How Cheese is Made

  HOW IS CHEESE MADE?

Cheese is not difficult to make but it does take considerable skill and knowledge to make a consistently high quality product. This is because there are many variables that can dramatically alter the way a cheese looks and tastes at the end of the maturation process. Temperature, pH (acid) levels, stirring, salting, pressing and maturing rooms are just some of those variables. Western Australian law requires all cheese products to be made from pasteurised milk. This means it has to be heat treated to kill undesirable bacteria. Although some of the best cheeses in the world are made from unpasteurised milk, many of those countries have vastly different climates to ours, which can affect bacteria growth. Below is a typical method used to make cheese.

Step 1: Pasteurise the milk.

Step 2: Cooling the milk. Cool the milk down to the optimum 'good' bacterial growth temperature. This is generally 30-32 degrees Celsius.

Step 3: Add the starter. This is the good bacteria specially developed to give the cheese a particular taste. Some strains of bacteria produces acid, some produce unusual floral tastes and some produce gas. An example of the gas used in cheese making is in Swiss Cheese manufacturing. The good bacteria is then kept in the milk for a set period of time, allowing it to multiply.

Step 4: Add the rennet. This is an enzyme originally extracted from the lining of a calf intestine. This is one of the reasons why some vegetarians will not eat cheese. Most cheese factories now use a synthetic version of this substance, which has been produced in a laboratory and does not come from animals. Rennet mixed in with milk causes it to set like jelly.

Step 5: Cut the curd. A wire knife is then used to cut the curd into small cubes. This causes the curd to shrink and expel whey (a yellow liquid by-product of cheese making).

Step 6: Stirring. The curds and whey are stirred for a set time. This varies for different types of cheeses. Basically, more stirring causes further whey expulsion and increases acid production. Hard cheeses are stirred longer than soft cheeses.

Step 7: Draining the curd. All the whey is drained off and the curd is drained ready to be pressed.

Step 8: Pressing. The curd is then pressed in containers for a set period of time to allow the curd to knit together.

Step 9: Salting. Some cheeses are then emersed in a salt bath, which cures the cheese and slows down the good bacteria. Some cheeses, for example cheddar, are salted before pressing. This is done by sprinkling salt over the drained curd and mixing.

Step 10: Drying and waxing. The cheese blocks are taking out of the salt bath and air died. They can then be waxed or plastic coated. Step 11: Maturing. The cheeses are then placed in a cool room at about 85% humidity and turned twice a week for several months. Edam cheese can be eaten after about 3 months but a good Parmesan is matured for up to three years.

There are many variations of this process, but this is a basic step to step guide to making cheese.