How is cheese made and how do you make butter - What is the difference? How is mature cheese made?!
Answers:
Curdling
The only strictly required step in making any sort of cheese is separating the milk into solid curds and liquid whey!. Usually this is done by acidifying (souring) the milk and adding rennet!. The acidification is accomplished directly by the addition of an acid like vinegar in a few cases (paneer, queso fresco), but usually starter bacteria are employed instead!. These starter bacteria convert milk sugars into lactic acid!. The same bacteria (and the enzymes they produce) also play a large role in the eventual flavor of aged cheeses!. Most cheeses are made with starter bacteria from the Lactococci, Lactobacilli, or Streptococci families!. Swiss starter cultures also include Propionibacter shermani, which produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles during aging, giving Swiss cheese or Emmental its holes!.
Some fresh cheeses are curdled only by acidity, but most cheeses also use rennet!. Rennet sets the cheese into a strong and rubbery gel compared to the fragile curds produced by acidic coagulation alone!. It also allows curdling at a lower acidity—important because flavor-making bacteria are inhibited in high-acidity environments!. In general, softer, smaller, fresher cheeses are curdled with a greater proportion of acid to rennet than harder, larger, longer-aged varieties!.
Curd processing
Ancient Swiss way of making cheese (heating stage)!. If needed, the wooden holder can be turned, moving the pot away from fire
During industrial production of Emmental cheese, the as-yet-undrained curd is broken up by rotating mixers!.At this point, the cheese has set into a very moist gel!. Some soft cheeses are now essentially complete: they are drained, salted, and packaged!. For most of the rest, the curd is cut into small cubes!. This allows water to drain from the individual pieces of curd!.
Some hard cheeses are then heated to temperatures in the range of 35 °C–55 °C (100 °F–130 °F)!. This forces more whey from the cut curd!. It also changes the taste of the finished cheese, affecting both the bacterial culture and the milk chemistry!. Cheeses that are heated to the higher temperatures are usually made with thermophilic starter bacteria which survive this step—either lactobacilli or streptococci!.
Salt has a number of roles in cheese besides adding a salty flavor!. It preserves cheese from spoiling, draws moisture from the curd, and firms up a cheese’s texture in an interaction with its proteins!. Some cheeses are salted from the outside with dry salt or brine washes!. Most cheeses have the salt mixed directly into the curds!.
A number of other techniques can be employed to influence the cheese's final texture and flavor!. Some examples:
Stretching: (Mozzarella, Provolone) The curd is stretched and kneaded in hot water, developing a stringy, fibrous body!.
Cheddaring: (Cheddar, other English cheeses) The cut curd is repeatedly piled up, pushing more moisture away!. The curd is also mixed (or milled) for a long period of time, taking the sharp edges off the cut curd pieces and influencing the final product's texture!.
Washing: (Edam, Gouda, Colby) The curd is washed in warm water, lowering its acidity and making for a milder-tasting cheese!.
Most cheeses achieve their final shape when the curds are pressed into a mold or form!. The harder the cheese, the more pressure is applied!. The pressure drives out moisture — the molds are designed to allow water to escape — and unifies the curds into a single solid body!.
Parmigiano reggiano in a modern factory
Ageing
A newborn cheese is usually salty yet bland in flavor and, for harder varieties, rubbery in texture!. These qualities are sometimes enjoyed—cheese curds are eaten on their own—but normally cheeses are left to rest under carefully controlled conditions!. This ageing period (also called ripening, or, from the French, affinage) can last from a few days to several years!. As a cheese ages, microbes and enzymes transform its texture and intensify its flavor!. This transformation is largely a result of the breakdown of casein proteins and milkfat into a complex mix of amino acids, amines, and fatty acids!.
Some cheeses have additional bacteria or molds intentionally introduced to them before or during ageing!. In traditional cheesemaking, these microbes might be already present in the air of the ageing room; they are simply allowed to settle and grow on the stored cheeses!. More often today, prepared cultures are used, giving more consistent results and putting fewer constraints on the environment where the cheese ages!. These cheeses include soft ripened cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, blue cheeses such as Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, and rind-washed cheeses such as Limburger!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
The only strictly required step in making any sort of cheese is separating the milk into solid curds and liquid whey!. Usually this is done by acidifying (souring) the milk and adding rennet!. The acidification is accomplished directly by the addition of an acid like vinegar in a few cases (paneer, queso fresco), but usually starter bacteria are employed instead!. These starter bacteria convert milk sugars into lactic acid!. The same bacteria (and the enzymes they produce) also play a large role in the eventual flavor of aged cheeses!. Most cheeses are made with starter bacteria from the Lactococci, Lactobacilli, or Streptococci families!. Swiss starter cultures also include Propionibacter shermani, which produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles during aging, giving Swiss cheese or Emmental its holes!.
Some fresh cheeses are curdled only by acidity, but most cheeses also use rennet!. Rennet sets the cheese into a strong and rubbery gel compared to the fragile curds produced by acidic coagulation alone!. It also allows curdling at a lower acidity—important because flavor-making bacteria are inhibited in high-acidity environments!. In general, softer, smaller, fresher cheeses are curdled with a greater proportion of acid to rennet than harder, larger, longer-aged varieties!.
Curd processing
Ancient Swiss way of making cheese (heating stage)!. If needed, the wooden holder can be turned, moving the pot away from fire
During industrial production of Emmental cheese, the as-yet-undrained curd is broken up by rotating mixers!.At this point, the cheese has set into a very moist gel!. Some soft cheeses are now essentially complete: they are drained, salted, and packaged!. For most of the rest, the curd is cut into small cubes!. This allows water to drain from the individual pieces of curd!.
Some hard cheeses are then heated to temperatures in the range of 35 °C–55 °C (100 °F–130 °F)!. This forces more whey from the cut curd!. It also changes the taste of the finished cheese, affecting both the bacterial culture and the milk chemistry!. Cheeses that are heated to the higher temperatures are usually made with thermophilic starter bacteria which survive this step—either lactobacilli or streptococci!.
Salt has a number of roles in cheese besides adding a salty flavor!. It preserves cheese from spoiling, draws moisture from the curd, and firms up a cheese’s texture in an interaction with its proteins!. Some cheeses are salted from the outside with dry salt or brine washes!. Most cheeses have the salt mixed directly into the curds!.
A number of other techniques can be employed to influence the cheese's final texture and flavor!. Some examples:
Stretching: (Mozzarella, Provolone) The curd is stretched and kneaded in hot water, developing a stringy, fibrous body!.
Cheddaring: (Cheddar, other English cheeses) The cut curd is repeatedly piled up, pushing more moisture away!. The curd is also mixed (or milled) for a long period of time, taking the sharp edges off the cut curd pieces and influencing the final product's texture!.
Washing: (Edam, Gouda, Colby) The curd is washed in warm water, lowering its acidity and making for a milder-tasting cheese!.
Most cheeses achieve their final shape when the curds are pressed into a mold or form!. The harder the cheese, the more pressure is applied!. The pressure drives out moisture — the molds are designed to allow water to escape — and unifies the curds into a single solid body!.
Parmigiano reggiano in a modern factory
Ageing
A newborn cheese is usually salty yet bland in flavor and, for harder varieties, rubbery in texture!. These qualities are sometimes enjoyed—cheese curds are eaten on their own—but normally cheeses are left to rest under carefully controlled conditions!. This ageing period (also called ripening, or, from the French, affinage) can last from a few days to several years!. As a cheese ages, microbes and enzymes transform its texture and intensify its flavor!. This transformation is largely a result of the breakdown of casein proteins and milkfat into a complex mix of amino acids, amines, and fatty acids!.
Some cheeses have additional bacteria or molds intentionally introduced to them before or during ageing!. In traditional cheesemaking, these microbes might be already present in the air of the ageing room; they are simply allowed to settle and grow on the stored cheeses!. More often today, prepared cultures are used, giving more consistent results and putting fewer constraints on the environment where the cheese ages!. These cheeses include soft ripened cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, blue cheeses such as Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, and rind-washed cheeses such as Limburger!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Butter is churned cream(84% butterfat)!.
You can also make butter from the whey of some cheeses( the butterfat will float to the top of the water, then you skim it off, refridgerate and the next morning scrape the butter off and churn the remaining water out by hand)!.
Cheese is milk and a starter or culture!.
IE!. Rennet, vinegar, (lemon juice for simple cheeses)!.
Rennet is the main enyzme for all cheeses( most all)!.
Different cheeses are made by adding rennet( a coagulant) with different enyzmes to produce whatever cheese your making!.
Mature cheeses are usually salted in a brine( which forms the outer skin) and then aged in a controlled environment IE Parmigiano Reggiano)!.
Other mature cheeses are not salted but "bandaged" with cheese cloth and set out to age!.( ie!. Cheddar)
Remember there are 1000's of cheeses ( all made a little differently)!. The exception is that real cheese by deffinition, contains rennet( even though some things we call cheese, do not!.( ie cream cheese, marscarpone etc etc)!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You can also make butter from the whey of some cheeses( the butterfat will float to the top of the water, then you skim it off, refridgerate and the next morning scrape the butter off and churn the remaining water out by hand)!.
Cheese is milk and a starter or culture!.
IE!. Rennet, vinegar, (lemon juice for simple cheeses)!.
Rennet is the main enyzme for all cheeses( most all)!.
Different cheeses are made by adding rennet( a coagulant) with different enyzmes to produce whatever cheese your making!.
Mature cheeses are usually salted in a brine( which forms the outer skin) and then aged in a controlled environment IE Parmigiano Reggiano)!.
Other mature cheeses are not salted but "bandaged" with cheese cloth and set out to age!.( ie!. Cheddar)
Remember there are 1000's of cheeses ( all made a little differently)!. The exception is that real cheese by deffinition, contains rennet( even though some things we call cheese, do not!.( ie cream cheese, marscarpone etc etc)!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Cheese is made by separating the curds from the whey then pressed
Butter is churned cream
Mature cheese is left to age naturallyWww@FoodAQ@Com
Butter is churned cream
Mature cheese is left to age naturallyWww@FoodAQ@Com
Just look it up on Google!Www@FoodAQ@Com