Description
The texture is firm, with farmhouse traditional cheddar being slightly crumbly; it should also, if mature, contain large cheese crystals consisting of calcium lactate – often precipitated when matured for times longer than six months.
Calcium Lactate Crystals
These crystals are the calcium salt of lactic acid. As cheese ages, the culture breaks down the lactose in the cheese and produces lactic acid. As lactic acid levels rise in the cheese they can begin to bind with calcium ions forming calcium lactate.
