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Farmhouse isn't a distinct type of cheese; the term "farmhouse" refers to the process of its being produced on farms, often with much manual work or intervention, rather than through a completely automated process in factories.
The farmer will have his/her own herd and will use milk from that herd. The farmers feel that in using their own milk, they have greater control over the finished cheese product starting right with what the cattle are fed. The milk is used raw (e.g. unpasteurized); cause for a great many visits by government inspectors.
Farmhouse Cheese is generally cheddar -- though "farmhouse" is now being applied to other cheeses, such as Farmhouse Cheshire and Lancashire Farmhouse. To make Farmhouse Cheddar, starter is added to milk to increase the acidity. Then rennet is added to make the milk clot. When the milk has clotted, the curd is cut and heated, letting the whey drain off. The curd is stirred, then cut into large chunks, then pressed to squeeze the last of the whey out. This is called the "cheddaring" process. The curd is let stand overnight, then cut, salted, wrapped in cloth (such as muslin) and dipped in wax.
Farmhouse Cheddar is lightly salted with a crumbly texture and creamy taste. The cheese will be a dark yellow or amber. The cheese was traditionally eaten after two months. Now, ripening periods of at least 3 months and up to 10 months are common to develop a sharper flavour. The cheeses are able to "breathe" well while aging, because they are wrapped in cloth, unlike factory-produced cheese, which is wrapped in plastic which doesn't allow the cheese to breathe.
Farmhouse Cheeses are made in the UK, Ireland and Australia. There is a small movement already starting in Canada and the US, but the term in North America is in danger of being meaningless right from the start, as marketers are already subverting the name "farmhouse" and attaching it to cheeses made with milk bought from someone else. In Canada, there is no way around this, as farmers have been arrested for using their own milk: doing this is illegal under Canada's government milk monopolies. A few farms in Quebec have received special permission, but this has not yet been extended (as of 2004) to farmers in the rest of Canada.
True Farmhouse Cheese is expensive.
Farmhouse Cheese is not the same as "Farmer's Cheese".
Cooking Tips
Melts easily.
See Also
Cheddar Cheese, Creamery, Farmer's Cheese
Other entries for Cheddar Cheese
Canadian Cheddar Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Daylesford Cheddar Cheese, Dunlop Cheddar, Farmhouse Cheese, Fountains Gold Cheese, Government Cheddar Cheese, Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese, Old Cheddar, Porter Cheddar, Red Dragon Cheese, Tillamook Cheese, White Cheddar, Yeoman Cheese
Other entries for Firm Cheeses
Battelmatt Cheese, Beaufort Cheese, Bergkäse, Bitto Cheese, Brick Cheese, Emmenthal Cheese, Etorki Cheese, Gloucester Cheese, Gouda Cheese, Halloumi Cheese, Havarti Cheese, Hoop Cheese, Isle of Mull Cheese, Kambera Cheese, Lamb Chopper Cheese, Longhorn Cheese, Muenster Cheese, Murcia al Vino Cheese, Pinconning Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Raclette Cheese, Red Leicester Cheese, Royal Windsor Red, Salers Cheese, Sussex Yeoman Cheese, Tomme d'Abondance, Washed-Rind Cheeses, Windsor Red Cheese
Other entries for Cheese
Affinage, American Cheeses, Casu Marzu, Cheese Rinds, Creamery, Double/Triple-Cream Cheese, Extra-Hard Cheeses, Goat's Milk Cheeses, Mexican Cheeses, Pate (of a Cheese), Processed Cheese, Queso Fundido, Rennet, Semi-Firm Cheeses, Sheep's Milk Cheeses, Skim-Milk Cheeses, Smear-Ripened Cheeses, Soft Cheeses, Surface-Ripened Cheeses, Sweet Curd Cheeses, The Crumblies, Truckle, Washed-Curd Cheeses, Yak Cheese, Yeel Cheese
Other entries for Dairy
Butterfat, Butter, Milk, Nondairy Topping
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