Aged Cheddar

I'm a big cheese fiend. Kevin not so much. I think that's one thing I miss most about not living with Rachelle anymore. She's a cheese fiend as well. We always had cheese in our fridge. During my 2 years living with Rachelle, I went through several cheese phases. At one point, I was obsessed with swiss cheese. Then I fell in love with Goat cheese for some reason. Lately, i've had a growing affection for aged cheddar.

The first time I knew I had aged cheese was when Rachelle invited me to a marketing party hosted by one of advertising companies ourcompany deals with. They had plates of cheese on the table and one of aged cheddar. Rachelle exclaimed that she did not like it and when i had it, all i could think was how strong it was. Not the kind of cheese you just pop into your mouth.

I didn't think to try it again until Kevin told me he had aged cheddar with some pasta at his friend's place. When Kevin made his bowtie pasta with peppers, i bought a small block of aged cheddar. I was a bit overwhelmed with the choice. Aged 1 year, 3 years, 5 years...not to mention all the different brands. I finally settled with Canadian Reserve Agropur 5 year aged cheddar. I went for the most mature cheese they had because I didn't want to end up with something that tastes almost like the regular cheddar cheese we have. The more aged, the more pungent, crumbly, and acidic the cheese is. The agropur website states that the 5 year aged cheddar is not available in the UK...I wonder why?

The aged cheddar went great with Kevin's pasta. Kev didn't try any with his pasta. He says he doesn't like mixing cheese in his food. But he cut himself a piece after dinner and made a face when he ate it. "Why is it crunchy?" I actually noticed it too, but I remember noticing this kind of crunchiness from other cheeses i've had in the past. So I decided to do some research. The following is what I found:

Those bits are called tyrosine, and they're actually amino acid clusters that form with age. Tyrosine clusters are signs of a well-aged cheese, which is why you'll find them in some of the world's most loved cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano, aged goudas, and mountain cheeses like gruyere.

Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid found mainly in casein, the dominant protein found in milk. The word itself is from the Greek tyros, meaning cheese. What's most fascinating (from a dorky cheese fanatic perspective) is the reason that these protein clusters form.
When cheese is made, fats and proteins are trapped within chains of proteins that have bonded together during acidification. Groupings of these fats and proteins make up the solids, or curds, that form cheese. When cheese spends a long time aging, these protein chains begin to unravel, leaving small, crunchy deposits behind.

Tyrosine lends a distinctive textural charm to cheese, and is a welcome interruption within the body of an otherwise smooth paste. And sometimes it even compliments the beverage you may be drinking with your cheese, as in the case of pairing a full-bodied stout with a super-aged cheddar; the crunchiness of the cheese somehow matches the fullness of the beer by contributing its own textural intensity.

Tyrosine is not to be confused with the crunchiness you can find in some washed-rind cheeses. Since this category of cheese is usually washed in some kind of salt water brine, residual salt crystals are often left behind on the crust of these cheeses. When you take a bite of rind and inner paste together, the crunchiness from the outside can be mistaken for existing on the inside.Now go and impress your cheese-loving friends with your new vocabulary word!

Source: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/the-cheesemonger/the-cheesemonger-a-bit-of-crunch-in-your-cheese-047988