Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Like beer making, cheese making is both art and science. If
anything, there is even more art to making cheese because it
requires practice to master the various steps. So this chapter is
enough to get you started, but you'll likely want to branch out
once you've mastered the techniques covered here.
What is Cheese?
Cheese is the coagulated fat and protein from the milk of
domesticated dairy animals. The fats and proteins of milk are
coagulated in various ways for the manufacture of different
types of cheese. In some cases, a bacterial culture is added.
The bacterial culture consumes lactose to make lactic acid;
this lactic acid causes the coagulation.
In other cases, rennet is added. Rennet is a complex mixture
of enzymes that likewise coagulates milk. In yet other cases,
an acid such as citric acid, tartaric acid, or even vinegar is
used to cause coagulation. Though the products of these
various methods of coagulation are markedly different, they
are all cheese because they have in common the coagulation
of milk.
Milk: Where it all Begins
In the United States, cows are the usual source for milk; goats
are utilized to a lesser extent. In other countries, the milk of
bison, buffalo, sheep, horses, yaks, and other animals are also
used. The nature of the milk of different species varies
appreciably and this is reflected in the character of the cheese
produced. Theoretically, you could make cheese using the
milk of any mammal; I wouldn't attempt this until you get
good at making cheese from well-characterized herbivores
