The making of cheese

Cheese are fresh products in various stages of ripening that have been manufactured from curdled milk. 

Good cheese requires high quality milk and carefully starter cultures. However, additional ingredients are often utilizes to enhance visual appeal, coagulation properties and flavor development to make great cheeses.

Cheesemaking involves the conversion of liquid milk which is unstable, bulky but highly nutritious material into cheese which is a stable, flavorsome, concentrated product that provides eating pleasure and has an extended shelf life.

One of the basic operations in the manufacture of most cheese varieties is a progressive acidification throughout the manufacturing stage. In this stage raw milk or pasteurized milk is inoculated with small amount of a culture of lactic acid and is incubated overnight.

Acidification is normally via in situ production of lactic acid, although pre-formed acid acidogen is now used to directly acidify curd of some variety.

Cultures selected for Cheddar cheese for example made throughout the world are typically ‘O’ cultures which designed as cultures that produce lactic acid from lactose.

After several hours the lactic acid causes the milk to form a smooth curd. The coagulation is the essential characteristic step in the manufacture of all cheese varieties where the casein component of the milk protein system to form a gel which entraps the fat.

The curd is cut into cubes in the curding vat to hasten whey separation, allowed to stand for 15 minutes then slowly heated over a period of one hour to remove more whey permit more acid development, and enhance curd texture. 

The larger the amount of whey to be removed the longer and the hotter the heating process.

Cheese is then salted by adding sodium chloride. It may mixed with the drained curd or applied to the surface of the pressed cheese.

Cheese is generally ripened with help of bacteria or molds The ripening times varies from 1-16 months depending upon the type of cheese and the ripening agent.

Cheeses are classified according to how they are manufactured and the ingredient used:
*Hard pressed cheese – Cheddar, Derby
*Lightly pressed cheese – Caerphilly, Lancashire
*Blue veined cheeses – Blue Stilton
*Acid curd cheese – cottage cheese
*Processed cheese
*Cream cheese
The making of cheese