Bushra Griffith
Cheese is a dairy product, usually made from the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulating the milk protein casein, and then separating the solid curds from the liquid whey. The curds are then pressed into finished cheese. The word cheese comes from the Latin caseus, from which the modern word casein is derived. Cheese is a member of the Milk Group, which also includes milk and yoghurt. There are over 1,000 types of cheese, which can be grouped into categories based on criteria such as texture, moisture content, fat content, curing methods, and country or region of origin.
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What You'll Learn
Cheese is a member of the Milk Group
Cheese can be made from fresh curds, which are stretched and kneaded in hot water to form balls, as with mozzarella. However, not all stretched-curd cheeses are fresh; some are hard or semi-hard and aged, like Italian Provolone. The length of fermentation is another criterion for categorisation.
Cheese can also be categorised by texture, with soft-ripened, semi-soft, semi-hard, and hard or firm cheeses. Soft-ripened cheeses ripen from the outside in and can be runny at room temperature. They include Brie and Camembert. Semi-soft cheeses have a high moisture content, a smooth and creamy interior, and little to no rind. They include Havarti, Monterey Jack, and Port Salut. Semi-hard cheeses include mild Colby and more pungent Cheddar. Hard or firm cheeses may be elastic at room temperature or hard enough to grate, like Parmesan.
Origin is another criterion for classification. For example, Swiss-type or Alpine cheeses are a group of hard or semi-hard cheeses with distinct character, originating in the Alps of Europe.
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There are over 1,000 types of cheese
Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. There are over 1,000 types of cheese, with some sources claiming there are closer to 2,000 varieties. Their styles, textures, and flavors depend on several factors, including the origin of the milk (including the animal's diet), whether it has been pasteurized, butterfat content, bacteria and mold, processing, and aging.
Cheese can be categorized in several ways, including by origin, by how it's made, or by family. The American Cheese Society categorizes cheese by family. Here are some examples of cheese families:
- Fresh cheeses are young cheeses that have not had time to ripen or mature. They tend to have a short shelf life due to a high moisture content and are often described as having a milky, lactic, sweet, or citrus taste. Examples include fresh cream cheese, fresh mozzarella, fresh goat cheese, and fresh feta cheese.
- Soft-ripened cheeses ripen from the outside in and often have a bloomy rind and a very soft interior. Brie and Camembert are examples of soft-ripened cheeses.
- Washed rind cheeses are a sub-category of soft-ripened cheeses known for their characteristic aroma.
- Semi-soft cheeses have a smooth, creamy interior with little to no rind and a high moisture content. Examples include Havarti, Monterey Jack, and Point Reyes Toma.
- Alpine cheeses were traditionally made in the Jura Mountains and the Italian Alps. They are sometimes recognized by the holes or "eyes" formed during the maturing process. Examples include Baby Swiss, Emmentaler, Fontina, Gruyere, and Jarlsberg.
- Grana cheeses are hard cheeses brined in salt baths and then pressed into large molds to be aged for several months up to seven years. This process gives them a strong, salty flavor and dry, crumbly texture. Popular examples include Parmesan, Pecorino, and Asiago.
- Blue cheeses are a form of soft-ripened cheese with either inoculated or natural mold. They often have a higher salt content to preserve them and prevent the growth of bad bacteria. Examples include Gorgonzola and Roquefort.
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Cheese is a type of dairy product
Cheese is a diverse group of milk-based food products with a wide range of flavours, textures, and forms. It can be categorized in several ways, including by origin, production method, texture, length of fermentation, fat content, animal source of milk, and country or region of origin. There is no universally accepted method of classification. The American Cheese Society, for example, categorizes cheese by family.
One common way to categorize cheese is by moisture content, which can then be further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods. This results in categories such as fresh, soft-ripened, semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, and blue cheese. Fresh cheeses are young cheeses that have not had time to ripen or mature. They tend to have a short shelf life due to their high moisture content and are often described as having a milky, lactic, sweet, or citrus taste. Examples include fresh cream cheese, fresh mozzarella, fresh goat cheese, and fresh feta cheese.
Soft-ripened cheeses, on the other hand, ripen from the outside in and can be soft and even runny at room temperature. They often have a white, bloomy rind that has been added to the milk or sprayed with a mold. Common soft-ripened cheeses include Brie, Camembert, and Triple Creams. Semi-soft cheeses have a smooth, creamy interior with little to no rind and a high moisture content. They are often used for snacking, melting, and sandwiches and include Havarti, Monterey Jack, and Port Salut.
Semi-hard cheeses, such as Cheddar, have a denser, sometimes crumbly texture. Blue cheeses are a type of soft-ripened cheese that has been inoculated with mold or allowed to develop natural mold. They often have a higher salt content to preserve them and prevent the growth of bad bacteria. Examples of blue cheese include Gorgonzola and Roquefort. Hard or firm cheeses may be elastic at room temperature or hard enough to grate, such as Parmesan. Examples include Gouda, Gruyere, and Manchego.
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Cheese is made by coagulation of milk protein casein
Cheese is a member of the Milk Group. It is produced by coagulating milk, which is mostly made up of casein, a phosphoprotein commonly found in mammalian milk. Casein is the primary emulsifier in milk, helping to mix oils, fats, and water.
Casein is a family of related phosphoproteins (αS1, aS2, β, κ) that are found in milk. They comprise about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of the proteins in human milk. Casein is secreted into milk from mammary cells in the form of colloidal casein micelles, a type of biomolecular condensate.
The process of cheese-making involves coagulating milk, which is caused by the destabilization of casein micelles. This begins the processes of fractionation and selective concentration. Typically, the milk is acidified and then coagulated by the addition of rennet, which contains the proteolytic enzyme rennin. Rennet enzymes shave off the κ-casein hairs, allowing the casein micelles to stick together and form the structure of cheese.
Acid coagulation refers to the use of acid to coagulate milk. This can be done by adding acid directly or by producing it using starter cultures. Examples of acid-coagulated cheeses include cottage cheese, quark, and chèvre. The addition of acid neutralizes the negative charge surrounding the casein micelles, allowing them to stick together and form a clot.
Rennet coagulation, on the other hand, refers to the addition of enzymes to milk to make it clot. Many cheeses fall into this category, including cheddar, gouda, and queso fresco. The enzymes act on the κ-casein, clipping off the hairy layer and allowing the casein micelles to attach and form the structure of the cheese.
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Fresh cheese has a high moisture content
Cheese is a member of the Milk Group, which also includes grains, vegetables, fruits, and meat and beans. There are many different types of cheese, which can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, production method, fat content, animal source of milk, and country or region of origin. The most common traditional categorization is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods.
Fresh cheeses are young cheeses that have not had time to ripen or mature. They can be eaten within a few hours and tend to have a short shelf life due to a high moisture content. Their tastes have been described as milky, lactic, sweet, or citrus. Examples include fresh cream cheese, fresh mozzarella, fresh goat cheese, or fresh feta cheese. Fresh cheeses, like ricotta or mozzarella, are designed to retain more water, giving them a soft texture and mild flavour.
The moisture content of soft cheeses is between 55–80% of its dry weight. They are often spreadable but do not generally melt or brown well. The higher moisture content of soft cheeses means they spoil faster than hard cheeses and are kept at low temperatures to delay spoiling. Harder cheeses have a lower moisture content than softer cheeses, as they are generally packed into molds under more pressure and aged for longer.
Semi-soft cheeses have a high moisture content and typically have a buttery or light sour cream flavour. They are great for snacking, melting, and sandwiches. Examples include Havarti, Monterey Jack, and Point Reyes Toma. The moisture content of semi-soft cheeses is between 42–55% of its dry weight.
High-moisture cheeses are creamy and smooth, while low-moisture varieties are firm and crumbly. Higher moisture often results in milder flavours, as water dilutes the concentration of fats and proteins. Conversely, low-moisture cheeses, with less water to dilute their components, have bolder, more intense flavours.
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Frequently asked questions
Cheese is part of the dairy products group.
Milk, yoghurt, quark, fromage frais, and cream cheese are also in this food group.
Butter is made from milk fat but does not contain calcium, so it is not classified as a dairy product by the USDA.
There are seven food groups in total: drinks, sugary products, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, fats, protein foods, and grains.
The USDA recommends that everyone over the age of nine consume three cups of dairy per day. For cheese, two cups of cottage cheese equals one serving.
