Once Claudia Lucero had mastered rapid cheese-making, she knew it was time to tackle cheddar. But cheddar takes months, even years, to age, so Lucero devised a pseudo version: the Smoky Cheater.

This Vermont producer has been making Cheddar for 40 years, with the same cheesemaker. The company dates from the 19th century, but a 1912 fire put it out of business until preservationists ...