Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar cheese is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white or, with added colorings such as annatto, orange, sometimes sharp tasting, and named for the village of Cheddar in Somerset, in South West England, where it originated. The generic name carries no protected designation, but West Country Farmhouse Cheddar gained Protected Designation of Origin status in 2007, restricted to Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall using traditional methods, and Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar gained Protected Geographical Indication status in 2013. Cheddar accounts for 51 percent of the United Kingdom's 1.9 billion pound annual cheese market and ranks as the second most popular cheese in the United States after mozzarella, with the US producing about 3 billion pounds in 2014 and the UK producing 258,000 long tons in 2008; nineteenth century dairyman Joseph Harding standardized its production methods and is remembered as the father of cheddar, while the number of British producers fell from more than 3,500 before the First World War to fewer than 100 after the disruption of the Second World War.