Cheddar cheese: The best for sharp snacking
Cheddar cheese.
Its versatility has made it a staple of entertaining. It can be eaten plain, cubed and served with crackers, paired with wine, melted onto appetizers, mixed into dips . . . well, you get the picture.
With so many varieties in the dairy case, sometimes it’s hard to know if you’re choosing a true crowd-pleaser.
Is Heluva Good really a heluva good cheese?
Does Cabot live up to its fancy French name?
Do you go with Land O’Lakes because it’s known for its dairy products?
Maybe Cracker Barrel . . . sounds like it’s made to go with crackers.
Or, do you bail on the brand names and buy the store variety?
Which one has the kind of bite you expect when you select a sharp? Which has the creamiest cheddar? The smoothest texture?
We enlisted four members of the York Daily Record/Sunday News’ Teen Takeover staff to sample squares of each and tell us which of these will have you and you guests asking for “More cheese, please.”
Brand: Weis sharp cheddar
Price: $2.19
Serving size: 1 ounce
Servings per container: 8
Nutritional information: 110 calories, 9 grams fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 0 grams sugar, 1 gram carbohydrates, 7 grams protein
Jenna Jenkins, Spring Grove Area Senior High School: 1. I first noticed its soft consistency; however, after a bit, the aftertaste hit me in a not-so-pleasant way. The sharpness almost tastes sour.
Katherine Hartman, Dallastown Area High School: 4. This one is quite tasty. It is a very creamy cheese. The flavor is neither too bland nor too sharp.
Laura Dzwonczyk, Susquehannock High School: 2. This cheese leaves a filmy residue in my mouth. It tastes rubbery and processed, with little flavor.
Rachel Bragg, Dallastown Middle School: 2. This cheese has a good, creamy texture, but then there was a bad aftertaste. It left my mouth feeling dry and gross.
Average rating: 2.25
Brand: Cracker Barrel natural sharp cheddar
Price: $3.49
Serving size: 1 ounce
Servings per container: 10
Nutritional information: 120 calories, 10 grams fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 0 grams sugar, 0 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein
Jenna Jenkins, Spring Grove Area Senior High School: 4. As this morsel of cheddar slides across my tongue, I notice its creamy consistency right away. While not as sharp as the others, I am oddly drawn to this cheese.
Katherine Hartman, Dallastown Area High School: 5. This cheese has a sharper flavor than the previous one and, possibly, is a bit sweeter.
Laura Dzwonczyk, Susquehannock High School: 4. This has more flavor and a better aftertaste. It is sharper than the others, which I like.
Rachel Bragg, Dallastown Middle School: 5. There was a stronger flavor in this cheese. No aftertaste, which I really liked. The texture itself was smooth and rich.
Average rating: 4.5
Brand: Land O’Lakes sharp cheddar
Price: $2.27
Serving size: 1 ounce
Servings per container: 8
Nutritional information: 110 calories, 9 grams fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 190 mg sodium, 0 grams sugar, 0 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein
Jenna Jenkins, Spring Grove Area Senior High School: 3. Biting into this square block of cheddar, I am amazed by its chunkiness. Definitely harder to bite, yet tastes like it belongs in Kraft mac-n-cheese.
Katherine Hartman, Dallastown Area High School: 4. This is a blander cheese than the first two, but it has a sharper hint near the end. It was also a firmer cheese, which was especially noticeable when I bit into it.
Laura Dzwonczyk, Susquehannock High School: 3. This is chewier than the others. It seems to compromise flavor for bite, as it is mainly texture with little flavor.
Rachel Bragg, Dallastown Middle School: 3. This one is very chalky, with little flavor. It even looks a little dull.
Average rating: 3.25
Brand: Cabot seriously sharp Hunter’s favorite Vermont cheddar
Price: $2.57
Serving size: 1 ounce
Servings per container: 8
Nutritional information: 110 calories, 9 grams fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 0 grams sugar, less than 1 gram carbohydrates, 7 grams protein
Jenna Jenkins, Spring Grove Area Senior High School: 4.5. This cheese definitely stands out in my mouth as the sharpest cheddar of them all. I just like the sharpness.
Katherine Hartman, Dallastown Area High School: 1. This cheese is less firm than the third one. Aside from your average cheesy flavor, this one has a sort of indescribable, almost-mouth-puckering sweet taste.
Laura Dzwonczyk, Susquehannock High School: 1. This cheese has an almost-sour taste, quite different from the others, and a terrible aftertaste. Good texture, though.
Rachel Bragg, Dallastown Middle School: 1. Call me crazy, but this had a slight fruity taste. It has to be my least favorite. It looks very appetizing though. I guess looks are deceiving.
Average rating: 1.875
Brand: Heluva Good
Price: $2.49
Serving size: 1 ounce
Servings per container: 8
Nutritional information: 110 calories, 9 grams fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 0 grams sugar, 1 gram carbohydrates, 7 grams protein
Jenna Jenkins, Spring Grove Area Senior High School: 2. This cheese lacks the boldness that all cheddars should have. Kind of tastes like “blah.”
Katherine Hartman, Dallastown Area High School: 3. The texture of this cheese is similar to that of the third product but slightly less hard. It is fairly bland with a hint of an unpleasant aftertaste (although it was not nearly as bad as the strange aftertaste of No. 4.)
Laura Dzwonczyk, Susquehannock High School: 4. This is a smooth, slightly filmy cheese. It’s a little greasier than I would expect, but it has the creamy cheddar flavor I was craving.
Rachel Bragg, Dallastown Middle School: 2. This cheese was chewy in a way, and it looks different from the rest. It’s darker and looks like it has been freezer burned.
Average rating: 2.75
