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Joined: Aug 2008
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For decades Canadian mature cheddar has been one of the best types of cheese available in Britain. Does anyone know if it's available in Belize? I've never seen it.
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Do you mean Kraft Crackerbarrel Cheddar? That's what I eat at home and what I used to carry down to BZ with me from home. If that's what you meant, try Super Buy. As always, check the expiry date on it, but the stuff I got a couple of weeks ago, was just fine.
A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?
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Joined: Sep 2000
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For imported Cheeses your best bet is wine devine lots of imported cheeses there.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Wine de Vine carries Black Diamond by the ounce now.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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I don't know Black Diamond, but Kraft Crackerbarrel comes nowhere near the quality of the Canadian cheddar available in Britain. I'm guessing here, but possibly partly because it is packaged in such small quantities. For some reason, the best (hard) cheese always seems to come in much larger slabs until it's finally cut for the consumer.
I thought that as we have some US and other cheeses readily available in supermarkets here, and that there are quite a few Canadians here, that maybe some of this cheese might have filtered through. I did get some Canadian dive guests to bring me some once, and it really was superb compared with everything I've encountered here.
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Joined: Mar 2008
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IMO Black Diamond is good and worth a try Peter. The best we have tasted in our travels has been Anchor cheddar from New Zealand (butter also). I think we found it at Super Buy but not sure.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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I will certainly try Black Diamond, thanks. I can't point to any trade names (brands) that anyone here would recognise, as what I'm thinking of is almost entirely sold as supermarket own-brands in the UK. Goes back to the days before Britain shafted the Commonwealth by joining the EU (EEC), when it had preferential trade deals with Canada & New Zealand and other Commonwealth nations. Canadian cheddar wasn't just some of the best, it was also highly competitive in price. The price has gone up a lot because of EU tariffs, but the British appetite foe mature Canadian cheddar doesn't seem to have diminished.
Perhaps what I'm thinking of is purely made in Canada FOR the British market, and isn't available locally....?
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Joined: Nov 2000
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To me, Black Diamond doesn't taste much different than Kraft Crackerbarrel, but then I'm no cheese connoisseur. Best of luck.
A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?
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Joined: Aug 2008
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Thanks. I'll try the Black Diamond, but I suspect I'll have to wait until I'm back in the UK to get the real McCoy!
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Well here's an interesting fact: http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/Pages/canadiancheddarcheeseFrom another article: "Fine Canadian cheddar producers: Balderson, Black River Cheese Co, Maple Dale Cheese, Eldroado Cheese Ltd, Pine River Cheese and Butter Corporation, Kaseman's Curds and Whey, Grande Cheese, National Cheese, Black Diamond (a division of Parmalat), Ontario; Armstrong Cheese, The Village Cheese B.C;, Delapointe, Agropur, Lactel, Fromagerie La Ferme au Village Quebec: Framers Dairy N S: Armstrong Cheese, Saskatchewan; Armstrong Cheese, Alberta" http://www.foodreference.com/html/artcheddarcheese.html
Last edited by SimonB; 02/12/10 07:30 PM. Reason: add on
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Interesting. I don't like Armstrong cheese at all.
A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?
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Joined: Mar 2008
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We have found that St-Albert extra sharp white cheddar from Quebec is an excellent cheese, definately worth trying.
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Joined: Aug 2008
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Thanks for all the info. A point on terminology. I'm never quite sure what Americans, and it seems Canadians, mean when they say a cheese is "sharp". It's not a term used in Britain and in its ordinary (British) meaning isn't a word I'd use to describe a good cheddar. "Strong", "fruity", "nutty", "smooth" are words we would use. "Sharp" in its normal British meaning would describe a cheddar that was salty & harsh, not at all a good cheese.
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But people are using the word as if it describes a good cheese. A good cheddar isn't acidic. It has lots of flavour, but not acidity.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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"Aging is a process that cannot be rushed or easily simulated. There is no substitute for time. Quality conscious cheese makers never use additives, modified enzymes or artificial colouring. If mild cheddar lacks quality, it will never age well.
As cheddar slowly matures, like all other hard cheeses, it losers moisture and its texture becomes drier and more crumbly. Its naturally fresh and milky cheddar flavour is complemented by an increasing sharpness in taste, which is the result of high levels of acidity and salt. Sharpness becomes very noticeable at around 12 months (a k a old cheddar) and 18 months (a k a extra old cheddar) it overtakes the typical cheddar flavour.
The optimal aging period for cheddar varies between five and six tears. For most cheese enthusiasts three-year-old cheese is fine for general sue and five year old for special occasions. Regardless of age, however, the balance between flavour and sharpness is the ultimate goals of any cheese maker. "
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Joined: Nov 2000
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"five or six tears".
LOL, I know Simon, it is unfair to take advantage of another's typo, but I do so enjoy how that read. Thanks for giving me a smile today.
A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?
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Joined: Oct 2003
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I can't resist - Are yall talking about Velveeta cheese?
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Joined: Aug 2008
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I went to Wine de Vine today, and indeed they did have the cheddar that had been recommended (can't remember the name!). But I didn't buy it when I discovered that it cost US$32/pound. I like cheddar but not that much! I did buy some Stilton at US$24/pound, which struck me as much better value, even though in England it would cost around 1/6 of that (even the best cheddar is cheaper than Stilton there). It was actually very good, and I'll be buying more of it. In pretty small quantities though.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Never even caught that. It was a direct cut and paste quote from the site.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Thanks for all the info. A point on terminology. I'm never quite sure what Americans, and it seems Canadians, mean when they say a cheese is "sharp". It's not a term used in Britain and in its ordinary (British) meaning isn't a word I'd use to describe a good cheddar. "Strong", "fruity", "nutty", "smooth" are words we would use. "Sharp" in its normal British meaning would describe a cheddar that was salty & harsh, not at all a good cheese. Hmmmm SHARP at least in the part of the UK i come from is definatley a term used when describing cheese. I used to work in my uncles butchers shop as a kid and he sold lots of cheeses and we would always get customers asking for Sharp cheddar cheese. Also my dad used to ask my mon to make sure she only got sharp cheddar as that was the one he liked best. I too love a good Sharp cheddar or old Amsterdam if it removes the skin from the top of your mouth you know you have a great sharp cheese.
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IMO, For a good Canadian cheddar cheese I don't worry too much about the "Best Before" date. A Five year old cheddar normally isn't much different than a Six year old block.:) Cheese from a bigger block will often have different flavors throughout the block as whey will leave from the outer parts of the block during the pressing period and more moisture will stay in the middle.A normal block of cheese is 640 lbs now. Cheddaring is still done but happening less and less all the time in cheese processing plants.Companies are now adopting other quicker,less costly ways to bring cheddar to your grocer, and of course a "brand name" might have many suppliers. Every Canadian processing plant has a 4 digit number that identifies them. You should be able to find it on the label.
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Eastern canadians prefer white cheddar..western canadians prefer colored cheddar. There is only one significant difference in the way the two are made. Can you guess what it is? 
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A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?
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Joined: Oct 2009
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yep...and marbled cheddar is just white and colored cheddar mixed together after cheddaring.
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Joined: Feb 2010
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I suspect the problem may lie in the way the cheese gets here.
Dutch Edam is easily available in Belize (at least on the mainland). however it tastes NOTHING like edam as purchased in UK. The packaging looks to me to be the same, and we are talking whole cheeses here ready wrapped, but the consistency of the cheese itself is different. The waxy feel typical of Edam is gone
i suspect the cheese gets frozen somewhere along the line. If you bring cheese out from the UK it sweats and the flavour is gone, so they must at least cool it. My guess is they freeze it.
I agree with Peter's remarks about Canadian cheddar ( and indeed with retrospect his comments about EC).
But then even Parmesan (not the muck in a plastic jar) is not the same. As an exiled Brit. decent cheese is my number 2 regretted food loss on leaving England. We used to buy Parmesan cut from whole round cheeses piled in the gutter in Ventemiglia when I was a kid.EC rules probably don't allow that anymore, but it WAS real Parmesan.
Still there are plenty of compensations here so I'm absolutely not regretting our move here 5 years ago.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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I suspect the problem may lie in the way the cheese gets here.
Dutch Edam is easily available in Belize (at least on the mainland). however it tastes NOTHING like edam as purchased in UK. The packaging looks to me to be the same, and we are talking whole cheeses here ready wrapped, but the consistency of the cheese itself is different. The waxy feel typical of Edam is gone
i suspect the cheese gets frozen somewhere along the line. If you bring cheese out from the UK it sweats and the flavour is gone, so they must at least cool it. My guess is they freeze it.
I agree with Peter's remarks about Canadian cheddar ( and indeed with retrospect his comments about EC).
But then even Parmesan (not the muck in a plastic jar) is not the same. As an exiled Brit. decent cheese is my number 2 regretted food loss on leaving England. We used to buy Parmesan cut from whole round cheeses piled in the gutter in Ventemiglia when I was a kid.EC rules probably don't allow that anymore, but it WAS real Parmesan.
Still there are plenty of compensations here so I'm absolutely not regretting our move here 5 years ago.
Your right the taste is completey different to Edam from Holland although if I bought a whole Edam it tastes similar however they cut Edam into pieces and you can buy a piece, this stuff is very strong and i think because it is sweating in the local heat I personally liked it but you can clearly see it is sweating. I have seen edam frozen and it becomes crumbly and after thawing its never the same. Cheeses should be shipped cooled not frozen When ever I really need a good cheese fix I head to wine devine and treat myself although some cheeses you need a bank loan to purchase.
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Joined: Oct 2001
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Good cheese is "to die for" - and in excess, to die from (cholesterol?).
Say a silent thanks for it's badness here and munch on some fresh fruit.
:-)
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Joined: Aug 2008
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Spot on Diane. That's why I like really good and strong cheese - I eat less of it.
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