by Amanda Newendorp
Background
Milk (cow, goat, or sheep)
Cheese Production
Veined and
Curdling Natural rind
cheese
other ripened
Washed rind
cheese
cheeses
Today, the same principals are applied. Cheese
producers start with cow, goat, or sheep milk. This
milk first needs to be curdled (separated into liquid
whey and solid curds) by converting lactose, or milk Packaged
sugar, into lactic acid. This is done by adding either and sold
Smoked Cheese
Instead of using salt to preserve their cheese, some cheesemakers choose to smoke their cheese.
This process involves exposing the cheese for days or weeks to smoldering wood at anywhere from
20-85 C (70-190 F). It gives the rind an orange tint and the cheese a smokey flavor.
Types of Cheese Semi-soft Ripened
Similar to soft ripened
Fresh cheeses, these are
Fresh cheeses never go rubbery and elastic with
through an aging a gray or brown rind.
processes and are only They also have a more
good for a few weeks. pronounced flavor than
Often still containing softer cheeses.
s o m e w h e y, t h e y Examples: Edam, Semi-soft Ripened
typically are soft with a St. Nectaire, Pont Cheese: Edam
mild flavor and may be LEveque
Fresh Cheese: Feta
coated in leaves, ash, or
herbs.
Examples: Feta, cottage, cream Washed Rind
These semi-soft
cheeses are aged in a
Natural Rind brine, beer, or wine
Typically made with goat wash to maintain their
milk, natural rind internal moisture. The
cheeses can be wash attracts bacteria
described as chalky and that produce an orange
moist when young. r i n d a n d c a u s e s a Washed Rind Cheese:
They develop a grayish- strong taste and odor Muenster
blue, wrinkled rind known to many stinky
without any added cheeses.
Natural Rind Cheese:
bacteria. Lancashire
Examples: Limburger, Muenster, Langres
Examples: Sancerre,
Chabichou, Lancashire
Naming of Cheese
Names of cheese are capitalized when
Soft Ripened they are named after a geographical place.
Soft ripened cheese
retains some of its whey Names of cheese are not capitalized
and can be recognized when they contain nouns or adjectives that
by their white bloomy are not normally capitalized.
rind. Having only What Americans know as Parmesan
slightly more flavor than cheese is actually a version of Parmigiano-
fresh cheeses, they are Reggiano, a cheese that can only be made
buttery and almost
Soft Ripened Cheese: in two Italian cities, Parma and Reggio.
runny in texture.
Camembert The Americanization of its name,
Examples: Parmesan, is also capitalized by
Camembert, Brie,
convention and can be made anywhere in
Chvre Log
the world.
There is some variation in the use of
accent marks. While European cheese
names often contain an accent mark, many
American producers ignore their presence.
Hard Processed
Hard cheeses are Including preservatives,
d e n s e a n d h e a v y, emulsifying agents, food
having been cheddared coloring, and other non-
early in their production. traditional ingredients,
They may have been processed cheeses are
washed in brine or have inexpensive and easy to
an oiled or waxed rind produce. They are the
to prevent them from Hard Cheese: most-consumed type of Processed Cheese:
drying out. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in the United American
Examples: Cheddar, States.
Parmigiano-Reggiano, Examples: American, Velveeta, Cheez
Gruyere Whiz
Veined
Commonly known as Pasteurization/Health Concerns
blue cheese, veined
cheese is recognized by While most modern cheeses are made
its lines of blue-green with pasteurized milk, some traditional
mold spread throughout cheesemakers still use raw milk (milk that
its interior. Its texture has not been pasteurized, or heated to kill
can vary, but veined any harmful bacteria or viruses). However,
cheese tends to have a research and statistics show that cheese
Veined Cheese: made with raw milk poses no significant
strong flavor. Gorgonzola
health risk. Data does not show an
Examples: Stilton, increased risk of contamination in raw milk
Gorgonzola, Maytag Blue cheeses. They must be aged for at least
sixty days to be sold in the United States;
this time is believed to allow the cheese to
Works Consulted dehydrate and become acidic enough that
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/cheese.htm it is difficult for bacteria to multiply.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-cheese.html Furthermore the natural bacteria found in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese cheese is believed to prevent harmful
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/InnovateWithDairy/Articles/ bacteria from taking over. Still wanting to
IF_Facts_Cheese_062905.htm produce a safe product, raw milk
http://www.frencheese.co.uk/index.php cheesemakers are very careful about the
http://www.thecheeseweb.com/contentok.php?id=21 health of their animals and maintenance of
http://www.e-cookbooks.net/cheese.htm their equipment and procedures.
http://www.wisconsindairyartisan.com/cheese_guide.html
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cheese/cheese2/ Camembert: http://www.asadoargentina.com/article/other-
index.asp grilled-foods/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoked_Cheese Edam: http://www.jupiterimages.com/popup2.aspx?
navigationSubType=itemdetails&itemID=23037350
Photo Credits
Muenster: http://www.amazon.com/Muenster-Cheese-lb-
Figure 2: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006/03/ Wisconsin-Cheeseman/dp/B000BPIR5E
la_presure_home_1.html
Parmigiano-Reggiano: http://www.confcooperative.it/C11/C8/
Figure 3: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/cheese.htm Notizie%20dalla%20Confederazione/default.aspx
Figure 4: http://www.ocouha.com/weblog/tags/chefs-cooks- Gorgonzola: http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/shop/
and-food-preparation-workers/ product_info.php?products_id=724
Feta: http://z.about.com/d/greekfood/1/0/-/5/feta_499.jpg American: http://www.yummy.com/brandlist.aspx?
Lancashire: http://www.answers.com/topic/lancashire-cheese nb7HqhjHK8zJCCV+DGdIfg==