Cheese

Raw Materials
Cheese is made from milk, and that milk comes from animals as diverse as cows, sheep,
goats, horses, camels, water buffalo, and reindeer. Most cheese makers expedite the curdling
process with rennet, lactic acid, or plant extracts, such as the vegetable rennet produced from wild
artichokes, fig leaves, safflower, or melon.

In addition to milk and curdling agents, cheeses may contain various ingredients added to
enhance flavor and color. The great cheeses of the world may acquire their flavor from the specific
bacterial molds with which they have been inoculated, an example being the famous Penicillium
roqueforti used to make France's Roquefort and England's Stilton. Cheeses may also be salted or
dyed, usually with annatto, an orange coloring made from the pulp of a tropical tree, or carrot juice.
They may be washed in brine or covered with ashes. Cheese makers who wish to avoid rennet
may encourage the bacterial growth necessary to curdling by a number of odd methods. Some
cheeses possess this bacteria because they are made from unpasteurized milk. Other cheeses,
however, are reportedly made from milk in which dung or old leather have been dunked; still
others acquire their bacteria from being buried in mud.

The unusual texture and flavor of processed cheese are obtained by combining several
types of natural cheese and adding salt, milk-fat, cream, whey, water, vegetable oil, and other
fillers. Processed cheese will also have preservatives, emulsifiers, gums, gelatin, thickeners, and
sweeteners as ingredients. Most processed cheese and some natural cheeses are flavored with
such ingredients as paprika, pepper, chives, onions, cumin, car-away seeds, jalapeo peppers,
hazelnuts, raisins, mushrooms, sage, and bacon. Cheese can also be smoked to preserve it and
give it a distinctive flavor.

The Manufacturing
Process
Although cheese making is a linear process, it involves many factors. Numerous varieties of
cheese exist because ending the simple preparation process at different points can produce
different cheeses, as can varying additives or procedures. Cheese making has long been
considered a delicate process. Attempts to duplicate the success of an old cheese factory have
been known to fail because conditions at a new factory do not favor the growth of the proper
bacteria.
Preparing the milk
1

Small cheese factories accept either morning milk (which is richer), evening milk, or
both. Because it is generally purchased from small dairies which don't pasteurize, this milk
contains the bacteria necessary to produce lactic acid, one of the agents that triggers
curdling. The cheese makers let the milk sit until enough lactic acid has formed to begin
producing the particular type of cheese they're making. Depending on the type of cheese
being produced, the cheese makers may then heat the ripening milk. This process differs
slightly at large cheese factories, which purchase pasteurized milk and must consequently
add a culture of bacteria to produce lactic acid.

Separating the curds from the whey

2

The next step is to add animal or vegetable rennet to the milk, furthering its separation into
curds and whey. Once formed, the curds are cut both vertically and horizontally with knives.
In large factories, huge vats of curdled milk are cut vertically using sharp, multi-bladed, wire
knives reminiscent of oven racks. The same machine then agitates the curds and slices
them horizontally. If the cutting is done manually, the curds are cut both ways using a large,
two-handled knife. Soft cheeses are cut into big chunks, while hard cheeses are cut into
tiny chunks. (For cheddar, for instance, the space between the knives is about one-
twentieth of an inch [half a centimeter].) After cutting, the curds may be heated to hasten
the separation from the whey, but they are more typically left alone. When separation is
complete, the whey is drained.

In a typical cheese-making operation,

the first step is preparing the milk. Although
smaller factories purchase unpasteurized milk
that already has the bacteria present to produce
lactic acid (necessary for curdling), larger
factories purchase pasteurized milk and must
add bacteria culture to produce the lactic acid.
Next, the curds must be separated from the
whey. Animal or vegetable rennet is added, and
then the curds are agitated and cut using large
knives. As the whey separates, it is drained. The
curds are then pressed into molds, if necessary,
to facilitate further moisture drainage, and aged
for the proper amount of time. Some cheeses
are aged for a month, others for several years.
Pressing the curds
3

Moisture must then be removed from the curds, although the amount removed
depends on the type of cheese. For some types with high moisture contents, the whey-
draining process removes sufficient moisture. Other types require the curds to be cut,
heated, and/or filtered to get rid of excess moisture. To make cheddar cheese, for example,
cheese makers cheddar, or finely chop, the curd. To make hard, dry cheeses such as
parmesan, cheese makers first cheddar and then cook the curd. Regardless, if the curds
are to be aged, they are then put into molds. Here, they are pressed to give the proper
shape and size. Soft cheeses such as cottage cheese are not aged.

Ageing the cheese

4

At this stage the cheese may be inoculated with a flavoring mold, bathed in brine, or
wrapped in cloth or hay before being deposited in a place of the proper temperature and
humidity to age. Some cheeses are aged for a month, some for up to several years. Ageing
sharpens the flavor of the cheese; for example, cheddar aged more than two years is
appropriately labeled extra sharp.

Wrapping natural cheese

5

Some cheeses may develop a rind naturally, as their surfaces dry. Other rinds may
form from the growth of bacteria that has been sprayed on the surface of the cheese. Still
other cheeses are washed, and this process encourages bacterial growth. In place of or in
addition to rinds, cheeses can be sealed in cloth or wax. For local eating, this may be all the
packaging that is necessary. However, large quantities of cheese are packaged for sale in
distant countries. Such cheeses may be heavily salted for export (such as Roquefort) or
sealed in impermeable plastic or foil.

Making and wrapping processed

cheese
6

Edible yet inferior cheeses can be saved and made into processed cheese. Cheeses
such as Emmental (commonly called Swiss), Gruyere (similar to Swiss), Colby, or cheddar
are cut up and very finely ground. After this powder has been mixed with water to form a
paste, other ingredients such as salt, fillers, emulsifiers, preservatives, and flavorings are
added. The mixture is then heated under controlled conditions. While still warm and soft,
 the cheese paste is extruded into long ribbons that are sliced. The small sheets of cheese
are then put onto a plastic or foil sheet and wrapped by a machine.

Quality Control
Cheese making has never been an easily regulated, scientific process. Quality cheese has
always been the sign of an experienced, perhaps even lucky cheese maker insistent upon
producing flavorful cheese. Subscribing to analytical tests of cheese characteristics may yield a
good cheese, but cheese making has traditionally been a chancy endeavor. Developing a single
set of standards for cheese is difficult because each variety of cheese has its own range of
characteristics. A cheese that strays from this range will be bad-tasting and inferior. For example,
good soft blue cheese will have high moisture and a high pH; cheddar will have neither.

One controversy in the cheese field centers on whether it is necessary to pasteurize the
milk that goes into cheese. Pasteurization was promoted because of the persistence
of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a pathogen or disease-causing bacteria that occurs in milk
products. The United States allows cheeses that will be aged for over sixty days to be made from
unpasteurized milk; however, it requires that many cheeses be made from pasteurized milk.
Despite these regulations, it is possible to eat cheeses made from unpasteurized milk to no ill
effect. In fact, cheese connoisseurs insist that pasteurizing destroys the natural bacteria necessary
for quality cheese manufacture. They claim that modern cheese factories are so clean and
sanitary that pasteurization is unnecessary. So far, the result of this controversy has merely been
that connoisseurs avoid pasteurized milk cheeses.

Regulations exist so that the consumer can purchase authentic cheeses with ease. France,
the preeminent maker of a variety of natural cheeses, began granting certain regions monopolies
on the manufacture of certain cheeses. For example, a cheese labeled "Roquefort" is guaranteed
to have been ripened in the Combalou caves, and such a guarantee has existed since 1411.
Because cheese is made for human consumption, great care is taken to insure that the raw
materials are of the highest quality, and cheese intended for export must meet particularly
stringent quality control standards.

Because they possess such disparate characteristics, different types of cheese are required
to meet different compositional standards. Based on its moisture and fat content, a cheese is
labeled soft, semi-soft, hard, or very hard. Having been assigned a category, it must then fall
within the range of characteristics considered acceptable for cheeses in that category. For
example, cheddar, a hard cheese, can contain no more than 39 percent water and no less than 50
percent fat. In addition to meeting compositional standards, cheese must also meet standards for
flavor, aroma, body, texture, color, appearance, and finish. To test a batch of cheese, inspectors
core a representative wheel vertically in several places, catching the center, the sides, and in
between. The inspector then examines the cheese to detect any inconsistencies in texture, rubs it
to determine body (or consistency), smells it, and tastes it. Cheese is usually assigned points for
each of these characteristics, with flavor and texture weighing more than color and appearance.

Processed cheese is also subject to legal restrictions and standards. Processed American
cheese must contain at least 90 percent real cheese. Products labeled "cheese food" must be 51
percent cheese, and most are 65 percent. Products labeled "cheese spread" must also be 51
percent cheese, the difference being that such foods have more water and gums to make them
spreadable. "Cheese product" usually refers to a diet cheese that has more water and less cheese
than American cheese, cheese food, or cheese spread, but the specific amount of cheese is not
regulated. Similarly, "imitation cheese" is not required to contain a minimum amount of cheese,
and cheese is usually not its main ingredient. In general, quality processed cheese should
resemble cheese and possess some cheesy flavor, preferably with a "bite" such as sharp cheddar
cheese has. The cheese should be smooth and evenly colored; it should also avoid rubberiness
and melt in the mouth.

Where To Learn More

Books
Brown, Bob. The Complete Book of Cheese. Gramercy Publishing, 1955.

Carr, Sandy. The Simon and Schuster Pocket Guide to Cheese. Simon and Schuster, 1981.

Kosikowski, Frank. Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods. Cornell University, 1966.

Mills, Sonya. The World Guide to Cheese. Gallery Books, 1988.

Timperley, Carol and Cecilia Norman. A Gourmet's Guide to Cheese. HP Books, 1989.

Periodicals
"American Cheese and 'Cheeses'," Consumer Reports. November, 1990, pp. 728-732.

Birmingham, David. "Gruyere's Cheese-makers," History Today. February, 1991, pp. 21-26.

Raichlen, Steven. "Farmhouse Cheeses," Yankee. February, 1991, pp. 84-92.

Rose Secrest

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