Cheesemaking
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Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making
History
Cheesemaking is documented in Egyptian tomb drawings and in ancient Greek literature.[1]
Cheesemaking may have originated from
Ancient cheesemaking
One of the ancient cheesemakers' earliest tools for cheesemaking, cheese molds or strainers, can be found throughout Europe, dating back to the Bronze Age.[4] Baskets were used to separate the cheese curds, but as technology advanced, these cheese molds would be made of wood or pottery. The cheesemakers placed the cheese curds inside of the mold, secured the mold with a lid, then added pressure to separate the whey, which would drain out from the holes in the mold. The more whey that was drained, the less moisture retained in the cheese. Less moisture meant that the cheese would be firmer. In Ireland, some cheeses ranged from a dry and hard cheese (mullahawn) to a semi-liquid cheese (millsén).[5]
The designs and patterns were often used to decorate the cheeses and differentiate between them. Since many monastic establishments and abbeys owned their share of milk animals at the time, it was commonplace for the cheeses they produced to bear a cross in the middle.
Although the common perception of cheese today is made from cow's milk, goat's milk was actually the preferred base of ancient cheesemakers, due to the fact that goats are smaller animals than cows. This meant that goats required less food and were easier to transport and herd. Moreover, goats can breed any time of the year as opposed to sheep, who also produce milk, but mating season only came around during fall and winter.
Before the age of pasteurization, cheesemakers knew that certain cheeses could cause constipation or kidney stones, so they advised their customers to supplement these side effects by eating in moderation along with other foods and consuming walnuts, almonds, or horseradish.[6][7]
Process
The goal of cheese making is to control the spoiling of milk into cheese. The milk is traditionally from a
Some cheeses may be deliberately left to ferment from naturally airborne spores and bacteria; this approach generally leads to a less consistent product but one that is valuable in a niche market.
Culturing
Cheese is made by bringing milk (possibly
Starter cultures are chosen to give a cheese its specific characteristics. In the case of
Coagulation
During the fermentation process, once sufficient lactic acid has been developed,
Draining
Once the cheese curd is judged to be ready, the cheese whey must be released. As with many foods the presence of water and the bacteria in it encourages decomposition. To prevent such decomposition it is necessary to remove most of the water (whey) from the cheese milk, and hence cheese curd, to make a partial dehydration of the curd. There are several ways to separate the curd from the whey.
Scalding
In making Cheddar (or many other hard cheeses) the curd is cut into small cubes and the temperature is raised to approximately 39 °C (102 °F) to 'scald' the curd particles.
Mould-ripening
In contrast to cheddaring, making cheeses like
By taking the cheese through a series of maturation stages where temperature and relative humidity are carefully controlled, allowing the surface mould to grow and the mould-ripening of the cheese by fungi to occur. Mould-ripened cheeses ripen very quickly compared to hard cheeses (weeks against months or years). This is because the
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-3527306732.)
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Kats, Sandor Ellix; Pollan, Michael (2015). The Art of Fermentation an In-depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from around the World. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing.
- ^ Asher, David (2015). The Art of Natural Cheesemaking. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing.
- ISBN 9781119046158.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Muiris (Winter 2018). "CHEESE-MAKING". Archaeology Ireland. 32 – via JSTOR Ireland.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 0952654407.
- S2CID 44128087.
Bibliography
- Winstein, Merryl (2017). SUCCESSFUL CHEESEMAKING™, Step-by-Step Directions and Photos for Making Nearly Every Type of Cheese, (670pp, 800 photos). St. Louis, Missouri: Smooth Stone Press. ISBN 978-0998595955.
- Robinson, R.K.; Wilbey, R.A. (1998). Cheesemaking practice (3rd ed.). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
- Banks, J (1998). Cheese (2nd ed.).
- Early, R. The technology of dairy products. London: Chapman and Hall.
- Jenkins, Steven (1996). Cheese Primer. New York: Workman Publishing.
- Tannahill, Reay (2008). Food in History. New York: Three Rivers Press.