cheese, food known from ancient times and consisting of the curd of milk separated from the whey.

The Production of Cheese

The milk of various animals has been used in the making of cheese: the milk of mares and goats by the ancient Greeks, camel's milk by the early Egyptians, and reindeer's milk by the Laplanders. Sheep's milk and goat's milk are still widely used, but cow's milk is most common. The milk may be raw or pasteurized, sweet or sour, whole, skimmed, or with cream added.

Cheese, especially in the United States, is increasingly made in the factory by application of the principles of microbiology and chemistry. The chief milk protein, casein casein (kā`sēn), well-defined group of proteins found in milk, constituting about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk, but only 40% in
..... Click the link for more information. , is coagulated by the enzyme action of rennet rennet, substance containing rennin, an enzyme having the property of clotting, or curdling, milk. It is used in the making of cheese and junket. Rennet is obtained from the stomachs of young mammals living on milk, especially from the inner lining of the fourth, or
..... Click the link for more information. or pepsin, by lactic acid produced by bacterial action, or by a combination of the two. The draining off of the whey (milk serum) is facilitated by heating, cutting, and pressing the curd. The yield of cheese is usually about 10 lb per 100 lb of milk and is higher for the soft cheeses, which retain more moisture. Wisconsin is the largest producer of cheese in the United States.

The byproduct whey consists of water, lactose, albumin, soluble minerals, fats, and proteins. Formerly wasted or used in livestock feeding, whey is now used for the preparation of milk sugar, lactic acid, glycerin, and alcohol, or is condensed and added to process cheese. It may be made into cheese such as the Scandinavian primost and mysost.

Kinds of Cheese

The numerous cheeses (often named for their place of origin) depend for their distinctive qualities on the kind and condition of the milk used, the processes of making, and the method and extent of curing. They may be divided into two classes, hard cheeses, which improve with age under suitable conditions, and soft cheeses, intended for immediate consumption. Very hard cheeses include Parmesan and Romano; among the hard cheeses are Cheddar Cheddar, village, Somerset, SW England. It is chiefly a tourist center. Limestone is quarried, and strawberries are grown. Nearby Cheddar Gorge towers c.400 ft (120 m) high, with imposing limestone cliffs and numerous caves from which relics of prehistoric man have
..... Click the link for more information. , Edam, Emmental, Gouda, Gruyère, Provolone, and Swiss. The semisoft cheeses include brick, Gorgonzola, Limburger, Roquefort, Muenster, and Stilton; some of the soft cheeses are Brie, Camembert, cottage, Neufchâtel, and ricotta.

Microorganisms introduced, or permitted to develop, in cheese during the ripening process impart distinctive flavors and textures. Roquefort, Stilton, and Gorgonzola owe their bluish marbling to molds; Emmental and brick are ripened by bacteria that produce gas, which is entrapped in the curd and thus forms holes, a distinctive feature of what in the United States is known as Swiss-style cheese; Limburger attains a creamy consistency through bacteria-ripening. During the curing period the casein is broken down into a more digestible form by enzyme action. Cheese is valuable in the diet as a source of protein, fat, insoluble minerals (calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, and iron), and, when made from whole milk, vitamin A. Process cheese is a blend of young and ripened cheeses or of different varieties, ground, heated with water and up to 3% of emulsifying salts, and poured into molds, usually loaf-shaped. It is often homogenized and pasteurized. Certain cheeses, such as American Baby Swiss, have become popular because of heightened interest in healthful low-fat, low-salt foods. For the same reasons, goat cheeses such as Chèvre, Montrachet, and Bucheron, have grown in appeal to health food adherents and gourmets.

Bibliography

See E. Edelman and S. Grodnick, The Ideal Cheese Book (1986).

cheese

Food consisting of the coagulated, compressed, and usually ripened curd of milk separated from the whey. When milk sours, it forms both a protein-rich gel, or curd, and a lactose-rich fluid, or whey. Coagulation is often facilitated by adding rennin, an enzyme that acts on the milk's chief protein, casein. The resulting curd is then cut or broken to release most of the whey. Ripening and curing are affected by moisture content, acidity, presence of microorganisms, and other factors. Cheese is made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, water buffalo, llamas, yaks, and other animals; in the West, cow's milk is most common. Products vary according to fat content of the milk, heating or pasteurization, and addition of enzymes or cultures of bacteria, molds, or yeasts. Cheese varieties include hard cheeses (e.g., cheddar, Edam, Emmental, Gouda, Provolone, Romano, Swiss), semisoft cheeses (Gorgonzola, Limburger, Muenster, Roquefort), and soft cheeses (Brie, Camembert, cottage, Neufchâtel, and ricotta). Cheese is a source of protein, fat, minerals (calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, iron), and vitamin A.