Joseph Harding (22 March 1805 in Sturton Farm, Wanstrow, Somerset, England – 1 May 1876 in Vale Court Farm, Marksbury, Somerset) was responsible for the introduction of modern cheese making techniques and has been described as the "father of Cheddar cheese".[1] He is credited with having invented the "definite formula" for the production of cheddar cheese.[2]
A number of websites describe him as the inventor of the Cheese Mill.[3] It is unclear if this assertion is true. The cheese mill is different from the cheese press, which has been used traditionally for centuries. Certainly, Harding introduced new equipment into the process of cheese making, including a "revolving breaker" for curd cutting, which saved much manual effort.[4][5]
Joseph Harding was the second son of Joseph Harding (born 24 June 1778, died Friday 23 September 1814) of Sturton Farm and Mary Yeoman of the Great House, Wanstrow. The Harding family had originally come from Pewsey, Wiltshire where they had farmed for five generations.[6] Joseph Harding's siblings were:
Joseph Harding married Rachel Wimboult in St. Mary's Redcliffe, Bristol in 1824. They lived in Compton Dando and Marksbury. She was active in his teaching of cheese making techniques.
Joseph Harding was related to the family of Richard Hardinge (c1593 – ), groom to the Bedchamber to Charles II and Member of Parliament in 1640 for Great Bedwyn.
The Victoria County History of Somerset says: "In 1856 the Joseph Harding system of cheese-making was made public as the result of a deputation of Scotchmen coming south to investigate the originators of the system. To Mrs Harding, Marksbury, and her nephew, Joseph Harding, of Compton Dando, is due the institution of a definite procedure in cheese-making for mere rule of thumb. For twenty years the Harding system was the model, though nearly every maker had his or her variations in detail. The main feature, as we view it now, was the insistence on absolute cleanliness. The milkers were not allowed to bring the milk in direct from the farmyard. They had to pour it into a receiver outside the dairy wall, whence by means of a pipe it was conveyed inside to the cheese tub... [Here follows details of the method – R.D.R]. this was founded the real Cheddar cheese of modern commerce. The name of Harding must go down with it for all time. It will be noticed that he did not use either the acidimeter or sour whey, but he lifted the make out of the old ruts of mere practical chance and introduced to it the more definite methods of science. Indeed, he must be rightly termed the first scientific instructor in Cheddar cheese-making".[7]
Joseph Harding is attributed with "an easy way of draining the curds of as much of their moisture as possible. This resulted in a semi-hard, close-textured, non-crumbly cheese, the style universally associated with Cheddar. Harding, born into a cheesemaking family in 1805, was more than any other individual responsible for the international spread of Cheddar as a popular cheese, helping to introduce Cheddar-making into Scotland, and also training American cheesemakers on their visits to Somerset."[3] Another commentator has put his contribution thus: "his major contribution was to improve dairy hygiene and to standardise the methods used for making cheddar".[8]
His dictum was "Cheese is not made in the field, nor in the byre, nor even in the cow, it is made in the dairy".[9]
The English method of producing cheddar cheese was known in America as "the Joseph Harding Method".[10][11]
Joseph Harding described good cheese as: "close and firm in texture, yet mellow in character or quality; it is rich with a tendency to melt in the mouth, the flavour full and fine, approaching to that of a hazlenut".[12]
Harding believed that "a sharp cutting instrument in breaking the curd is injurious and that the curd should be allowed to split apart according to its natural grain".[13]
Harding was insistent upon temperature control and strict hygiene in the production of cheese. He stated "the milkers may not enter the dairy, a tin receiver is placed outside the house, into which the milk is poured and conveyed to the cheese tub by a conduit, at each end of which is a strainer to prevent any filth from the yard from passing into the cheese-tub". This technique is notable as a development in food hygiene.
The Joseph Harding (or English) Cheddar system differed from later systems as follows:[14]
Harding and his wife visited Ayrshire, Scotland and were responsible for the introduction there of modern cheese-making techniques. Similarly he received visits from Americans who took his ideas across the Atlantic. For these reasons cheddar cheese is produced not only in Somerset, but across the world. He did not charge for his educational efforts.
Not only did Harding himself teach his cheddaring methods in Scotland, but his wife was also invited to Ayrshire to teach.[15]
The American dairyman Xerxes Willard visited Harding in England in 1866 and noted that in Harding's Cheddar system "He has simplified the process of manufacture and helped to reduce it more to a science".[16] As a result of Willard's visit, cheddar cheese production and its popularity increased enormously in the United States.
Joseph Harding's son Henry Harding was responsible for introducing cheddar cheese production to Australia.[16]
As a result of Harding's willingness to share his knowledge with foreign cheesemakers, later makers of cheddar from the West of England faced severe competition, in particular from intensive production in North America.
Harding was a strong believer in the promotion of education and proposed the establishment of a Dairy College in the West of England which was realised in the form of the Somerset Agriculture College.
According to one early twentieth-century account: "although in the [account of the Victoria County History of Somerset (see earlier)] we do not see by any means the whole side of his character. His literary capabilities were of no mean order, and some of his poetry and prose shows great talent, while his work for his church was also noteworthy.[7]
An example of Joseph Harding's poetry is cited below. This is a response to Rev. Samuel Wray, who had sent Harding a poem to thank him for sending a hare and Cheddar cheese for Christmas:
