Randy Chandler
Cheese is a food that wouldn't exist without fungi and bacteria. The earliest evidence of cheese-making comes from 6th-century Poland, where lactic acid bacteria was added to fresh milk to promote curdling. Since then, many different fungal species have been used to create the wide variety of cheeses available today. Some of the most important fungi used in cheese-making include Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Mucor, and Trichoderma.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Cheese types | Blue cheeses, soft cheeses, Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, Tomme de Pyrénées, Ossau-Iraty |
| Fungus types | Penicillium, Scopulariopsis, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Mucor, Trichoderma |
| Fungus function | Help bacteria spread out and grow, creating complex flavours |
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What You'll Learn
- Penicillium roqueforti is added to blue cheese to ensure it matures consistently between batches
- Species of Scopulariopsis help to make uncooked hard cheeses, such as Tomme de Pyrénées and Ossau-Iraty
- Cheese fungi and bacteria work together to create complex, tasty flavours
- Fungi and bacteria compete for the same ingredients to survive, but they also have tricks to ensure the competition isn't friendly
- The earliest evidence for cheese-making lies in 6th-century Poland
Penicillium roqueforti is added to blue cheese to ensure it matures consistently between batches
Some cheeses, such as Camembert, Roquefort, and blue cheese, are made with fungi. Penicillium roqueforti is added to blue cheese to ensure it matures consistently between batches. This fungus was originally a natural part of the blue cheese-making process, but now a lab strain is added and carefully controlled.
Fungi and bacteria are both essential to the cheese-making process. They imbue their surroundings with different flavours, creating a complex and tasty cheese. Penicillium is a key organism in the creation of blue cheese and soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert. Species of Scopulariopsis help to make uncooked harder cheeses, such as Tomme de Pyrénées and Ossau-Iraty.
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Species of Scopulariopsis help to make uncooked hard cheeses, such as Tomme de Pyrénées and Ossau-Iraty
Fungi are used in the cheese-making process as they help bacteria spread out and grow. Both entities add different flavours to their surroundings, creating a complex, tasty cheese. The earliest evidence of cheese-making lies in 6th-century Poland, where only lactic acid bacteria were added to fresh milk to promote curdling. Since then, experimentation with different fungal species has allowed for the wide variety of cheeses found today.
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Cheese fungi and bacteria work together to create complex, tasty flavours
Fungi and bacteria are essential to the cheese-making process. The earliest evidence for cheese-making lies in 6th-century Poland, where only lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were added to fresh milk to promote curdling. Since then, many mechanical advancements and experimentation with heat, grinding, pressing, and maturing of these cheeses, coupled with different fungal species, have allowed for the unique and wide variety of cheeses found today.
Some of the most important fungi growing on cheese include Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Mucor, and Trichoderma. Penicillium species are responsible for the production of blue cheeses and soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert. Species of Scopulariopsis help to make uncooked harder cheeses, such as Tomme de Pyrénées and Ossau-Iraty. Penicillium roqueforti is an organism that, at first, simply grew during the blue cheese-making process, but now a lab strain is added and carefully controlled to ensure the cheese matures consistently between batches.
Fungal moulds help bacteria spread out and grow. Both entities imbue their surroundings with different flavours, so their intermingling creates a complex, tasty cheese. However, from a microbial standpoint, it doesn't make perfect sense that fungus and bacteria would cooperate. That's because all these microbes need the same ingredients to survive — water and nutrients — and when resources are scarce, they've got tricks for making sure the competition isn't friendly. Fungal moulds create chemicals specialised to burst bacteria open, which we've co-opted for antibiotics like penicillin. Bacteria have specialised enzymes, called chitinases, that liquify fungi, reducing them to a slurpable smoothie of carbon and nitrogen.
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Fungi and bacteria compete for the same ingredients to survive, but they also have tricks to ensure the competition isn't friendly
Cheese-making involves the use of fungi and bacteria, which create different flavours in their surroundings, resulting in a complex, tasty cheese. However, both entities need the same ingredients to survive, namely water and nutrients. When resources are scarce, they have ways of ensuring that the competition for these resources isn't friendly. For example, fungal moulds create chemicals specialised to burst bacteria open, which have been co-opted for antibiotics like penicillin. On the other hand, bacteria have specialised enzymes, called chitinases, that liquify fungi, reducing them to a slurry of carbon and nitrogen.
Some of the important fungi growing on cheese include Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Mucor, and Trichoderma. For some cheeses, such as Camembert, Roquefort, and blue cheese, moulds are intentionally added. However, some contaminating or technological fungal species have the potential to produce undesirable metabolites such as mycotoxins. The most hazardous mycotoxins found in cheese, ochratoxin A and aflatoxin M1, are produced by unwanted fungal species either via direct cheese contamination or indirect milk contamination (animal feed contamination), respectively.
Some Penicillium species are responsible for the production of blue cheeses and soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert. Species of Scopulariopsis help to make uncooked harder cheeses, such as Tomme de Pyrénées and Ossau-Iraty. Interestingly, some fungi have been isolated specifically for making cheese, while others just happen to thrive in this environment. Penicillium roqueforti is an organism that, at first, simply grew during the blue cheese-making process, but now a lab strain is added and carefully controlled to ensure the cheese matures consistently between batches.
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The earliest evidence for cheese-making lies in 6th-century Poland
Fungi play a crucial role in the cheese-making process. Species such as Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Mucor, and Trichoderma are commonly found in cheeses like Camembert and Roquefort, where they are intentionally added to impart distinct flavours. Some fungi, like Penicillium roqueforti, were initially wild organisms that grew during cheese production, but now a lab strain is carefully added to ensure consistent maturation between batches.
Fungal moulds have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria, aiding their growth and contributing to the complex flavours of cheese. While they compete for the same resources, they also produce chemicals that can be harnessed for beneficial purposes, such as antibiotics.
The discovery of cheese-making in Poland dates back to the excavation of clay sieves and pottery fragments, which provided traces of dairy fat and indicated the presence of Neolithic cheese-making practices. This evidence highlights the importance of pottery vessels in processing dairy products, particularly in the manufacture of reduced-lactose milk products for prehistoric farming communities.
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Frequently asked questions
Camembert, Roquefort, Tomme de Pyrénées and Ossau-Iraty.
Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Mucor, and Trichoderma.
Fungus helps bacteria spread out and grow. Both imbue their surroundings with different flavours, creating a complex, tasty cheese.
The earliest evidence for cheese-making lies in 6th century Poland, where lactic acid bacteria were added to fresh milk to promote curdling.
Some fungal species have the potential to produce undesirable metabolites such as mycotoxins. The most hazardous mycotoxins found in cheese, ochratoxin A and aflatoxin M1, are produced by unwanted fungal species.
