Four-Year Cheddar!
We’ve been following this particular 4-year batch for a while now. Our "Tasting and Grading Team" (that’s most of our cheese team) has formally tested it at least 3 times.
Basically, a cheese is graded for pH, moisture, and salt content the morning after it’s made. The overall grade gives us a good indication of whether a batch will ultimately make a 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, or even longer aged cheddar. This 4-year batch originally scored a 9.4 on our morning-after-the-make grading system. This meant it could have done well as a 3-year cheddar.
As a cheddar ages, though, we conduct taste tests to more accurately determine when a batch is ready for cutting and sale. We take small plugs of cheese from the batch a day or two before the tasting, then vacuum-seal the samples so they stay fresh for the test. For each age group, we look for specific flavor profiles and score the cheese accordingly.
- flavor/aroma
- salt
- texture
- typicity (how close it is to your typical 6M, 1Y, 2Y, etc.)
- DF, or the depth of flavor or "deliciousness” (It's our most subjective category!)
When we tasted this 4-year batch at 3 years, we decided it had the right flavors, aromas, and texture to age a bit longer. (We are looking for sweet balanced flavors, a clean finish, and a texture that isn't crumbly or gummy.) Some of the tasting notes for it were: "Pineapple-y, fermented blueberries, creamy, IPA aroma, stellar, "doin’ a cheese dance!", crunchy. (It’s serious business, but we do have fun with our tasting notes!)
You can pick up some of 4-year cheddar at our Welcome Center, or order it online. Enjoy!