Cheese Making Process

Cheese making is considered as one of the most complicated process which requires time, understanding of perfect combination of ingredients used for cheese making process. Subjects of cheese and cheese manufacturing have always fascinated people around the world.

Milk is used as a basic material in cheese making process. Milk from different species of mammals such as cow, goat, sheep, buffalo etc. is used to make cheese with different flavors and characteristics, as milk used from different mammals causes different qualities of cheese because of the difference in quantity of milk contents present. Milk rich in fat, protein and minerals etc. increases cheese quality and yields. If milk high in fat is used, softer cheese is produced, at the other end the taste of cheese improves.

Second thing that plays an important role in cheese making process is starter culture. Starter culture is used to induce acid production in milk. Basically, milk contains some bacteria, which help in making milk acidic, some bacteria help digest the protein in the milk and some bacteria are harmful, which can cause disease to those who drinks the milk. The harmful bacteria are destroyed from the milk by heating the milk and with the help of some other methods. Then starter culture is added to the milk to make it acidic. Bacteria play an important role in cheese making process; this bacteria culture is used as a starter culture in cheese making. There have been an intensive research carried out for past many years to develop various types of starters and many different types of starters are developed as a result.

Milk has to be selected very carefully while making cheese. Milk contents (fat, proteins, minerals etc.), harmful agents, antibiotics etc. are some important factors, which are considered while selecting milk. Firstly, milk is heated at a certain temperature, so as to destroy any harmful bacteria present in milk; this process is also called pasteurization. Then a special starter culture is added to the warm milk and a very small part of milk sugar (lactose) is converted to lactic acid, which helps in acidifying the milk in shorter time. Rennet (i.e. coagulant) is then added to the milk to convert it into curd as a next step of cheese making process. This curd is thick enough which can be cut into small cubes. Heat is then applied to these cubes, which results in shrinking of the cubes, at the same time lactic acid is produced in the cubes from the starter culture, slowly the curd changes into small rice-sized grains.

After this the curd grains are allowed to settle down and the leftover liquid is removed from the mixture using cheesecloth. The curd starts firming which can then be shaped into a round wheel form and pressed overnight. Sometimes, the curd grains are milled to make cheese slabs or cubes. While milling the curd grains, salt is also added to provide flavor and also help preserve the cheese. After curing of few weeks, the cheese will be firm and have a mild flavor. Sharp cheese requires 3-5 months of curing. The slabs of cheese are kept for maturing for several days or months depending upon the flavor expected for the cheese.