White Vs. Orange Cheddar Cheese: What's The Difference?

Shopping for cheese can be a pretty intimidating experience once you venture beyond the familiar grocery store brands. And that's not just when it comes to obscure French cheeses. Even good old Cheddar comes in all sorts of colors and price points. While we're hardly qualified to navigate the delicate ins and outs of every type of Cheddar out there, we can shed some light on a question that's bothered most shoppers at some point: What's the difference between white and orange Cheddar?

What's The Difference Between Orange And White Cheddar?

Fortunately, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin have provided us with the answers on the question of color. Though the color can vary some, Cheddar is naturally a light, creamy yellow, and not bright orange. Orange Cheddar has had color added, while white Cheddar has not.

So why do cheese producers dye Cheddar that familiar bright orange hue instead of leaving it white? And does the dye affect the flavor? Read on to find out.

Why Is Cheddar Dyed Orange?

"The history of orange Cheddar is legen-dairy, and there are a few reasons why Cheddar took on this bright hue," according to the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin website. "In the olden days of cheesemaking, milk varied greatly with the seasons. For example, summer milk might appear to be more golden-hued because of all the fresh forage cows enjoyed during the season."

Depending on their diet, pasture-fed cows can produce milk with a tinge of orange beta-carotene. Even today, you may notice that "white" Cheddar can look anywhere from white to yellow, depending on the season and the cows' diet.

"This variability drove early cheese lover shopping preferences for Cheddars with a certain appearance. Cheesemakers of the time sought to reduce the visible markers of seasonal variation by using annatto to color the milk used for cheesemaking," the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin say.

Now you're probably wondering, what is annatto and does it make Cheddar in your mac and cheese taste different?

Does Orange Cheddar Taste Different Than White?

Annatto is a natural food coloring derived from the seeds of the tropical achiote tree that gives Cheddar a rich orange hue. Though some cheese lovers have a preference, the small amounts needed to create the orange color has little effect on the cheese's taste or nutritional value.

Also, there's less seasonal variation in the color of milk nowadays due to modern dairy practices. So, when selecting Cheddar cheese, don't expect color to tell you a lot about the flavor.

What Affects The Flavor Of Cheddar?

In modern times, it turns out that age is a big determining factor in what Cheddar tastes like. Young Cheddar is usually mild, creamy, slightly buttery, and easy to melt. Aged Cheddar, on the other hand, is dry, crumbly, nutty, and sharp. Cheddar can be aged for anywhere from a few months to 20 years, according to Wisconsin's dairy farmers.

Wisconsin also developed an original kind of Cheddar—blue Cheddar—which is inoculated with the same fungus as blue cheese. Not surprisingly, this blue-veined Cheddar is "more robust" than other Cheddars.

Some cheese-lovers say they can taste the difference when they eat Cheddar from grass-fed cows, detecting a slightly grassy note. However, one study found that the modern technologies involved in cheesemaking, like pasteurization, make it hard for untrained cheese tasters to detect the difference.

The bottom line: We recommend taste-testing a few cheeses yourself to see which Cheddar has the flavor and texture you love best. After all, some like it sharp and tangy, and others melt over a creamy, mild Cheddar.