The Good: Delicious, Reasonably priced for the quality, Natural ingredients, Melts well.
The Bad: Not inexpensive, Slight workability issues.
The Basics: You've never had cheddar cheese until you've had XXX Sharp Cheddar from Yancey's Fancy.
Since I started reviewing cheeses and I've had special gourmet nights with my wife, we have been on a hunt for the best cheeses we can find. I have been introduced to wonderful new flavors, like extra sharp provolones and dill havarti cheeses and still, I've searched for the best of my favorite type cheese. Yes, I'm a sucker for cheddar. But while most people equate cheddar with the mass-produced, usually orange, cheese with a slight tang to it, I've been hunting the truly best cheddar. My theory has always been that the best cheddar will be as sharp as possible and undiluted with coloring and I was right. I finally found the best cheddar.
It's Yancey's Fancy XXX Sharp Cheddar cheese.
Basics
Yancey's Fancy is a small cheese company in Upstate New York (where we are actually known for cheese). They specialize in making "artisan chesses," which are fancier cheeses designed more for enjoyment on their own as opposed to as a garnish of other things.
The XXX Sharp Cheddar Cheese is one of Yancey's Fancy's New York Artisan Cheeses, distinguished by its bright red wax coating. This is an aged cheddar which has been aged for at least 18 months when it comes onto the market. As a result, it is a very hard, somewhat brittle cheddar cheese which ought to set the standard for how cheddars taste. It is very easy to cut with a cheese knife or cheese plane, but with a cheese plane it tends to fracture, making it a little harder to work with than some cheeses. Because this is a fancy cheese, it is a bit more expensive than some of the more common brands, still the XXX Sharp Cheddar is a steal at $8.99/lb.
Ease Of Preparation
Well, this is cheese, not creating the ultimate cheese review, so preparing the XXX Sharp Cheddar Cheese is as easy as slicing open the plastic package and removing the red wax that surrounds the actual cheese. The wax is not at all poisonous, but there is no reason I can find to eat it. Fortunately, it peels off of this solid cheddar very easily. One need only be attentive to the temperature surrounding this cheese as it will melt at higher temperatures. At room temperature, it may sit out and it retains its shape nicely without getting soft in any way that makes it awkward to simply cut and eat pieces of it.
When used on a burger, this melted at a decent speed and was quite good. It handles like a standard cheddar for melting needs.
Taste
Yancey's Fancy XXX Sharp Cheddar has a pungent cheese aroma, which is as it ought to be. This is a cheese for those who are shameless eaters of cheese who want the very best.
As for the taste, this ought to define how cheddar tastes. It is tangy and dry, slightly milky tasting when melted and it has an aftertaste much like a white wine. "Sharp" is the descriptive taste and that works appropriately as the XXX Sharp Cheddar cuts over the tastebuds like an ax through hardwood. This is a powerful, robust flavor and all it tastes like is what it is supposed to: cheese!
Melted, XXX Sharp Cheddar retains its amazing flavor, which helps to differentiate it from less sharp cheddars. You can TASTE this on your burgers and when you have it in macaroni and cheese (arguably the most expensive, best mac and cheese you'll ever have!), its flavor remains strong.
Nutrition
Nutrition is something I only add to reviews because other people seem to like that sort of information going into it. XXX Sharp Cheddar Cheese has a ridiculously small recommended serving of 1 oz., which the packaging estimates at approximately a one inch cube. It is almost impossible to eat so little of this cheese.
This is a cheese, so it's not like it is going to have a health food value to it. That said, the recommended serving size has 110 calories, eighty of which are from fat. The XXX Sharp Cheddar Cheese has no trans fat, 9 grams total fat of which five are saturated fat. That represents 25% of the RDA of saturated fat, so those who use this in recipes will pretty much be damning themselves to a week without any other saturated fats. As well, there is 8% of the RDA of cholesterol, 8% of the daily sodium, 20% of one's needed calcium and 6% of your daily Vitamin A in the cheese. There is a negligible amount of carbs (less than a single gram) and 6 grams of protein. In other words, this is not the greatest food to try to live on on its own.
Even so, having reviewed a lot of different foods, this is not the worst food in the world by any stretch of the imagination. The ingredients are quite simply milk, cultures, salt and enzymes. That makes it mostly natural and that is a refreshing change from many mass-produced cheeses. This food is, obviously, a dairy product, so those who are lactose intolerant might have problems with this.
Storage/Clean-up
This is a cheese, so some care must be maintained in its handling. Refrigeration is recommended and under cool, dry conditions in its package, our XXX Sharp Cheddar Cheese would have lasted until early October, 2010. This is a dairy product and should not be kept at or above room temperature longer than it must.
Because this is a harder cheddar, it does fracture so clean-up usually means wiping up a lot of cheese crumbs. If it is melted and ends up on clothing, be sure to consult your fabric's care guide. On its own, Yancey's Fancy Finger Lake XXX Sharp Cheddar Cheese should not stain any clothing or dishware.
Overall
It might be difficult to imagine, especially for Americans, but this is what cheddar cheese ought to taste like. XXX Sharp Cheddar from Yancey's Fancy is robust, tangy and defines the cheddar flavor best.
For other Yancey's Fancy and other cheese reviews, please check out:
Wasabi Horseradish Cheddar
Champagne Aged Cheddar
Denmark's Finest Havarti Dill
10/10
For other food and drink reviews, check out my index page!
© 2011, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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