Cheddar cheese in United States

Cheddar came to North America in the seventeenth century arriving with the Pilgrims, spreading through New England and then westward across the continent. Export of cheese from New York to England increased from 328,566 kg in 1840 to 18.2 million kg in 1861. It was during this period that the name Cheddar came to be applied to Yankee or American cheese, because it offered a marketing advantage.

Genuine Cheddar cheese originated in the village of Cheddar, in Somerset, England, in the nineteenth century was in high demand in England by this time.

The first cheddar cheese factory in the United States, other than farmhouse cheesemaking, was established in New York in 1861.

Cheddar cheesemaking was a lucrative business and American cheesemakers - the vast majority of whom were of New England origin or descent – were well equipped to take advantage.

In 1867 Robert McAdam popularized concept of cheddar cheesemaking in upper New York State, leading to directly to the evolution of the vast American Cheddar cheese industry.

He introduced the English Cheddar system in a factory near Herkimer, New York. This is the Cheddar system as know-today. It produces the closer bodied cheese demanded by the export trade.
Cheddar cheese in United States