Cheese making is an process of managing a biological transformation. Cheese making involve directing bacteria and enzyme to transform the proteins in milk into a solid. The process of making cheese involves first selecting the type of milk that is to be used in the cheese making process.
The type of milk that determine the flavor of the cheese include cow milk, goat milk, and sheep milk. Buffalo milk is also used in the cheese making process because buffalo milk create a creamy texture in the cheese that is created. To make cheese, it is necessary to create an environment in which the cheese making starter cultures can perform their function; These type of bacteria are necessary to transform lactose into lactic acid, which create acidity in the milk.
How Cheese Is Made
It is necessary to maintain the proper type of temperature for these cultures to perform their functions; if the incorrect type of temperature is maintained, the cultures will not perform their functions, and the milk will not transform. After the action of the cultures has created the type of acidity of the milk, rennet is added to the milk. The enzyme that is included in the rennet act as a catalyst to initiate the coagulation of the milk.
This process transform the liquid milk into a gel. The rennet that is used can be either animal based or plant based, but both type will initiate the proteins in the milk to knit together into a solid mass. The cutting of this solid mass into curds will influence the texture of the cheese.
If the cook cut the curds into small pieces, such as rice sized pieces, the cheese will expel more moisture during the cheese making process. If the curds are cut into larger pieces, such as walnut sized pieces, the cheese will contain more moisture. After the cook cooked the curds and the whey is drained from the curds, the curds are shape and preserved into cheese.
Salt is added into the curds to flavor the cheese and to act as a preservative for the curds. The cheese is press into a mold. The pressing of the cheese will impact the density of the cheese.
Some type of cheese require heavy weights to press the whey out of the curds, but other type of cheese do not require the pressing of the curds. Once the cheese has been shaped, the cheese must be aged in a controlled environment. The humidity and the temperature of the aging environment must be control, as controlling these variable will allow the cheese to evolve to develop specific flavors and texture.
The cheese must also be regularly flipped to ensure that the moisture is distribute evenly throughout the cheese blocks. Errors may occur during the cheese making process due to the inherent unpredictability of biological processes. The cracked rind that forms on the surface of some varieties of cheese may indicate that the aging environment was too dry.
The slimy appearance of cheese may indicate that the aging environment contained too much humidity. Holes may form within the cheese that is aged due to the presence of bacteria that produce gas within the curds. In addition to cheese curds, another product that can be created using the dairy farming process is whey.
This leftover whey can be used to create ricotta cheese. The whey can also be used to make bread. Finally, the whey can be used to fertilize a garden.
Cheese making is, therefore, a process of managing chemical reaction through the use of heat, acid, and time.