Sharp cheddar
aged cow's-milk cheese · Cheese
Top 10 pairings
Sharp cheddar is cheddar aged long enough — commonly nine months to a year, sometimes well beyond — for its flavour to move from mild and buttery to pronounced, tangy and savoury. Deeper in colour, firmer and drier than young cheddar, it breaks with a slight crumble and often a faint crystalline crunch, and it carries a nutty, almost meaty depth behind a bright lactic bite. It is the everyday flavour-forward cheddar — sharp enough to stand up on its own, in a sandwich, or grated over a dish.
Picking a good onedrag
Firm, clean cut face, tangySweating, cracked, rancid
Wrapped wedgeEveryday bestPregnant, over 65 or low immunity? Pick pasteurised, or heat it steaming hot.
Cut faceEven colour, face a shade duller
Smell at the cutTrue to its age, a little quieter
These cues are Cheddar's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.