There are more than 250 varieties of cheddar cheese. Colors vary from white (undyed) to deep orange. Yellow and orange cheeses are created through the addition of carrot juice or marigold; some use annatto, a flavorless natural coloring.

Varieties include Chewton, Green’s, Keen’s, and Montgomery’s Cheddars of Somerset; Dorset Drum Cheddar of Dorset; and Denhay and Quickes Cheddars of Devon.

British cheeses related to cheddar include the tart Welsh Caerphilly, creamy Scottish Dunlop, crumbly Cheshire, sharp Glouster and Double Glouster, mild Leicester, and Derby, which has a sage-flavored version.

Quality cheddar-type cheeses are also being produced in New Zealand and other countries, including the United States.