How to Make Cheese

How to Make Cheese

Introduction

There are many varieties of cheese produced all around the world (Guinee et al., 2000). The cheese is available in different flavors and textures. Cheddar cheese is also one of most consuming types of cheese that comes from a British village, called Cheddar. It is interesting for us that making of cheese originated from the nomadic herdsmen who use to store milk in vessels made from the goat or sheep's stomachs. This paper aims to describe the detailed process analysis of making cheese because it is easy to make and widely used in most of the fast foods. Another motive behind selecting cheese food process is to understand the ancient craft/process of cheese making, which has now greatly increased with the emergence of technology (Law & Tamime, 2010).

Types

Before you start making cheese, you should know that there are many types of cheese found around the globe (Hui et al., 2007). You will notice that they are all grouped on the basis of the ageing length, texture, methods of making, animal milk, region of origin etc. Some of the well known types of cheeses are as follows:

Moisture content (soft to hard)

Firmness of cheese is a common but impractical. The content of cheese may lie between “soft”, “semi-soft”, “hard” and “semi hard”. The major factor that controls cheese content is moisture, which mainly depends on the pressure with which it is packaged into molds and due to aging time as well (Hui et al., 2007).

Content

Cheese is also differentiated on the basis of the raw milk used in making of it. Most of the world's commercially acclaimed branded cheeses are made from cow's milk as it is available in abundance (Guillen & Abascal, 2012). Double creamed cheeses are mostly made from cow's milk as it is enriched with thick cream base.

Soft-ripened and Blue-vein

This type of cheese have further three main categories that differs on the mold type: washed rind cheeses, blue cheeses and soft ripened cheeses (Hui et al., 2007).

Processed cheeses

This cheese is made from traditional cheese and emulsifying salts in which there is an addition of extra milk, food coloring, preservatives and salt. As compared to other types of cheeses processed cheeses are found inexpensive; it melts smoothly and is consistent in its texture. It is also readily available in cans in many countries (Hui et al., 2007).

Fresh, whey and stretched curd cheeses

Cheeses are mainly categorized on the basis of their aging. Fresh cheese can be spoiled in a day if it does not have any additional preservatives (Hui et al., 2007).

Processing of Cheese

Please note that the basic ingredient you will use in making cheese is' milk'. You can take the milk of goat, cow, buffalo, sheep, camel or a mixture of all these milks. In addition to milk, you will also need to use salt, curd and bacteria to process as well as develop flavor in your cheese. Also remember that bacteria play a vital role in providing ...