Cheese!!

Food preservation processes allow the nutritional and economic value of a food material to be preserved. In this case, cheese is derived from milk through various methods. 

 

Cheese making has been in existence for millennia, thought to have originated from normadic herdsmen who stored milk in sheep and goats’ stomachs. Because their stomach linings contained lactic acid, the milk would ferment and coagulate. Cheese is a concentration of the major milk protein, casein, and milk fat. 

Cheese making methods vary. The method used to make cheddar cheese may be similar to blue cheese but not exactly the same. Cheese is fermented milk from which water and lactose are removed from the milk. 

There are four basic steps to making cheese;

      1. Curdling – separating the milk into curds by using bacteria to ferment the lactose

2    2. Draining – removes water from the cheese milk to ensure good quality and prevent decomposition of the milk product.

3. Pressing

4    4. Ripening

Its taste, texture and style of cheese depend on a variety of factors;

• ·         Origin of the milk – did it come from a cow or goat?

• ·         Animal’s health at the time of milk production

• ·         The method of curdling milk

• ·         Whether the milk is pasteurized or not

• ·         Butterfat content in the milk

• ·         Herbs and spices used in the cheese making process eg black pepper, cranberries and the amount of salt and seasonings used

• ·         The bacteria used in the ripening process

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Experiment in your quest for cheese, there are too many flavors and uses for cheese, enough to make a foodie like you sleep happy!

Have a cheesy day!