New testing from CHOICE has revealed which vintage cheddar cheeses are worth paying a premium for.
CHOICE's panel of expert judges have done the hard yards and taste tested 27 vintage cheddar cheeses available at supermarkets across Australia.
See the full results here. We'd love a link back if possible!
"Judges assessed each cheese on its flavour, aroma, texture and appearance. They looked for a cheese with a sweet, milky flavour, a good balance of salt and acid, a texture that's firm, close and slightly crumbly, and a lingering aftertaste," says CHOICE senior food journalist, Rachel Clemons.
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"King Island Dairy Surprise Bay Cheddar scored first place with a rating of 73%," says Clemons.
"The Surprise Bay Cheddar impressed our judges with its mildly sweet cheddar aroma, balanced flavour, and good, firm texture," says Clemons.
Coles Australian Vintage Cheddar also scored a place in the top six.
"The Coles Australian Vintage Cheddar did very well in our taste testing, receiving a score of 70%. It's also cheaper than a lot of the other cheeses we tested, at $1.60 per 100g," says Clemons.
The following cheeses received a score of over 70% and are recommended by CHOICE:
King Island Dairy Surprise Bay Cheddar
CHOICE Expert Rating: 73%
Price: $5.50 per 100g
Barber's 1833 Vintage Reserve Cheddar
CHOICE Expert Rating: 72%
Price: $5.00 per 100g
Thomas Dux 18 Month Aged Cheddar
CHOICE Expert Rating: 72%
Price: $1.84 per 100g
Thomas Dux 24 Month Aged Cheddar
CHOICE Expert Rating: 72%
Price: $2.30 per 100g
Thomas Dux English Vintage Cheddar
CHOICE Expert Rating: 71%
Price: $2.25 per 100g
Coles Australian Vintage Cheddar
CHOICE Expert Rating: 70%
Price: $1.60 per 100g
Media contact: Jim Hook, 0430 172 669, media@choice.com.au
Read the full article here: https://www.choice.com.au/food-and-drink/dairy/butter-and-cheese/articles/cheddar-cheese-taste-test
Images and videos available here: https://sites.google.com/choice.com.au/cheddarcheese/
Editor's notes:
How we test:
We test cheddar products that are available in major supermarket and grocery chains.
We've included products that say 'Vintage' or 'Extra Mature' in the product name and/or are labelled with a maturation of 12 months or more.
Price is based on a 250g pack (or closest) bought in Sydney stores (not on special).
Cheddar blocks are unwrapped and placed on coded plates immediately before the test. Our experts taste the cheddar samples 'blind' (without knowing the brands) and in a randomised order, which is different for each expert.
Experts independently judge all cheddar products, scoring each sample for appearance/presentation, flavour, aroma, texture and body.
The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of taste 70% (50% flavour and aroma, 30% texture and body, 20% appearance/presentation) and nutrition 30% (based on the product's Health Star Rating, calculated from the details in the nutrition information panel and converted to a percentage).
We recommend cheddar cheese with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 70% or more.
