How is Cheese Made?

The basic principle in making all cheeses is to curdle milk so it separates into:

• Curds (milky white lumps) and
• Whey (a thin watery liquid).

The curds are then used to make most cheese.

With some variations, depending on type, all ripened cheeses go through a similar process:

1. First milk is standardised to get the right levels of fat and protein.
2. Then it is pasteurised by heating it to 72°C for 15 seconds to destroy any harmful bacteria.
3. When the milk has cooled to about 32°C it is transferred to large vats, where a starter culture is added. A starter culture is a special bacteria that breaks lactose (the sugar found in milk) down to form lactic acid.
4. Rennet is added soon after the starter culture. Rennet contains an enzyme that coagulates the casein (a milk protein), which makes it set, like milky jelly! This solid part of the milk is called the curd.
5. The solid curd is then cut into small cubes using frames with fine cutting wires. This helps to release the whey.
6. The mixture is heated gradually to about 38°C which helps the curds to shrink and release more whey. This process is called syneresis. At the end of this process, the mixture looks like a watery liquid with milky white lumps floating in it.
7. The fluid (whey) is then drained off, leaving the curds behind. The curds begin to clump together more. This is called cheddaring.
8. Salt is added to help even more moisture come out and to make it taste nicer.
9. The salted curd is pressed into blocks that are compressed and cooled for 18 hours until a solid block has formed.
10. Cheese is then stored at a low temperature to ripen or mature.

Different types of cheese come from using different starter cultures and from small variations in this process. For example:

• Mozzarella cheese is kneaded to give it a stretchy texture
• Camembert and blue cheeses have special edible moulds added which give a special flavour and colour to the cheese
• The simplest cheeses like cottage cheese are not ripened at all so they keep their soft texture

How was cheese invented?

No one knows who made the first cheese, but experts think that it has probably existed for at least 5,000 years and possibly as long ago as 11,000 years! One legend states that the first cheese was made accidentally by an Arab merchant who put his daily supply of milk into a pouch that he had made from the stomach of a sheep. As he travelled, the rennet in the sheep's stomach combined with the heat of the sun, making the milk separate into curds and whey. When he arrived at his destination he discovered that he had made delicious cheese!