What is cheeeeese ? I mean cheese.
There are almost 2000 types of cheese in the world and many different ways of making them. Cheese results from the fermentation of milk proteins (lactose).
What is cheese ?
Cheese can be made from different types of milk: cow’s milk, of course, but also more acidic goat’s milk, creamier sheep’s milk, buffalo milk and even camel’s milk… Milk can be pasteurised or fresh, which changes the flavour. Fresh milk is rich in micro-organisms.
To turn milk into cheese, the preparation must be acidified, for example with vinegar or rennet. The proteins and fats then separate from the milk whey and rise to the surface. This amalgam on the surface is what we call curd. This separation is the beginning.
For hard cheeses, we use a fine curd and several processes to extract moisture (pressing, salting), unlike fromage frais, where we use large pieces and mature for a very short time.
For cheeses with a bloomy rind, we introduce bacteria or create an environment favourable to their development. For example, some cheeses are soaked in brine, cider vinegar or even wine. For mimolette, we introduce a type of mite.
The last major stage is maturing, which can last from 1 or 2 days for mozzarella to several years for parmesan. Ripening means keeping the cheese at a specific temperature and humidity level to encourage the development of indigenous bacteria. It is during this stage that most of the flavours and aromas develop.
Basic variables
The 5 variables for analysing cheese:
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1 — Type of milk and its refinement
2 — Type of bacteria and their action
3 — Temperature
4 — moisture content
5 — Time
Why does it smell?
Hmmm!
I live in the north of France and we have a cheese called Maroilles, which is one of the strongest. In fact, every region and country has its own fragrant cheese.
When you start to make a cheese with the curd, there’s no smell, it’s almost tasteless. It’s the bacteria and fungi that produce the odour by consuming the lactose. For example, Munster, a cheese from eastern France, has a foot smell and an orange colour due to bacteria called Brevibacterium. This similarity to feet is not insignificant, as the same bacteria can be found on our toes.
Can we eat mold?
Bacteria are part of our world. Cheese, by definition, is the work of bacteria. The mould we’ve been talking about, Brevibacterium, forms a beautiful yellow crust, while Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactococcus strains give cheddar its exceptional flavour.
The Penicillium family includes Penicillium roqueforti, which gives its name to Roquefort, the magnificent sheep’s milk cheese with its innumerable green slices. Another form of Penicillium is responsible for the sublimation of Gorgonzola cheese (my favourite, I could eat it every day). This mold is first developed on bread and then inoculated into the curd.
The mold feeds on the fats and proteins and reproduces the flavours, the famous amino acids and aldehydes.
Plant-based cheese
Instead of using animal milk, we use a nut or grain puree, such as oats, cashews, almonds, etc. We also use a fermentation process to change the flavour and texture of the starting material.
Fermentation is also necessary to change the flavour and texture of the raw material. For example, you can use koji enzymes, which work very well with cashews.
There are also cheeses made with milk that uses safflower as a milk coagulant instead of rennet. The flowers are harvested, dried and ground into a powder. The powder is then soaked in water to extract the enzymes. A well-known example of this method is the Portuguese cheese « queijo de Castelo branco ».
