A Sharp Lookout

To those of us who harbor fond memories of Cracker Barrel on Triscuits during cocktail hour at grandma's house, the taste of sharpness is quite familiar. For some (yours truly included), it's enough to trigger a Proustian madeleine moment.

- BY DAVID GIBBONS

When it comes to cheese, “sharp” refers to intense, strong, focused and distinct flavor profiles. Most cheese eaters have their own sense of it, yet there is no agreed-upon definition, even from the USDA.

Nowadays Cracker Barrel is churned out courtesy of the French conglomerate Lactalis, which acquired the sagging brand from Kraft in 2021. It has several quality, all-natural, supermarket competitors, notably Cabot and Tillamook, all of which are labeled and marketed by degrees of sharpness. Since “sharp” is used mostly to position these mass-market block cheddars, producers and purveyors of high-end cheeses shy away from it.

Says Tillamook cheese grader and product director Jill Allen, “Since there are no U.S. standards, it’s up to the producers to understand their own product and how it best fits into the terminology. What is medium? What is sharp? For us, it’s a compilation. It’s about working all our technical descriptors into ‘fanciful’ or marketing terms.”

Comprising numerous flavors and aromas, sharpness is first and foremost lip-smacking sourness or tang built on a solid foundation of salty and bittersweet notes. At its mouthwatering max, it delivers a satisfying bite, stopping short of off-puttingly bitter or salty. “It’s what most people think of as acidity or sourness plus all the other complex flavors that go into it,” says Cabot senior cheese grader Craig Gile.