Sheridans Cheddar Extra Mature Red

The Mature and Extra Mature Cabery Cheddars we work with at Sheridans are selected by us for their distinctive flavours and textures. We taste many batches of cheddar to determine the best cheddar's for our locations and we use the red vs white color to distinguish the mature from the extra mature cheddars. The red colour used in making any red cheddar is a colorant and does not impart any flavour. There are many similarities and many differences between production at Carbery and farmhouse cheddar production. A big difference of course is the breath of the milk supply, instead of one or just a few local farms supplying milk to a farmhouse producer there are hundreds of farms supplying milk into Carbery. As with some Farmhouse cheeses the milk is pasteurised. The basic cheddar making process steps are the same, culturing and renneting of the milk, cutting the curd, milling and salting the curd and pressing. The level of technology though is much greater in this large scale production. The protein and fat levels of the incoming milk are carefully monitored and balanced with the addition of skimmed milk powder when necessary. Temperature and acidity are constantly monitored and regulated. The speed of conveyors carrying the curd, the curd milling wheels operate to exact parameters. The use of this technology together with a broad milk supply produces a more consistent cheese. The price of this consistency is a lack of distinctive flavour and nuances. However even with all this technology the varying seasons and microclimate still ensure that each batch is different and there are the possibilities of more interesting cheeses.