Old Quebec is a Canadian cow's milk cheddar from the province of Quebec, aged a minimum of three years. The recipe follows the classic cheddaring process, where the curds are stacked and pressed to drive the pH down, which is where cheddar gets its signature tang and sharpness.

The paste is firm and dense, breaking into clean shards under the knife with a fine crystalline crunch from the three years of aging. On the palate it opens with a bright cheddar tang, then pulls into butterscotch and brown butter through the middle before a long, sweet-savory finish that sticks around. That butterscotch note is the calling card of a cheddar that's been pushed past the two-year mark and held its moisture.

Three-year cheddars are a sweet spot, sharp enough to carry a cheese board on their own, but still moist enough to grate over a baked potato or melt into a sauce. A real cheddar, the old school way, with the crystals and the crunch to prove the age.