What is cheese?
Product consisting of the coagulated, compressed, and usually ripened curd (solid) of milk
Where does the word cheese derive from?
From Latin caseus from which the modern word casein is also derived
What are the origins of cheese?
- Earliest proposed dates for the origin of cheesemaking range from around 8000 BCE, when sheep were first domesticated
- Since animal skins and inflated internal organs have, since ancient times, provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach
- ## There is a legend—with variations—about the discovery of cheese by an Arab trader who used this method of storing milk
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What are the top 5 cheese producing countries?
- European Union is top (excluding UK)
- Country wise:
1- USA
2- Germany
3- France
4- Italy
5- Netherlands
What does the process of cheesemaking involve?
Three main steps:
- Curdling
- Curd processing
- Ripening
What is curdling?
The process of separating the milk into solid curds and liquid whey
How is curdling done?
- Usually done by acidifying (souring) the milk and adding rennet
- Some fresh cheeses are curdled only by acidity, but most cheeses also use rennet
How is the milk acidified in the process of curdling?
- Can be accomplished directly by the addition of an acid, such as vinegar
- More commonly starter bacteria are used instead which convert milk sugars into lactic acid
- The same bacteria (and the enzymes they produce) also play a large role in the eventual flavor of aged cheeses
What is the role of rennet?
- Traditionally been used to separate milk into solid curds and liquid whey, used in the production of cheeses
- Rennet sets the cheese into a strong and rubbery gel compared to the fragile curds produced by acidic coagulation alone
- It also allows curdling at a lower acidity—important because flavor-making bacteria are inhibited in high-acidity environments
How does the ratio of acidity to rennet affect the cheese?
In general, softer, smaller, fresher cheeses are curdled with a greater proportion of acid to rennet than harder, larger, longer-aged varieties
What is rennet produced from?
Traditionally produced via extraction from the inner mucosa of the fourth stomach chamber of slaughtered young, unweaned (not accustomed to food other than its mother’s milk) calves (young domestic cow or bull), most rennet used today in cheesemaking is produced recombinantly
Does the rennet added during curdling stay in the cheese?
The majority of the applied chymosin is retained in the whey and, at most, may be present in cheese in trace quantities
What is rennet?
- A complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals (Animals with four-part stomachs)
- The enzyme chymosin is its key component but other enzymes such as pepsin and lipase can be found
Why does rennet solidify the milk?
Chymosin is a protease found in rennet that cleaves casein which causes cleaved casein molecules to stick to other cleaved casein molecules and form a network
Describe cheese after the curdling process?
At this point, the cheese has set into a very moist gel
What happens to the curd formed after curdling?
- Some soft cheeses are now essentially complete: they are drained, salted, and packaged
- For most of the rest, the curd is cut into small cubes. This allows water to drain from the individual pieces of curd
- Some hard cheeses are then heated to temperatures in the range of 35–55 °C (95–131 °F). This forces more whey from the cut curd.
How are cheeses that are heated during curd processing affected?
Changes the taste of the finished cheese, affecting both the bacterial culture and the milk chemistry.
What are the roles of salt in cheese making?
- Adds a salty flavor
- Preserves cheese from spoiling
- Draws moisture from the curd
- Firms cheese’s texture in an interaction with its proteiuns
How are cheeses salted during cheesemaking?
- -Most cheeses have the salt mixed directly into the curds
- Some cheeses are salted from the outside with dry salt or brine washes
What are some techniques used during curd processing in the making of certain cheeses?
- Stretching: (Mozzarella, Provolone) The curd is stretched and kneaded in hot water, developing a stringy, fibrous body.
- Cheddaring: (Cheddar, other English cheeses) The cut curd is repeatedly piled up, pushing more moisture away. The curd is also mixed (or milled) for a long time, taking the sharp edges off the cut curd pieces and influencing the final product’s texture.
- Washing: (Edam, Gouda, Colby) The curd is washed in warm water, lowering its acidity and making for a milder-tasting cheese
What is kneading?
To press something, especially a mixture for making bread, firmly and repeatedly with the hands and fingers: Knead the dough until smooth.
How is the shape of a cheese formed?
- Most cheeses achieve their final shape when the curds are pressed into a mold or form
- The harder the cheese, the more pressure is applied. The pressure drives out moisture—the molds are designed to allow water to escape—and unifies the curds into a single solid body
