Joseph Harding

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" [Joseph Harding, Cheddar Cheese-Maker written by Ann Heeley and Mary Vidal. Published by the Friends of the Abbey Barn, Glastonbury 1996] . He is credited with having invented the "definite formula" for the production of cheddar cheese [The Evolution of the English Farm, Mabel Elizabeth Christie, Allen and Unwin, 1952, page 316]

A number of websites describe him as the inventor of the Cheese Mill [http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/cheddar-cheese/biography/history-of-cheddar-finished History of Cheddar - Cheddar Cheese - Icons of England ] ] . It is unclear if this assertion is true. The cheese mill is different from the cheese press, which has been used traditionally for centuries.

Background

Joseph Harding was the second son of Joseph Harding 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 [Royal, Nicholas John. Harding Family. A Short History and Narrative Pedigree. From 1480 to the Present day. Published Privately 1970] .

Technical Innovations in the production of Cheese

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." Another commentator has put his contribution thus: "his major contribution was to improve dairy hygiene and to standardize the methods used for making cheddar" [http://books.google.com/books?id=vNj-OKU4CFwC&pg=PA98&dq=cheddar+%22joseph+harding%22&sig=KHISBT-az7iO7FA_4ylrMJQtyl4]

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' [ [http://www.gourmetbritain.com/encyclo_entry.php?item=2391 Gourmet Britain - Encyclopedia - Harding, Joseph ] ]

The English method of producing cheddar cheese was known in America as "the Joseph Harding Method". [American Notes and Queries, 1950, page 159] http://books.google.com/books?id=TbY1AAAAMAAJ&dq=cheddaring+harding&q=harding&pgis=1#search]

Globalization of a very English Cheese

Harding visited Scotland and was 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 [The English Dairy Farmer 1500-1900, George Edwin Fussell, Frank Cass and Company, London, 1966, page 230]

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”From Artisans to “Factories”:The Interpenetration of Craft and Industry in English Cheese-Making 1650–1950, by Richard Blundel and Angela Tregear, Enterprise and Society, October 17th 2006] . 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.

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.

Educational Ideas

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.

Publications

*The Practical Aspects of Cheesemaking, The Ayrshire Advertiser c1859
*Recent Improvements in Dairy Practice, Royal Agricultural Society of England Journal (1860) [http://books.google.com/books?id=OKsGTRlEfSgC&pg=RA5-PA82&dq=joseph+harding+%22cheddar+cheese%22#PRA5-PA92,M1]
*Cheese making in Small Dairies, Bath and West and Southern Counties Journal (1868)

References

Further reading

*Harding: Two Notable Brothers by E. Harding. Published privately (1963)
*Joseph Harding, Cheddar Cheese-Maker written by Ann Heeley and Mary Vidal. Published by the Friends of the Abbey Barn, Glastonbury 1996

ee also

*Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury, England