cheddar cheese
Also known as: Grated Sharp Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Shredded Cheddar/Colby cheese, grated cheddar
A firm, aged cow's-milk cheese ranging from mild to sharp depending on age; melts well and is one of the most widely used cooking and snacking cheeses. Longer aging concentrates the flavor and dries the texture somewhat, which is why sharp and extra-sharp cheddar crumble more readily than mild.
Buying guidance
Buy a block and grate it yourself when a smooth melt matters -- pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking starch that can make sauces grainy instead of silky. The block should smell like fresh dairy rather than ammonia or mold (unless it's meant to be mold-ripened), with intact wrapping and no dried, cracked edges.
Substitutions
- Colby or Monterey Jack -- milder, similarly good melting, less sharp bite.
- Gruyere or Swiss -- nuttier and more assertive, melts smoothly, higher price.
- Mozzarella -- much milder and stretchier rather than crumbly; good where meltability matters more than sharpness.
Tips & common mistakes
Adding cold cheese straight into a hot sauce all at once tends to make it clump or turn grainy and oily rather than melting in smoothly -- let it sit out briefly and add it gradually, off the heat, stirring as it goes. Sharp and extra-sharp cheddar, being lower in moisture than a milder block, are also more prone to separating into oil and solids if a sauce gets too hot.
Storage
A small spot of surface mold on a firm block can be cut away, at least an inch around it, with the rest still fine to eat -- unlike a soft, high-moisture cheese, where mold means the whole piece should be discarded.