Edgar - Cheddar: a journey to the heart of Americas most iconic cheese

PRAISE FOR CHEDDAR

In this witty and well-researched study of an iconic food, Gordon Edgar serves up a satisfying slice of Americana. More than any other cheese, cheddar evidences Americas tradition of innovation and embodies the paradoxes of our food system. From mammoth, processed blocks to clothbound, lard-rubbed wheels, Edgar details how cheddar straddles the continuum of industrial and artisanal manufacture to safely nourish great numbers of people while reinforcing class distinctions marked by taste. This welcome book credits the labor and ingenuity of Americas food makers, both past and present.

HEATHER PAXSON , author of The Life of Cheese

On the surface, it would be easy to dismiss a book about a cheese so integral to the gustatory fabric of the American experience that its hardly noticed as much more than a standard hamburgers melted shroud. But this paean to Americas cheese tells the journey of a food integrally linked to the rise of cultures in America (cheese and manufacturing, both) and, no less, to our value system. In Gordons eminently capable hands, what could be a staid single-subject book is blithely entertaining, peppered with laugh-out-loud, respectful, and occasionally irreverent anecdotes, and ultimately a story chock-full of historical and contextual references that come together to create a newfound understanding and respect for a cheese that, because of this essential book, will never be just cheddar again.

LAURA WERLIN , author of Laura Werlins Cheese Essentials

Kudos to Gordon Edgar for his comprehensive history and contemporary analysis of Americas iconic cheese. For any lover of cheddar, Edgar crafts the story of its unique placefrom early farm-based, handmade products to standardized, industrial cheese to its renaissance over the past twenty to twenty-five years. A book to savor, it helps us understand how cheddar evolved over four centuries. He stirs an entertaining vat of literature, science, poetry, and sociology to reflect broad changes in American agriculture and our connections to food and place. Make sure to have a piece of cheddar, and perhaps a glass of beer, to accompany your journey!

JEFFREY ROBERTS , author of The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese

Over the years I have read many thought-provoking works on cheddar cheese, mostly dealing with cheese science and technology, but rarely have such texts been fun to read. Gordon Edgars exploration of cheddar is both thought-provoking and fun, and has given me a fresh perspective on a cheese that I have studied for years and cherished all my life.

PAUL KINDSTEDT , author of Cheese and Culture

Gordon Edgars latest work, Cheddar , is a lively story of this much-maligned but iconic cheese. No longer will I quickly pass over the large blocks of golden cheddar. Edgar has traveled the country unearthing the historic roots of cheddar, from the artisan clothbound wheels to the mass-produced blocks of commodity cheese, and writes with wit and humor. His passion and experience as a cheesemonger are evident, and the reader cant help but love cheddar by the end of this spirited book.

KURT TIMMERMEISTER , author of Growing a Farmer

Cheddar by Gordon Edgar is a book of vignettes, ripened from the authors wanderings around the country, milled with both large and small cheese-making experiences, peppered throughout with Gordons political views, and aged to perfection.

Edgar shares his knowledge in sometimes smooth, sometimes sharp, and sometimes bitter ways, coming up with an overview that is tried, ripened, and ready to read.

RICKI CARROLL , owner, New England Cheesemaking Supply Company

Copyright 2015 by Gordon Edgar.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Project Manager: Alexander Bullett

Project Editor: Benjamin Watson

Copy Editor: Eileen M. Clawson

Proofreader: Laura Jorstad

Indexer: Linda Hallinger

Designer: Melissa Jacobson

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing September, 2015.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 16 17 18

Our Commitment to Green Publishing

Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This book may cost slightly more because it was printed on paper that contains recycled fiber, and we hope youll agree that its worth it. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative ( www.greenpressinitiative.org ), a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Cheddar was printed on paper supplied by Edwards Brothers Malloy that contains 100% postconsumer recycled fiber.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Edgar, Gordon.

Cheddar : a journey to the heart of Americas most iconic cheese / Gordon Edgar.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-60358-565-1 (hardcover)ISBN 978-1-60358-566-8 (ebook)

1. Cheddar cheeseUnited States. 2. CheeseSocial aspectsUnited States. I. Title.

SF272.C5E34 2015

637'.354dc23

2015023765

Chelsea Green Publishing

85 North Main Street, Suite 120

White River Junction, VT 05001

(802) 295-6300

www.chelseagreen.com

This book is dedicated to my mother, the person who first inspired me to write.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

One of the saddest things for me in writing this book is that Ignazio Vella died before I really started working on it. Ig, of the Vella Cheese Company and Rogue Creamery, was one of the few people who managed to be part of the history of cheesemaking that I am writing about but also a great source of help and advice to the generation of cheesemakers who have made the American artisan cheese movement of the last forty years happen. I had many conversations with Ig over the years, as well as hearing him talk in public about the history of California cheese. Unfortunately, I was soaking it in but not taking notes. While I treasured those off-the-record times with Ig, I now regret that I didnt have a small recorder in my pocket.

Another acknowledgment Id like to make is that, though this book has the grand title of Cheddar , obviously there is a lot of cheddar left out. I had to concentrate on just a few producers to make this work more succinct. There are literally hundreds of cheddar-makers whom I didnt mention in this book that are worthy of your attention. Check em out!

I really want to thank all the folks who let me interview them or who gave me tours: Kate Arding, Ricki Carroll, Sid Cook, Craig Gile, Ellen Fox, Tony Hook, Julie Hook, Dane Huebner, Mariano Gonzalez, Andy Kehler, Willi Lehner, Kelly McNamera, Neville McNaughton, Vince Razionale, Chris Roelli, Meri Spicer, Ari Weinzweig, Joe Widmer, and Rick Woods.

I also want to thank all the folks who put up with my obscure e-mail questions that must have seemed really random: Marc Bates, Tori Harms, Jason Hinds, Mark Johnson, Tami Parr, Mary Quicke, and Marianne Smukowski. Jeanne Carpenter, Paul Kindstedt, and Daniel Utano deserve extra appreciation for this by fielding numerous off-the-wall requests.

I am indebted to the following folks for letting me read something they wrote or hear something they said and agreeing to let me quote them later: Jane Burns, Lissa Howe, Rebecca King, Emiliano Lee, and Patty Peterson.