Cheese Making Process - Cheese is a food produced by separating solid substances in milk through a thickening or coagulation process. This thickening process is carried out with the help of certain bacteria or enzymes called rennet. The results of the process will be dried, processed, and preserved in various ways. From a variety of milk can be produced a variety of cheese products. Cheese products vary according to the type of milk, thickening method, temperature, method of cutting, drying, heating, as well as the ripening process of cheese and preservation. Generally, animals that are used as a source of milk are cows. Camel, goat, sheep, horse, or buffalo milk is used in some types of local cheese.
Cheese Making Process - This food is known throughout the world, but is thought to be first known in the area around the Middle East. Although it cannot be ascertained when the cheese was first discovered, according to legend the cheese was first discovered accidentally by an Arabian traveler.
Cheese has almost all the nutrients in milk, such as protein, vitamins, minerals, calcium, and phosphorus but also fat and cholesterol that can cause health problems if consumed in excess. The amount of fat in cheese depends on the type of milk used. Cheese made with pure milk or added with cream has a high fat, cholesterol and calorie content. Cheese is very beneficial because it is rich in protein, especially for young children because they need more protein than adults.
Cheese Making Process
Cheese making is a process carried out to process milk into various types of cheese. Making cheese is basically the same even though there are hundreds of types of cheese produced throughout the world. Cheese has a different style and taste, depending on the type of milk used, the type of bacteria or fungus used in fermentation, the length of the fermentation process and storage ("ripening"). Other factors such as the type of food consumed by mammals that produce milk and the process of heating milk. There are five main stages in making cheese.
- Acidification
The milk is heated so that lactic acid bacteria, namely Streptococcus and Lactobacillus can grow well. These bacteria eat lactose in milk and turn it into lactic acid. When acidity increases, solids in milk (casein protein, fat, some vitamins and minerals) clump and form curds.
- Coagulation
Rennet bacteria are added to heated milk which then makes the protein clump and divides milk into liquid parts (whey) and solid (curd). After being separated, whey is sometimes used to make cheese like Ricotta and Cypriot hallumi but usually the whey is discarded. With the help of a tool shaped like a harp, cheese curd is crushed into granules. The finer the curd, the more whey is dried and will produce harder cheese.
Cheese Making Process - Rennet converts sugar in milk to acid and protein that is available to curd. The amount of bacteria entered and the temperature is very important for the level of cheese density. This process takes between 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the amount of milk and also the temperature of the milk.
Most of the cheese uses rennet in the manufacturing process. But in the past when cheese was still made traditionally, the fig leaves and twigs were used as a substitute for rennet.
- Processing of curd
After giving rennet, the next process is different. Some soft cheeses are moved carefully into the mold. In contrast to other cheeses, curds are sliced and chopped using hands or with the help of a machine to remove more whey. The smaller the curd, the more dense the cheese produced.
Preparation before maturation
- Printing
When the curd reaches optimal size, it must be separated and printed. For small cheeses, the curd is separated with a spoon and poured into a mold. For larger cheeses, the lift from the tank uses the help of a cloth. Before pouring into the mold, the curd is dried first and then can be pressed and then formed or sliced.
- Precision
Cheese must be pressed in accordance with the desired level of violence. For soft cheese, emphasis is usually not made because the weight of the cheese is heavy enough to release whey. Likewise with sliced cheese, the weight of the cheese determines the desired density level. Even so, most of the cheese goes through the emphasis process. The time and intensity of emphasis vary for each cheese.
- Pinning
After the cheese is formed, salt is added so that the cheese does not taste fresh. Cheese can be marinated in four different ways. For some cheese, salt is added directly to the curd. The second way is to rub or sprinkle salt on the cheese skin. This causes the cheese skin to form and protects the inside of the cheese so that it doesn't ripen too quickly. Some large cheeses are marinated in a way that is soaked in salt water. Cheese soaking can take hours to days. The last method is to wash the surface of the cheese with salt solution. In addition to providing flavor, salt also helps remove excess water, hardens the surface, protects the cheese from drying out and preserves and purifies cheese when entering the maturation process.
- Maturation
Maturation (ripening) is the process that converts fresh curds into flavored cheese. Maturation is caused by certain bacteria or fungi that are used in the production process. The final character of the cheese is determined by the type of ripening. During the ripening process, the cheese is kept at a certain temperature and humidity level until the cheese is ready to eat. This ripening time varies from a few weeks for soft cheese to several days for hard cheeses such as Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Special technique
Cheese Making Process - Several techniques can be carried out before the ripening process to affect the texture and final flavor of the cheese:
- Stretching
Curds are carried and then dyed in hot water to produce a fibrous texture. Examples of cheese that go through this process are Mozzarella and Provolone cheese.
- Cheddaring
The curd that has been cut is then stacked to remove moisture. The curd is then ground for a long time. Examples of cheeses that undergo this process are Cheddar cheese and other English Cheese.
- Washing
The curd is washed in warm water to reduce its acidity and make it a cheese that tastes soft. Examples of cheese through the washing process are Edam, Gouda, and Colby cheese.
- Burning
For some hard cheeses, the curd is heated to a temperature of 35 ° C (95 ° F) -56 ° C (133 ° F) which then causes the curd grains to lose water and make the cheese harder to texture. This process is often referred to as burning. Examples of reheated cheeses are Emmental, Appenzell and Gruyère.
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