Cheese History and Culture

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By Freeman, Shanna
According to legend, the first cheese was made when someone, probably in the Middle East,
discovered that storing milk in a calf's stomach over a long journey made it separate into curds and
whey. Cheese was found in an Egyptian tomb dating to 3200 B.C., and Homer mentioned it in "The
Odyssey". It became popular as a way to preserve milk and keep it from spoiling in warm climates.
Eventually, travelers brought cheese to Europe. During medieval times, cheese was perfected by
monks in monasteries, who aged it in caves. Bacteria and molds that are now added by hand
originally existed naturally or were accidentally introduced, creating new types of cheeses.

Types of Cheese
There are lots of different types of cheese and no standard way of classifying them. Some cheeses
also fall into more than one category. They can be classified by age, country of origin, fat content,
dairy content, manufacturing methods, texture and special characteristics.
Fresh cheeses are the most basic. They're uncooked, unaged and sometimes still contain whey (the
liquid part of milk). They don't keep very long and therefore need to be eaten soon after they're
made. This cheese category includes mozzarella, cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese, farmer
cheese, mascarpone and queso fresco. Fresh cheese is characterized by its soft, creamy texture and
mild taste.
Soft-ripened cheeses are semisoft in texture and sometimes have a white, or "bloomy," rind. This is
created with the application of molds (more on this later). Soft-ripened cheeses are usually a little
more flavorful and buttery than fresh cheeses, but they're still very mild. Camembert and Brie are
examples of this type of cheese.
Most varieties of "stinky" cheese, like Limburger, are washed-rind, or monastery cheese. These
cheeses have reddish-orange rinds. The "stink" comes from being washed in a liquid, such as salted
water, wine or beer, during the ripening phase. The washing encourages the growth of bacteria and
mold, which gives the cheese a very strong smell and taste.
Some cheeses have rinds that form naturally, without the introduction of molds or bacteria. These
natural-rind cheeses are usually aged and are heavier than other types of cheeses. Many of them are
made from raw milk, and they include English Stilton and the French fromage de chvre.
English Stilton is a blue-veined cheese. These cheeses resemble marble, with bluish-green veins
crossing through the pale cheese. The veins are mold cultures, introduced during the cheesemaking
process. Depending on the type of cheese, the mold may give it a very strong flavor. Maytag Blue,
Gorgonzola and Roquefort are other examples of blue-veined cheese.
Cheddar, one of the most well-known cheeses, is an uncooked, pressed cheese. This means that the
curds have not been heated and the cheese has been pressed to give it a very compact, dense texture.
Cooked, pressed cheese has its curds heated before being pressed. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyre
and Emmental are all cooked, pressed cheeses. Within this category are pasta filata, cheeses like
provolone in which the curds are stretched.
Processed cheese isn't technically a cheese but a byproduct of the cheesemaking process. It may be
made with scraps of cheese, but processed cheese can also include whey, cream, water, dyes, gums
and other ingredients. It has a long shelf life, melts easily and can be made in spreadable varieties.
Cheese (with the exception of processed cheese) can be made with milk from mammals other than
cows. Roquefort, a blue-veined cheese, and Pecorino Romano, a cooked, pressed cheese, are both
made with sheep's milk. Many varieties of cheese, including soft-ripened and blue-veined, can be
made with goat's milk.

Cheesemaking Basics

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All cheese starts with milk. Large cheesemakers get their milk in tanker trucks, which have to be
spotlessly clean and keep the milk at about 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.6 degrees Celsius). Small
dairies may use milk from their own herds. Once the milk is collected, it is put into a huge container
and warmed.

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First, the milk must separate into curds (solid) and whey (liquid). To start this process, the lactose,
or milk sugar, needs to become lactic acid. After warming the milk, cheesemakers add a starter
culture that contains one or more types of bacteria, including Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus helveticus. These bacteria are also known as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) because they
produce lactic acid as they metabolize. The specific mix of bacteria depends on the type of cheese
being produced.
Once the acidity level in the milk rises, the casein (one of the proteins in milk; whey is the other)
can curdle. This requires the addition of rennet, which is a group of enzymes extracted from the
stomach lining of a young cow, sheep or goat. In the stomach, rennet allows the animal to digest its
mother's milk. When added to milk, it makes the casein turn into curds.
After settling for up to two hours, the curdled milk has the appearance and texture of custard or
pudding. The temperature of the cheese at this point depends on the type of cheese being made.
Generally, higher temperatures produce firmer cheeses. Next, the curd is cut using a tool called a
harp, which releases the whey. The size of the curds will determine the type of cheese -- soft
cheeses come from large curds, while harder ones come from very fine curd. The whey is drained
and used as an additive in processed foods and in animal feed.
The next steps in the cheesemaking process depend on the type of cheese. We'll look at the
possibilities in the next section.

Making Cheese
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Once the cheese is condensed into curds and salted, there are still a few steps before it's ready to eat.
All of them really depend on what the cheesemaker produces. Although the type of cheese became
a factor with the temperature of the milk and the size of the curds, the differences become even
greater in the final steps.
If the cheesemaker is producing cheddar (or a similar uncooked, pressed cheese), for example, he or
she might cheddar the curds. In this process, the curds are stacked on top of each other, pressed
together and then stacked again to expel the maximum amount of whey and dry them out. Then
they're chopped fine, salted and pressed into molds.
Cooked, pressed cheeses come from curds that have been cooked and stirred to give them a soft,
stringy texture. High temperatures result in firmer cheeses like Emmental, while low ones create the
right texture for fontina. Mozzarella production ends after the cooking process. Blue-veined cheeses
aren't cooked at all, because they need a looser texture for mold to grow.
Salt flavors the cheese and also keeps it from spoiling quickly. If the salt has not already been added
to the curds, the cheese can be rubbed or washed with salt, or even floated in a briny "bath." All of
these methods affect the flavor of the cheese in different ways -- cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano
get a salt rub while washed-rind cheeses are washed with brine or other liquids.
Next, the cheese is usually packed into a mold. Some are pressed to remove more whey, while
others are simply molded. The more a cheese is pressed, the denser its texture will be. Some cheeses
are finished after this stage, but many go through a ripening or aging period.
Before this stage, cheeses that need ripening usually taste bland and rubbery. During ripening, the
milk proteins in the cheese break down further and impart more taste. The two most important
factors during ripening are temperature and humidity, so cheese is usually ripened in carefully
controlled storage facilities. Soft cheeses need high humidity, and they ripen quickly. Hard cheeses
need slightly lower humidity. The humidity keeps the cheese from getting too dry and allows it to
ripen at the right pace. Many cheeses are regularly washed, brushed and turned while ripening.
During ripening, the starters that were used to begin the curdling process play a part again and
influence the taste and appearance of the final cheese. Cheeses with holes are made with bacteria
that eat lactic acid and give off bubbles of carbon dioxide. Blue-veined cheeses start with a culture
that feeds on oxygen. In a process called needling, cheesemakers make holes in the cheese, which
lets in oxygen to feed the bacteria that produces mold.
Soft-ripened cheeses like Brie are made with bacteria that makes them start ripening on the outside
first. Mold is often sprayed on to the surface to encourage the growth of white, "bloomy" rinds.