Patrick Oconnell
String cheese is a popular snack, but its unique texture has left many people wondering how it gets its stringy consistency. The answer lies in the manufacturing process, which involves stretching and aligning the proteins in the cheese to create long strands. This process, known as pasta filata, was first used by Wisconsin cheesemaker Frank Baker to create the now-famous string cheese snack. While the exact origins of string cheese are unknown, it is believed that Baker experimented with mozzarella cheese, heating and stretching it to form the distinctive strings that make this snack so fun to eat.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main Ingredient | Mozzarella Cheese |
| Other Ingredients | Milk, Culture, Rennet (an enzyme), Salt, Vegetarian Enzyme |
| Process | Pasta Filata |
| Process Details | Mozzarella curd is placed in hot water to make it soft and semi-molten, then pushed out using a mechanical device called a screw auger system. |
| Protein Alignment | The process aligns the casein proteins within the cheese into small strands. |
| Cutting | The auger pushes the strands out through a small hole, after which they are cut into the string cheese shape and cooled. |
| Original Inventor | Frank Baker of Wisconsin's family-owned Baker Cheese |
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What You'll Learn
The manufacturing process
Once the curd is softened, it is stretched and aligned using a mechanical device called a screw auger system. This stretching action aligns the casein proteins within the cheese, creating small strands that can be easily peeled into strings. The auger pushes these strands through a small hole, and they are then cut into the desired shape and cooled. This process of aligning the proteins is what gives string cheese its stringy texture and makes it possible to peel off strings or strips from the larger cheese block.
While the exact origins of string cheese are not definitively known, it is attributed to cheesemaker Frank Baker in 1976. Baker's business, Baker Cheese, started by making large loaves of mozzarella for pizzas, but people soon requested smaller, snack-sized versions. Thus, through experimentation, Baker created string cheese. Today, string cheese is a popular snack, offering a convenient, nutritious, and portion-controlled option for consumers.
It is worth noting that the traditional string cheese of other countries, such as Slovakia's korbáčiky, Turkey's dil peyniri, Armenia's chechil, and Georgia's tenili, is made by hand-pulling steamed cheese into strings and sometimes braiding them. These variations in the manufacturing process result in the distinct stringy textures associated with these cheeses.
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Stretching the cheese
The process of stretching the cheese is called "pasta filata". Fresh mozzarella curd is placed into hot water to soften it and make it semi-molten. Then, a mechanical device called a screw auger system stretches the cheese and aligns the casein proteins within it into small strands. The auger pushes these strands through a small hole, after which they are cut into the string cheese shape and cooled.
Mozzarella is the only cheese with the "stringy" properties to become string cheese. The curds are heated to 60°C (140°F). Once it reaches that temperature, the milk proteins move around and line up together in a row. The cheese is then cut into strips and stretched and stretched and stretched some more.
The process of stretching the cheese can also be done by hand. In Slovakia, korbáčiky, a salty sheep's milk cheese, is made by hand-pulling steamed sheep's cheese into strings and braiding them. In Armenia, traditional string cheese, chechil, is made with a white base—usually aged goat or sheep milk—and is seasoned with black cumin and mahleb. It is traditionally sold in the form of a braided endless loop.
While the true origins of string cheese are largely anecdotal and lost to time, many people attribute the invention of string cheese to cheesemaker Frank Baker in 1976. Baker's business, Baker Cheese, started by making 6-pound loaves of mozzarella to put on pizza, but people started requesting smaller versions of the cheese to snack on. After some experimentation, he ended up with string cheese as we know it today.
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Aligning the proteins
The stringy texture of string cheese is achieved by aligning the proteins in the cheese through a process called "pasta filata". Cheesemakers take fresh mozzarella curd, which is made by clumping up the protein in milk to form "curds" or blobs of fresh cheese, and place it into hot water to make it soft and semi-molten. The curds are heated to 60 °C (140 °F), causing the milk proteins to move around and line up together in a row.
Once the cheese is soft, it is stretched and stretched, aligning the casein proteins within the cheese into small strands. This process is similar to how firewood is easier to chop with the grain, and how a cheese string pulls off vertically. The stretched cheese is then pushed out through a small hole using a mechanical device called a screw auger system, and finally cut into the string cheese shape and cooled.
Mozzarella is the only cheese with the "stringy" properties to become string cheese, and the process of making it stringy is also called "chemically stretching the cheese", allowing for the production of huge blocks at a time.
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The type of cheese
String cheese is made from mozzarella. While fresh mozzarella is soft and smooth, string cheese is made with low-moisture mozzarella. The process that makes mozzarella cheese stringy is called pasta filata. Cheesemakers take fresh mozzarella curd and place it into hot water to make it soft and semi-molten. This mixture is then pushed out using a mechanical device called a screw auger system, which stretches the cheese and aligns the casein proteins within the cheese into small strands. The auger then pushes the strands out through a small hole, after which they are cut into the string cheese shape and cooled.
Mozzarella is the only cheese with the "stringy" properties to become string cheese. Cheddar and other cheese sticks are sold in similar packaging, but they are actually impostors called "cheese snacks."
In Slovakia, a similar type of string cheese called korbáčiky is made from salty sheep's milk. It is available smoked or unsmoked and is traditionally made by hand-pulling steamed sheep's cheese into strings and braiding them. Cow milk versions are also available. In Turkey, the most common type of string cheese is dil peyniri ("tongue cheese"), a fresh white cheese made from cow's milk. The stringy texture of dil becomes even more prominent when the cheese is melted. Traditional Armenian string cheese, chechil, is made with a white base and seasoned with black cumin and mahleb. It is traditionally sold in the form of a braided endless loop.
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The ingredients used
Organic Valley's Stringles® string cheese, for example, contains only three ingredients: organic cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt, and vegetarian enzyme. The milk used is typically low-moisture milk, which is dried out, as opposed to fresh mozzarella, which is kept in water or brine.
The process of making string cheese involves cutting the cheese into strips and stretching it repeatedly, aligning the casein proteins within the cheese into small strands. This pasta filata process is what gives string cheese its characteristic stringiness.
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Frequently asked questions
String cheese is made of mozzarella cheese, milk, culture, and rennet.
String cheese is made by a process called "pasta filata", in which cheesemakers take fresh mozzarella curd, place it into hot water to make it soft, and then stretch it using a mechanical device. This aligns the casein proteins within the cheese into small strands.
The strings in the string cheese are formed by stretching and pulling the cheese during processing, which aligns the milk proteins into long strands.
