Maple Dale Cheddar (5-year-old)
Producer:Maple Dale Cheese
Style:Firm, cooked, pressed
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Region:Plainfield, Ontario
Milk type:Cow unpasteurized (thermalized)
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Context:
Maple Dale Cheese started out as the Zion Cheese Manufacturing Co., which was established in 1888 as a farmer cooperative. The latter half of the 1800s was a time when cheese factories dotted the Canadian countryside. In fact, it’s estimated that Canada had more than 3,000 such cheese factories by 1903. In 1987, Zion was bought by Keith Henry, a former president of Ault Dairy, who renamed it Maple Dale Cheese. Throughout the company’s history, cheddar has been the company’s primary focus and the company prides itself on making a traditional-style, naturally aged cheddar. Today, Maple Dale produces about 3 million pounds of cheddar. Unlike most industrial makers of cheddar, Maple Dale uses thermalized rather than pasteurized milk and produces a range of cheddars of different ages – six months to six years (or longer).
Appearance of rind:No rind. Plastic wrapped block.
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Appearance of paste:Pale yellow colour. Slightly dry appearance.
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Nose:Mild intensity. Slightly fruity on the nose with notes of white wine and dried apple.
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Primary taste: Mildly sour.
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Flavour:Citrusy (tangerine and lemon), yogurt (mildly sour lactic), tangy.
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Texture:
Firm, but becomes a little pasty
and gummy on the palate.
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Pairing opportunities:
Off-dry hard cider with fresh/dried apples slices or slices, of crusty whole grain bread with caramelized onion compote or red pepper jelly.
Other comments:
Maple Dale makes a good aged cheddar. In 1994, they won Grand Champion at the British Empire Cheese Show. That said, the piece I tried turned a little pasty on the palate.