Mature cheese. Mature lighter cheese.
I was provided with a £10 voucher for Waitrose in which I was required to buy a mature cheese and a lighter cheese from the Cathedral City cheese range. I chose to get the mature...yet mellow cheddar and the mature...yet mellow lighter cheddar. I am a huge fan of mature cheese, the stronger the better in my eyes. In all honesty, I don't tend to buy mild or lighter cheeses just because of the assumption that it won't taste as strong and to me, mild cheese, that tastes like nothing, isn't worth eating. I kind of feel the same about lighter cheeses as there are definitely cheeses out there that I feel are great when they are mature but try the lighter version and the taste is significantly different.
Mature cheese. Mature lighter cheese.
I was excited and interested in carrying out this taste test as I thought there would be a significant difference in the taste. Each pack was 200g, but I cut a bit from the slab of "mature" cheddar and picked out a pinch of the "mature lighter" cheddar. At the time of purchase the slab of "mature" cheddar cost £2.17 and the grated "mature lighter" cheddar cost £2.23. So, for a product with less fat in, it is a couple of pence more. Both cheeses are suitable for vegetarians and are made only with milk from British farms. The fat content in the "mature" cheddar is 34.9g and in the "mature lighter" cheddar it is 21.3g, which is 30% less fat than the "mature" cheddar for just a couple of pence more.
Here are the results of my taste test:
Cathedral City mature...yet mellow cheddar: The taste from this cheese is amazingly strong, just my cup of tea. The taste hits you straight away eating it straight from the packet. It really gets your taste buds! It has a really creamy taste and the cheese kind of melts in the mouth. I love this cheese. This is one we buy regularly in our household, I love it. It has such a deep flavour that will come through when you mix it with other ingredients in a meal. Although this is a mature...yet mellow variety, it sure doesn't lack in taste what-so-ever!
Cathedral City mature...yet mellow lighter cheddar: When tasting this cheese, I was pleasantly surprised because the matureness of the cheese still came through quite a lot! The flavour/taste didn't lack at all, so for 30% less fat, you aren't being deprived of flavour, which I was surprised but pleased about because this is something I can now look to buying regularly in the future. There is a subtle difference and I couldn't put my finger on it or the word to describe it. All I could think of was that it had a certain lightness to it, which is a pretty lame way to describe it as it's a "lighter" cheddar, ha! If you know how these cheeses taste or do a taste test yourself, you will know what I mean. It's probably to do with the ingredients, but it feels a lot lighter on the tongue and more airy. However, there is no major difference and for once with a food item, you won't be missing out on anything by getting the lighter version.
In all honesty I would probably promote the lighter version more for the simple fact that it is more healthier, but doesn't lack in flavour or taste. It is a few pennies more, but there are often deals and offers on these days in supermarkets and you never know, it might be cheaper than the full fat version at times. Bonus!
Like I said above, I carried out one of the recipes from the Cathedral City website. I made my own Cheese and Leek croquettes and you can see my video on how I made them below:
As stated above, I bought my cheese from Waitrose, but they are available at the majority of other supermarkets.
Have you ever tasted this brand of cheese? If so, what are your thoughts?
Do you find that there is often a difference between full fat and lighter food products?
Much Love,
Gem XxOo
I will never buy this cheese again. It has a bendy texture which makes it difficult to grate and I found the taste bland. I tried the "mature" version since I never buy low-fat products. Janet
ReplyDeleteI didn't find that with this cheese. I know what you mean by 'bendy' cheese, I find Babybel cheese is like that. We have always liked this cheese in our household and bought it even before I did this review. People have different opinions and preferences though, thanks for commenting :-).
DeleteI bought the mature cheddar for macoroni cheese and they seem to have left the flavour out altogether. But it sent me to the deli counter where I found advice and cheesey cheese. Much better.
ReplyDeleteWow, really? I still love this cheese and it's one we often pick up in our household and even better it is often on promotion. Have you tried the extra mature? I always go for that one if they have it in our local supermarket.
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