Frederic Melton
Cheese is a dairy product made from milk and a few other ingredients. It is believed that the process of making cheese was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal. This process causes milk to turn into curds and whey. Today, cheese is made using milk, salt, culture, and rennet (the coagulant that holds the ingredients together). The specific type of milk and the addition of other ingredients such as bacteria, spices, herbs, or wine determine the flavor, smell, and texture of the cheese. Cheese has been made since the late Stone Age and has become increasingly popular worldwide due to the spread of European culture and food.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Milk, salt, culture, and rennet |
| Milk source | Cow, buffalo, sheep, or goat |
| Milk type | Differs from cheese to cheese |
| Microbes | Contains billions of microbes |
| Bacteria | Lactic acid bacteria, Streptococcus, Lactobacilli |
| Flavor | Determined by type of culture added |
| Texture | Determined by type of culture added |
| Coagulant | Rennet |
| Rennet type | Animal, vegetable, or microbial |
| Ancient cheesemaking | Milk stored in animal stomach |
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What You'll Learn
The history of cheese
Cheese was a well-known food group in ancient times, with evidence of cheese-making in Egypt dating back about 5,000 years, and the oldest preserved remnants of cheese identified on mummies in present-day Xinjiang. Ancient Greek mythology credited Aristaeus with the discovery of cheese, and Homer's Odyssey (late 8th century BC) describes the Cyclops producing and storing sheep's and goat's milk and cheese. By the time of the Roman Empire, cheese-making was a common practice, with Pliny's Natural History (77 CE) describing the diversity of cheeses enjoyed by the Romans.
During the Middle Ages, cheese-making was kept alive by monks in monasteries, and many of the popular cheeses we eat today, such as Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, and Gouda, were first recorded in the late Middle Ages or after. The production of Parmesan began in 1597, Gouda in 1697, and Camembert in 1791. With European expansion and American influences, cheese gradually became known and popular worldwide, although it remained a local farm industry in the United States until the 19th century. The first cheese factory in the United States was built in 1851, and the wholesale cheese industry was born soon after, with phenomenal growth in the latter half of the 1800s.
Today, cheese is a beloved food worldwide, with various types and flavors available, and regions developing their own unique cheesemaking traditions. Wisconsin, in particular, has become a hub for cheesemaking in the United States, with more skilled and licensed cheesemakers than any other state and a rich history spanning over 180 years.
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The process of making cheese
Cheese is made using just four ingredients: milk, salt, culture, and rennet. However, the process of making cheese is complex and varies depending on the type of cheese being made.
Firstly, milk is prepared by standardising it. This may involve manipulating the protein-to-fat ratio. Milk preparation also involves pasteurisation or mild heat treatment. Heating the milk kills organisms that could cause the cheese to spoil and can also prime the milk for the starter cultures to grow more effectively. After heat treating or pasteurising the milk, the cheesemaker cools it to a specific temperature to prepare it for the starter cultures.
The next step is to add starter cultures to the milk to acidify and ripen it. This is done to rapidly acidify the milk, help with coagulation, and prevent spoilage. Rennet is then added to coagulate the milk and help separate the curds and whey. Rennet acts on milk proteins to form a solid curd mass, usually in just 30 to 60 minutes.
Once the curds and whey have been separated, the curds are washed, drained, stirred, and packed into moulds to develop their firmness. Salt is then added to enhance the flavour and regulate moisture content, which affects the texture. Salt also controls bacteria growth and helps preserve the cheese.
The final step is the ageing process, which is important for the cheese to develop its desired flavour and texture. This process can take a few months to a few years, and the temperature and humidity of the room or cave in which the cheese ages are closely monitored.
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Different types of milk used to make cheese
Cheese is made using just four ingredients: milk, salt, culture, and rennet. However, the type of milk used can differ from cheese to cheese. The most common type of milk used in cheese production is cow's milk, due to its wide availability and optimal fat and protein content. Swiss, cheddar, gouda, muenster, parmesan, and camembert are all made using cow's milk.
Sheep's milk is also used in cheese-making. It is rarely consumed as a drink due to its high lactose content, but it is an excellent base for cheese. Roquefort, feta, petit basque, manchego, and ligurian cheese are all made using sheep's milk.
Goat's milk lends a tangy flavor to cheeses like Le Chevrot, French Bucheron, and Chevre. Goat milk cheese is also known as chevre, which means "goat" in French. Goat milk can be used to make a variety of cheeses, including goat milk cheddars, goat brie, and camembert.
Buffalo milk is not a common cheese ingredient, but it is used to make mozzarella. This type of milk has a very high-fat content, making it ideal for certain semi-soft and soft cheeses. Italian buffalo mozzarella is the most famous example of cheese made from buffalo milk, but it is also used to make paneer, scamorza, and braila.
More obscure types of milk can be used to make regional specialty cheeses. For example, camel's milk is used to make caravane cheese in Mauritania, and cheese can also be made from horse or yak's milk. Reindeer, moose, and even wild donkey milk are also used to make cheese in some cultures.
The type of milk used in cheese-making can have a significant impact on the texture and taste of the final product. For instance, skimmed milk is ideal for hard cheeses like parmesan, while a mixture of skimmed and whole milk can be used to create a harder texture than would be achieved with whole milk alone.
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The ingredients used to make cheese
Cheese is a dairy product that is made from four basic ingredients: milk, starter culture, coagulant, and salt. The specific type of milk used is usually that of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep, with cow's milk being the most common due to its wide availability and optimal fat and protein content. Goat's milk, however, has a higher fat content than cow's milk, and its smaller fat globules make it easier to digest. Goat's milk is often used for making soft cheeses like Brie and chèvre. Sheep milk, on the other hand, is rich, golden, and fatty, with a distinctive musky flavour. It is used to make some of the world's best cheeses, such as homemade feta cheese.
The second ingredient, starter culture, is added early in the cheesemaking process to rapidly acidify the milk, aid in coagulation, and prevent spoilage. The third ingredient, coagulant, is what holds the rest of the ingredients together. Different coagulants can be used for different cheeses, but most require rennet, which can be purchased in tablet or liquid form. The final basic ingredient, salt, is crucial in developing the cheese's final flavour and texture. It helps draw moisture from the curds, making them firmer, and it inhibits the growth of undesirable bacteria during the aging process.
In addition to these four basic ingredients, some cheeses, like ricotta and mozzarella, use natural acids such as citric acid and tartaric acid instead of rennet to form the curds. These natural acids are added to the milk before heating to help break down the molecules and create a stronger curd. The type of ingredients used, as well as their combinations, determine the strength or mildness of the cheese's flavour. Other factors that influence the flavour, aroma, and texture of the cheese include the origin of the milk, the animal's diet, whether the milk has been pasteurized, the butterfat content, the processing methods, and the aging process.
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The bacteria and fungi in cheese
Cheese is an ecosystem of bacteria and fungi, with more than 100 microbial species found in a single cheese type. These microbes are what make different cheeses distinctive and delicious. They influence the flavour, aroma, colour, and texture of the cheese.
The milk of cows, goats, or sheep contains some microbes, but many more are picked up during the milking and cheese-making process. For example, soil bacteria from the bedding in a stable might attach themselves to the teats of a cow and end up in the milk pail. Microbes can also be introduced via the salt used in the cheese-making process, which is often sourced from the sea.
Cheese rinds, in particular, are known for their complex microbial world. They contain bacterial swimmers that move around on highways of fungal tendrils. These fungal tendrils, or hyphae, are microscopic and branched, and they function as a specialised microbial highway. Bacteria can swim through the thin layer of liquid that coats the outside of the hyphae.
During the ripening process, a second wave of diverse bacteria and fungi (secondary microbiota) grow within the cheese and on its surface, sometimes forming a rind. The specific species of microbes present depend on how the cheese is made and ripened, and the variety of cheese.
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Frequently asked questions
Not everything is made of cheese. Cheese is made from milk, salt, culture, and rennet.
Cow's milk is most commonly used to make cheese because it is widely available and has optimal amounts of fat and protein. However, cheese can also be made from sheep's milk, goat's milk, buffalo milk, camel's milk, horse milk, or yak's milk.
A starter culture is a type of living bacteria that is added to milk to begin the process of turning it into cheese. It does this by eating the lactose sugar in the milk and turning it into lactic acid, which helps with curdling, preservation, and flavor development.
Rennet is a coagulant that helps milk turn into curds. It acts on milk proteins to form a solid curd mass. Rennet is traditionally made with rennin, an enzyme that is naturally produced in the stomachs of calves and other mammals to help them digest milk.
The texture of cheese depends on how the curds are cut. For drier cheeses, the curds are cut more to form smaller curds, so more moisture comes out. For moister cheeses, the curds are cut less, resulting in larger and wetter curds.
