My husband and I spend way too much money trying to find inexpensive wines we like. Sometimes, after three $15 disappointments, I’ll think, “We could have bought a $45 wine.” Rummaging around for a bargain is often a false economy, and a recent endeavor with Cheddar reinforced this. My objective was to identify a few Cheddars that over-deliver for the price—not mind-blowing examples like Cabot Clothbound, just a couple that I could enthusiastically recommend as we move into sweater weather. So, how did I do?
I visited four stores and set a limit of $20 a pound. Or so I thought. I was through the checkout line before realizing that one of my selections was more than that.
I found only five Cheddars that seemed promising, ranging from $14.99 a pound to—oops!—$24.99 a pound. Perhaps I should have tasted them blind, but I don’t think it would have mattered. My favorite was my favorite by a mile. Alas, it was the priciest one.
On my cheese board (in ascending order by price):
Deer Creek 36-Month Cheddar (a Whole Foods exclusive)
Tillamook Extra Sharp Aged White Cheddar
Beecher’s Flagship
Tillamook Makers Reserve 2020 Cheddar
Deer Creek Vat 17 World Cheddar
Forced to rank them, I would put Tillamook Makers Reserve and Flagship in a tie for second place, and Tillamook Extra Sharp and Deer Creek’s 36-Month in last place. Rather than belabor what I didn’t like about those four, I’ll focus on what I loved about Vat 17: its appealing creamy-yet-crumbly texture and its abundance of flavor, with sweet, nutty, tangy and fruity notes. It just fills your mouth with pleasure. You want more.
Chris Gentine and daughter Sophie, both licensed cheese graders
Deer Creek Cheese is a brand, not a producer. Its many Cheddars are made by Kerry Henning, a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker and owner of Henning’s Cheese. Deer Creek founder Chris Gentine knows his way around a creamery—he’s a licensed cheese grader—but his real genius is marketing. The Deer Creek website describes Vat 17 as an attempt to “capture the best flavor attributes from Cheddars around the world”—a statement that might read like marketing BS except that Gentine and Henning have done it. Vat 17 hits all the flavor notes that consumers want without overplaying any of them. The typical age on this rindless block Cheddar is 3 to 3-1/2 years. It has racked up awards.
I know there are some tasty Cheddars out there for under $20 a pound. A five-sample tasting—especially in a universe as vast as Cheddar—is hardly conclusive, so I’ll simply say that I got more than my money’s worth with the Vat 17. Of the five Cheddars I tasted it was the only true bargain.
A word of warning: Every one of these Cheddars smelled stale coming out of its wrapper. Take a moment to scrape the exterior—all sides—with a knife or cheese plane to reveal a fresher layer underneath.
Deer Creek has a retail store locator on its website, although the locator doesn’t specify which Deer Creek cheeses each store has. I purchased Vat 17 at Woodlands Market in Tiburon, California.
If you have a favorite well-priced Cheddar, please share it in the Comments section at the end of this post.