Cheddar Has A Uniform Butter Color

Cheddar says he adds less than 1 percent salt, considerably less than most other producers, and that he gets faulted for it in competitions. Cheese needs salt to preserve it and to keep it from tasting bland, but the Daisy cheddar certainly doesn't taste bland to me. Cheddar puts the young wheels in Cryovac bags after just a few days of drying, so they do not develop a rind or any surface mold. Without exposure to air, the wheels age slowly and retain moisture. Cheddar keeps them for at least a year, and visitors to the Cheddar Cheese Co.'s shop in Sonoma may occasionally find older wheels.

Daisy cheddar has a uniform butter color, subdued aromas of cultured milk and what I would call a sweet dairy smell, for lack of a better descriptor. The cheese is moist yet firm, creamy and mellow on the tongue, with that familiar cheddar tang but no bite. It strikes me as mild enough for a child's snack, yet compelling enough to put on a pre-dinner cheese board with some green olives and salumi. Open a bottle of Sonoma County Zinfandel - I like the juicy 2004 Sausal Alexander Valley Zinfandel - to pair the cheese with a wine from its neighborhood.

Look for Daisy Cheddar at Cheddar Cheese in Sonoma and at some Whole Foods.