talked about the texture of English cheddars; it’s the closest he’s found.
Add me to the fans of Grafton Cheddar.
And, though the purists may scorn me, I really love Grafton’s sage cheddar. It is wonderful melted on a nice sourdough roll.